Evening star., 1943-09-08
Russ Advance Not Yet
A Decisive Victory
By Maj. Geo. Fielding Eliot.

tlic dClA}dl IidbuIe VI Lile HilliIdIy events
themselves and as to the relationship of
the Russian front to the European the
ater of operations as a whole.
We are seeing something very much
greater than a mere German with
drawal according to plan as the Ger
mans would have us believe. We are
seeing something considerably less than
total Russian victory march to the
German frontier and Berlin, as one
might imagine is taking place from
reading some of the more lurid head
lines.
The Germans are certainly Withdraw
ing all along the front from Bryansk to
the Sea of Azov, and they may be out of
both Bryansk and the Donets Basin be-
fore very long. They certainly must have
had plan for such a withdrawal in mind
for some time. Probably they started to
withdraw later than their general staff
would have wished, due to the reluctance
of the political chiefs to make so glaring
an admission of defeat.
But it must be emphasized that the
withdrawal is taking place under very
heavy Russian pressure and that the
Russians have shown their ability to
mount and to maintain a sustained
major offensive on scale as great as
anything the Wehrmacht ever accom-
plished at the height of its powers. There
is every possibility that the Germans
may undergo very severe losses in the
course of these operations.
Already they have been trapped at
Taganrog, where their right-hank ele-
ments were cut off and destroyed by a
quick Russian thrust which was GER
tainly not according to any German plan.
worse may happen before the Germans
reach positions on which they can make
a stand-for example, as so frequently
pointed out in these articles, Russian
Dreak-through to the Dneiper in the
kharkov-Poltava area, should 1t come
before the Donets withdrawal is COM
plete, should yield a tremendous bag of
prisoners and war material.
On the other hand, the Germans must
have somewhere in their rear a series of
prepared positions in great depth, where
they can halt and turn at bay. They
have had all winter TO make their
arrangements and vast reservoir OF
slave labor to do the work. Just where
these lines will be remains to be seen.
but it is fair guess that the middle
course Of the Dneiper River forms an
important element of the new positions.
AS the Russians advance, they enter
country which will have been utterly
devastated by the retreating Germans
TACT to which the testimony of 'front.'
line correspondents is beginning to bear,
eloquent witness. The Germans draw
nearer to their main sources of supply,
and their lines of communication grow
shorter. The Russians get farther away
from the sources of supply, their lines
OF communication grow longer-and
they become more and more dependent
on road traffic. 1t takes long time
to repair thoroughly demolished rail-
way, with every bridge, culvert and
signal tower blown up, every junction
point mined, every rail and switch and
crossover smashed by explosions or car
ried off bodily. The fall rains are COM
ing, to impede both road movement
and railway repair. Thus it is probable
that the Germans will be able to make
stand on their new lines, and that
the Russians will have a great deal OF
work to do before they get their winter
offensive rolling, once this one has
come to halt
Strategically, the position OF the Ger
man fanks when this period of stabi-
hzation comes, may be of great i'm
portance. If retirement in the North
Is necessary, it may mean Finland out
OF the war and freedom Of action for
the Russian Baltic fleet. If retirement
IN the South goes beyond a line from
the bend of the Dnieper down to Mari
upol on the Sea of Azov, 1t may mean
not only the loss of the Novorossisk
bridgehead, but of the whole Crimea as
we'll, which will bring the Russian Black
Sea feet back to Sevastopol. and Rus
sian bombers within 300 miles of the
Rumanian oil fields and within 500 miles
of the BelgradeSalonika Railway.
Let us, however. keep in mind that
the real purpose of such great Often
sive as the Russians are now making
is not to gain territory, but to destroy
the enemys army. The measure in
which the Russians accomplish this
will be the true measure of their success.
The yardstick is not altogether one of
German soldiers killed and captured.
Such matters as the breaking down of
German morale are also to be taken into
account as we'll as German troubles
on other fronts due to the using up Of
fighting forces in Russia. We cannot
think of the Russian offensive in true
perspective unless We think of it in
relation to orr landings in Italy, our air
attacks against Germany and to the
Germans need for being in readiness
to meet such other attacks as may soon
be launched against them.
1t is not likely that the Russians alone
will decisively and finally defeat Ger
many this year; but they are making,
and will continue to make, major con-
tribution to that defeat And the
Russian front is still the main United
Nations front against the Germans,
(CoDyright. 1943. New York Tribune Inc)