Evening star., 1943-12-06
Three-Front Attack
Seen Chief Decision
OF Teheran Meetino
BY JOHN NJ. HIGHTOWER,

cdll1ng Tor co-Ordlnated attacks or
three sides of Hitler's vauntet
European fortress, may make i
possible now to try for knockou
blows against Germany this winter
The United States and Britain
have been massing troops and mum.
tions for many months in prepara
ton for such grand scale attacks
and it seems likely that the plan!
OF this conference can be put int
operation in less than the six month.
which Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.
Churchill usually have had to allow
for their high strategy decisions. .
Those are the main points o1
military implication noted by Wash
ington observers in the Teheran
declaration announced today fol-
lowing the closely guarded but wide
1y pubhcized conference of the three
state leaders in the capital of Iran
early last week.
Further disclosures about the ac-
colnplishments of the momentous
meeting are considered possible. II
has been the custom of the Presi-
dent and Prime Minister on some
past occasions to enlarge in SUBJ
sequent speeches on the initial
statements of conference achieve
ments.
Ultimatum May Be Planned.
The enemy will have to find out
for himself on the battlefields of
Europe, however, the time, strength
and direction of the military actions
agreed on, so that any further
specific amplification will most likely
be of a political nature, though it
may include pointed warning to
the German people to kick out the
Nazis and surrender Internationally
If they want to save their cities from
destruction and their troops from
humiliation.
Both Washington and London had
expected that an ultimatum would
be considered at Teheran. But if it
was, the three leaders either decided
to issue it at a future moment more
propitious for a German crackup
or voted against it altogether. The
declaration published, although it
stated unshakeable confidence in the
certainty of Allied victory, obviously
was not pointed for German con-
sumption primarily.
Yet in its almost jubilant ex-
preston of Rus
sian unity, it must remove from
the German leaders and masses any
lingering hope they hold of en-
ploying the strategy of divide and
conquer. 1t confronts them, fact
ually and automatically, with a
combination of powers which they
must surely realize is invincible.
I'VE came here with hope and
determination" the declaration
signed by the three said. I'VE
leave here friends in fact, in spirit
and in purpose"
Major Accomplishment.
Some Washington authorities said
those two sentences represented one
OF the major accomplishments of
the conference, since when it began
there was no assurance that such
a high degree of unity and friend
ship would result.
On military questions the decla-
ration made these points which we're
considered here to be of paramount
Importance:
l. The leaders and their chiefs of
staff reached complete agreement
as to the scope and timing of opera
tlons which will be undertaken from
the east. west and south"
2, This guarantees that victory
Will be ours and that mo power
on earth can prevent our destroying
the German armies by land, their
U-boats by sea and their war plants
from the air. Our attacks will be
relentless and increasing"
Prior to the meeting in Teheran
and especially since the foreign min
listers meeting in Moscow, Britain
and the United States had ex-
changed with Russia information
as to military plans, but there had
been no previous meeting of the
high commands of the three great
forces encircling Germany.
Timing Is Main Question.
The principal question of timing
at last weeks conference, therefore,
concerned the selection of the period
in which to launch the final crushing
offensives against continental Eu-
rope. So far as weather conditions
are concerned military experts say
the invasion can be started either
late this winter or early next sum-
mer. Spring mud mires armies. The
other limiting factor is the readiness
of the armies for action.
An all-out attack on all fronts this
winter unqucStionably would be de-
signed to produce victory by spring
by taking advantage of the morale
effect Of the winters battle reverses
and Furnishing aerial attacks on the
German homeland. Otherwise con-
servative estimates are that there ia
little prospect of victory until next
fall.
The opening of a secondary front
In Southern Europe. probably in the
Balkans but possibly in Southern
France, might be undertaken as
preliminary to invasion of North
ern France and Belgium. 1t would
have the effect of forcing the Ger
mans to disperse their forces or
suffer further defeats and losses of
important territory, such as the
Rumanian oil fields.
Hence the significance of the an
nouncement of plans for operations
from the East, West and South" !"
The inclusion of the South" might
conceivably refer to the campaign
now underway in Italy, but inform
ants familiar with the nature of
operations there have always looked
on them as strictly limited to the
purposes of freeing Rome and gain
ing positions from which to bomb
Germany.
Because Of the mountain barriers
In Northern Italy. the peninsula is
not regarded as an avenue of ap-
proach to Germany proper. On the
other hand an invasion of the Bal
kans would jeopardize raw materials
and strategic positions vital to the
defense of Germany.
ANA -