Evening star., 1943-07-11
CIimux in Europe

1ne tremendous events OF the past
week appear to have disclosed the
pattern for the summer fighting
season in Europe which has so long
been the subject of keen speculation.
Within five days the Germans
launched an intensive assault on the
central sectors of the Russian front,
between Orel and Belgorod, and Al
lied forces began the invasion Of
Sicily.
The German drive came without
warning, though it did not catch the
Russians by surprise. 1t is not yet
clear whether the German high
command meditates a major often
sive on the eastern front like those
of the past two summers, or whether
this is limited operation to obliter-
ate dangerous salient driven into
their defense system last winter by
the Red Armies, and so to re-estab-
lish a strong line against a Russian
counteroffensive next winter. Very
likely the German plan is elastic,
with minimum and maximum objec-
tives. If the Russian defense is
stubborn and the Soviet war machine
proves highly efficient, the Germans
may not attempt to go beyond recti-
fications of their front On the other
hand, if the Germans score marked
successes and the Russians make
mistakes, the Axis drive may broaden
into a full-scale offensive, perhaps
aimed at splitting the Red Armies
and either capturing or isolating
Moscow, the Soviet capital. The
probabilities are that the German
high command is confident of at
tanning it's minimum objective, the
abolition of the Kursk salient, or they
would not be sacrificing such masses
of men and armor at SO critical a
time. Certainly, German failure to
make even local gains would have
grave consequences on the morale Of
their troops and even more on the
spirit of the home population, so
harassed by the great Allied air
campaign which is desolating the
Ruhr and other parts of Western
Germany.
The invasion of Sicily had been
clearly foreshadowed by the sus-
tanned air bombardmert of that is
land which has been going on unin-
terruptedly for weeks with ever
mounting intensity. 1t is a major
operation, for mountainous Sicily is
naturally defensible and is held by
Axis forces repeatedly aggregating
at least 100000, of which 10000 are
supposed to be Germans. The in
vasion, launched before dawn yester-
day by the light of crescent moon,
and participated in by American,
British and Canadian troops, was
started at several points simultan-
eously. Rome informs us that the
heaviest blows were struck in the
southeastern quarter of the island,
where the mountains run inland,
leaving coastal plains suitable for
mechanical warfare. The Axis radio
also speaks of Allied paratroopS
dropped at various points. With Al
lied command of both sea and air
there can be little doubt that beach
heads can be esta blished successfully
at any suitable spots with relatively
slight losses, according to the tech
ct
year all the way from North Africa
to the Pacific. The test will come
when the Allied troops move inland
and come to grips with the defend
ers in difficult and extended terrain.
The overriding question which
emerges from all that is happening
Is how much the two campaigns will
influence each other. A provisional
answer would seem to be that the
invasion of Sicily will, in itself, have
no immediate effect upon the battle
on the eastern front. The Germans
have just completed an elaborate
series of troop movements to bolster
the southern and western defenses
of their European fortress, all the
way from Norway to Crete. Thanks
to their national mobilization last
winter they have more trained men
under arms than ever before; SO they
probably have manpower enough for
present operations on all fronts. But,
should the conflict in Russia become
a general one or should the Allies
launch other attacks on Fortress
Europe, the Axis may be hard
pressed everywhere. That would