Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-10-22
NEWS 81
BEHIND
The News
BY Paul
MaIlon


Italy 10 make perhaps a last
big stand of the war against US
there, may "or may not be true,
but this much we know:
4 Nazi force of about 375O 600
men (25 divisions is already
there This force had been ae-
cumulated sra d u ally since
Sicily.
But most Of il is still being
held back in northern Italy.
Only about 10000 men tseven
or eight diviSions) are in the
present battle area south of
Rome.
The Nazi generals evidently
are afraid TO send more down
into the leg of Italy for fear
they may be cut off by an
amphibious flank attack from
the sea. Hitler'S big battle for
Italy then is TO be made north
of Florence.
MOT a word has been given
" out about the size of our
force. Presumably il Outnum-
berS the Germans IN the battle
area, but 30 more divisions
would give the NaziS a tre-
mendous advantage - not an
Overwhelming one, however.
The outcome would all depend
on what kind of an air force
Hitler could dig up to put over
that force. Up TO now, the
NaziS have shown nothing TO
be called an air force in Italian
skies.
Our struggle north Of Naples
has been painfully slow for two
reasons, The NaZis delaying
tactics have not taken the form
of a dug-in battle line, but
rather that of a machine gun
nest in every bush. Such de-
lenses cannot even be observed,
much less bombed, from the
air.
Furthermore, heavy fall rains
suddenly made all mountain
streams dangerous and pre-
vented us from using our SUI
perior air force effectively.
WHAT the NaziS have done
w and promised can delay us
but cannot change the final
outcome. Marshal Badeglie has
said Germany will collapse be-
fore we can conquer Italy and
that is certainly reasonable
expectation.
The important thing. how
ever, is that we now have the
airfelds and supplies of planes
and men TO out-gun the NazlS
in the end on That front no
matter what they do. Dozens
of good airfieldS fell into our
hands at Naples, Foggla, Bari
and other spots. AS soon as we
can bring our air force fully to
bear, the news from Italy VIII
quicken.
The possibility is also arising
of German collapse on the
Russian front. The Nazi re-
treat already has gone farther
and faster than optimists would
predict a few weeks ago.
THE Germans made their
Il best possible fight for their
Dneiper River line. But the
swiftness with which the Rus
SLAMS reorganized for that at
tack surprised the Germans and
every one else.
Red penetration in the kre-
menchug area, midway between
Kiev and the Black Sea, is seri-
Gus. They can now concelvably
force Nazi withdrawal not only
from the Crimea but possibly
all the way back TO Odessa.
Around kiev and at Melitopol,
their breaks in the German
winter line also raise a queS-
ton of the ability OF the NaZlS
to withdraw successfully.
Time is left to the Reds.
Freezing weather does not de-
scend upon the Black Sea area
usually until early December.
The ground north of Kiev gen.
orally freezes early in Novem-
Der
The experiences Of Tunisia
a44ti-Sicily yet may be repeated
on either the Italian or Russian
fronts. or both. Our progress
was slow for many weeks IN
both Tunisia and Sicily, but
when the German collapse came,
it was a swift tumble.
OUR heavy bombings in
. Burma hive caused gen.
eral \-pxpeCtation of invasion.
True. the Indians and Chinese
have been training and building
armies for some time for the
purpose. But invasion will re-
quire an enormous store OF guns,
trucks, equipment and planes
which can be accumulated only
gradually.
Comments from India are apt
10 be more accurate. They sug-
geSt our air activity is directed
mainly toward breaking up an
expected Japanese attack on
India. The JapS recently moved
a considerable force from east
10 west Burma, as If 10 threaten
an attack.
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