Evening star., 1943-09-17

The armistice with Italy was
signed on September Sd in Sicily
but it could not be put into effect
until September s, when we were
ready to make landings in force in
the Naples area. We had planned
these landings some time before and
were determined to 60 through with
them, armistice or no armistice.
Italian leaders appealed to their
army and navy to end hositilities
against us. Italian soldiers, though
disorganized and i'll supplied, have
been fighting the Germans in many
regions. In conformity with the
/ serms of unconditional surrender, the
Italian feet has come over to our
side; and it can be a powerful weap-
on in striking at the Nazi enemies
of the Italian people
When Hitler was forced to the
conclusion that his offensive was
broken, and he must go on the de-
fensive, he started boasting that he
had converted Europe into an i'm
pregnable fortress. But he neglected
to provide that fortress with roof.
He also left various other vulnerable
spots in the wall of the so-called
fortress-which we shall point out
to him in due time.
To Bomb From South.
The British and American air
forces have been bombing the roof
less fortress with increasing et-
fectiveness. 1t is now our purpose
to establish bases within bombing
range of Southern and Eastern Ger
many, and to bring devastating war
home to these places by day and
bv night as it has already been
brought to Western Germany.
When Britain was being subjected
to mass bombing in 1910 and ls4l-
when the British people, including
their King and Prime Minister, were
proving that Britain could take 1t
the strategists of the Royal Air
Force and of our own Army All
Forces were not idle. They were
studying the mistakes that Goerlng
and his staff of Nazi terrorists were
making. Those were fatal mistakes,
as it turned out.
Today, we and the British are
not making those mistakes We are
not bombing tenements for the
sheer sadistic pleasure OF killing, as
the Nazis did. We are striking
devastating blows at carefully Sc
lected, clearly identified strategic
Observation-Disclosures shipyards, mu-
milton dumps, transportation facil-
ties, which make it possible for the
Nazis to wage war. And we are
hitting these military targets and
blowing them to bits.
German power can still do us
great injury. But that evil power is
being destroyed, surely, ineXorably,
day by day, and if Hitler does not
know it by now, then the last trace
of sanity has departed from that
distorted mind.
Must Increase Air Power.
We must remember that in any
great air attack the British and
Americans lose fairly high pro-
portion of planes and that these
losses must be made up quickly so
that the weight of the bombing
shall not decrease for day in the
future. In fact, high rate OF in
crease must be maintained accord
ing to plan-and that means con-
slant stepping-up of our production
here at home.
In the remarkable raid on the
Ploesti oil fields in Rumania we lost
So of our heavy bombers, and more
than 500 of our finest men are miss
ing. This may seem like a dis
astrously high loss, unless you figure
it against the damage done to the
enemy's war power. I am certain
that the German or the japanese
high commands would cheerfully
sacrifice tens of thousands of men
to do the same amount of damage
to us, if they could. Those gallant
and brilliant young Americans who
raided Ploesti won a smashing VIC
tory which, believe, will contribute
materially to the shortening of the
war and thus save countless lives
We shall continue to make such
raids all over the territory of Ger
many and the satellite countries.
With Italy in our hands, the dis
tances we have to travel will be far
less and the risks proportionstely
reduced.
We have reliable information that
there is definite unrest and grow
ing desire for peace among the peo-
Piles of these satellite countries
Rumania, Hungary, Finland and
Bulgaria. We hope that in these
nations the spirit of revolt against
Nazi dominance which commenced
in italy will burst into flame and
become consuming fire.
Praises Russian Army.
Every American is thrilled by the
sledge-hammer blows delivered
against the Nazi aggressors by the
Russian Armies. This summer there
has been no successful German ed-
vance against the Russians, as in
1941 and 1912 The shoe toda7 is on
the other foot-and IS pinching very
hard. Instead, the Russians have
forced the greatest military reversal
since Napoleon's retreat in 1872
The recapture of Kharkov. Stalino
and other strongholds by the Rus
slams, the opening of the Ukraine
and the Donets Basin and the free
ing of millions of valuable acres and
hundreds of inhabited places heart.
en- the whole world as the Russian
campaign moves toward the elimi-
nation of every German from Rus
sian soil-toWard the invasion of
Germany itself 1t is certain that
the campaign in North Africa, the
occupation of Sicily, the fighting in
Italy and the compelling of large
numbers of German planes to go
into combat in the skies over Hol-
land, Belgium and France oy rea-
son OF our air attacks, have given
important help to the Russian
Armies along their advancing front
from Leningrad to the Black Sea.
We know, too, that we are contrib
utlng to that advance by making
Germany keep many divisions in the