Evening star., 1943-08-01
Nazis Thought Ready
For al Least Partial
Defense Of Italy
BY DANIEL DELUCE.

BY DANIEL DELUCE,
Associated Press War Correspondent.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA, July 3I.-Italy to
the Allies is like a loaf of bread
half q loaf would be better than
none.
If Allied arms and Italian war
WEAKNESS have their way, occupa-
ton OF the southern half of italy,
including Rome, is predictable
event. OF course, the Allies are
strong enough to seize this "half
loaf" by sheer power If necessary.
There Is no foretelling whether
this power will be needed. If the
flood of pacifistic feeling now sweep
Ing Mussolini's ex-jingoistic empire
continues, it will become the might
est weapon in the Allied arsenal.
Gen. Eisenhower told the italian
people:
We are coming. We will rid you
of the Germans and deliver you
from the horrors of war"
SCA IdUS bCICHNe.
That is the plainest sort of state
ment OF what the Allied commander
IN chief has in mind for the next few
months.
from Switzerland and other neu-
tral news centers of Europe are COM
Ing series of reports ir cating
that Germany has committed the
Wehrmacht to full scale defense of
at least part OF the Italian peninsula.
II the Italian government formally
capitulates, then only the terms of
the armistice can reveal what de-
gree OF cooperation will be obtained
from the Italians against Germany.
On the other hand, the Kings
regime may remain at war but the
people themselves may so hamper
the Germans by sabotage, strikes
and espionage that the Fuehrer's
headquarters may decide to let the
lower half of Italy 60 and concen-
trate on defense of the Pc Valley.
The Germans probably will try to
hold as much as they possibly can,
straIning their resources of man.
power and equipment to the utmost.
Germans Terrorized.
The terror implanted in the Ger
man public mind of breach in the
fortress OF Europe is such that the
Reich's leaders dare not initiate the
Russian example by strategic re-
treat from the edge of the continent
to more natural defenses in the in
terror unless overwhelmed by the
force Of circumstances.
Southern Italy would be a sad
loss to Hitler, but not fatal.
The eventual Allied occupation of |
Northern Italy, however, would be
Tor the Nazis disaster of the first
magnitude.
The Allied high command in the |
Mediterranean persistently has en-
phasized that the greatest stakes of
any offensive are new air bases
Thus the payoff on any action in
Italy would be expected to come in
the form of advanced fields for q
roaring air onslaught against the
inner bastions of Hitler's domain.
Would Mean Austria.
You can measure for yourself on
map OF Europe what Allied air
forces based in Central italy would
nave within range. Flying Fort
resses and Liberators are capable of
1,500-mile round trips with heavy
bomb loads Mitchells. and Maui
rauders can do better at about 800
miles. Raj heavy night bombers
such as Lancasters and Halifaxes
haoituany strike farther than even
the heaviest American daylight pre-
clsion raiders. Hitler's new arrange
ment OF war industries in Austria
and elsewhere in Eastern Germany
would prove futile.
Hungary, reluctant combatant on
the side of the Axis, would become a
relatively easy victim of air blasting
Already the RAF have successfully
tried shuttle service of heavy bomb
ers taking off from England and
raiding Germany en- route to land
Ing fields in the Mediterranean.
IT the Allies conquer Southern
Italy and the Germans try to re-
main In Sardinia and Corsica, they
can be isolated like Pantelleria and
bombed into submission.
Corsica Is Valuable.
Germans troops in the Dodeca-
nese and the Greek Aegean Islands
including Crete, also must expect |
many uncomfortable moments.
The islands at best are only STEP
ping stones to bigger objectives and
valuable "unsinkable aircraft car
riers" while amphibious operations
are being undertaken.
sardinia has more nuisance value |
tnan anything else in Allied ewes
but Corsica would be vital base for
furnishing air cover in any OPERA
tions against southern France.
Perhaps the most inviting to arm |
chair strategists is the possibility of
an Allied thrust across the Adriatic |
into the Balkans.
Allied skill in amphibious attacks |
already proven by the Sicilian sue
ceSses, would be able to snatch vir- |
tually any Balkan port.
Recalls Italian Campaign.
But what I learned while cover
ing tIle ICaNan attempt to Subjugate |
Greece convinces me that the Adri-
attic Is no place from which to
launch Balkan campaign designed
to penetrate very deeply into Europe. |
The Italians would have failed COM |
pletely but for the German blitz
through Yugoslavia and Bulgaria |
The same thing applies to basing
o third European front on Salonika, |
even If that port could be obtained |
at reasonable cost.
An effort to pierce the mountains
into Bulgaria or 60 up the narrow
Vardar Valley into southern Serbia
would give the Germans natural |
fortresses where they could force |