Evening star., 1943-10-11

the soviets be-
come involved 1&y II
prematurely in David Lawrence
war with Japan while the European
front still demands so much OF
Russian manpoWer and resources.
But what will not be understood
Is the Russian diSinclination to let
the American air forces opearte
from behind the Russian lines in
Europa disinclination which has
some justification perhaps in the
domestic affairs of Russia but which
would seem to be outWeighed in
Importance by the greater necessity
of a Russian American collabora-
ton of air forces against Germany,
The problem on the other hand
acquire domestic aspects as related
to American public opinion. Thus
1t is not pleasant for the American
people to read the following excerpt
from an Associated Press dispatch
from London in connection with the
long range raid into Poland over
the week end:
"A classic remark by returning
crewmen, most of whom were aware
that the raid took him within fairly
close range of the battling Russian
armies, came from Lieut.. Joe w,
Kane of Lynnbrook, Long Island,
N Y, who cracked: I was surprised
that the Russian fighter support
didn't show up
Russian Point of View.
The Russians cannot operate our
Flying Fortresses and heavy bomb
ers as we'll as can an Ameri-
can air force Raids such as re-
Gently took place from North Afri-
can bases against Rumanian oil
fields would better have been
operated from Russian bases. The
idea of having American Air Force
units fight beside the Russians is
not new. 1t has been broached
from time to time and it is ma
The reasons for Russia's unwilling
ness to have American Air Force
units fighting alongside Russian
units is sNid to be related to the
fact that this would require large
number of American ground troops
and an American supply system.
This in turn is said to be froWned
on because the American Army is /.
better fed and better equipped and |
the Russians are believed to feel |
that it might cause dissatisfaction |
among their own troops who would !
see the more luxurious treatment
given the Americans alongside of
them and would demand the same
which. of course, might be impOS
sible since transport facilities into
Russia for our food and equipment
are necessarily limited.
But there can be no miStaking
the importance from policy stand
point of the raid into Poland by a
force of American bOmbers. Here
Is Americas might reaching out to
within a few hundred miles of the
Russian lines and actually fighting
on the eastern front in Europe.
fighting to help rid the Baltic of
Germany's naval power. For it is
no secret that American strategists
have long felt that something
should be done to bomb the rem
nants of the Nazi fleet out of the
water because the presence of A
few vessels ties up huge numbers of
British warships in the North
Atlantic on vigilant patrols lest
some of the German Warships break
loose and become commerce raid
erS.
Could Shorten War.
The American point of view has
been that airpoWer should be used
in conjunction with seapoWer and
that the targets in Norway where
German ships have been hiding and
the targets in Occupied France
where Nazi submarine bases We're
permitted to be built to almost i'm
pregnable strength should have
been attacked much earlier. Their
destruction might have materially
affected long the course of the
present war.
For the United States needs help
In the Pacific War-more SeapoWer
and more airpoWer and as long as
so much naval power is tied up in
the Atlantic watching a few Ger
man ships the Nazis and Japanese
are achieving an effective piece of
potential blockade if not immobili-
cation of big part of our seapower.
The fact that our Air Force COM
mand orders American bombers to
take the hazards of a long range
bombing operation to the very edges
Of the Baltic in aid of Russia's
military objectives there is inciden-
tally significant manifestation of
American friendliness for Russia as
of Americas earnest desire to func-
tion most effectively as an ally of
the Russian people.
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