The Wilmington morning star., 1943-12-19
INTERPRETIVE
The War
By kIRKE =. sINpso,.
Associated Press War =, Sun

4 81 n
i'll i'll. shadows ;g the opening Of V oss'a
mas week, but otherwise " y ca'@
much to cheer the United , Ts i
war fellowships on all fr fro N,a'ioa
Britain's stout-hesrted WINS. 'S
er again was stricken v fbI Nat
monia at the moment WIZ ,+' pn's
seasoned guidance, lno,a nel ny
spirit and tremendous driyir 'r'ls''
er were most needed to br + p' n
nea-KusSlan and Allied-Chne,,sss A.
dertakings at Teheran ana l'I T., "a
to complete frultion asains. V q
many and Japan. 0e'I
Yet there was little ra.,..
expect delay in tie executio,
any part of the two-phase mi mill.
program worked out by conn., r't
ences OF the closely knit alGar -S'
Time is too important a fac. a,''
permit any postponements ' II
hopes of shortening the wsr
to be realized. I"
Selected Lieutenants
1t must necessarily be firm. g.,
the strategic directjvos mapno5 w..
Teheran included selections n Nv
lieutenants CT tie three leadins ~.
ures, Roosevelt, Churchill and G..
lin, to carry ou, the Russisn.Aw.,
plans for an integrated threw,
assault On the foe
Churchilrs illness probabIv h.,
deferred indefinitely his schedn,s Ia,
Christmas season accounting :.
Parliament on his war stew
ship which probably would bay.
explained the relatively sIow.mn.
ton Allied advance Up the Jt,,i,,
boot. '''
There has been caustic criticism
voiced in Parliament over that III,
last upsurge came on the eve A,
disclosure in London Of Churcbilr,
illness. The answers made in HE
behalf, pointing to terrain diffcm.
ties, the effect of winter weatbe,
upon the progress Of the battle
obviously. were stop-gap state.
ments. His parliamentar spokes.
men seemed to he leaving further
Qualification to Churchill, himself
His illness probably will still that
criticism for a time. But there
cannot pc much doubt that it still
is seething and that the shock Of
now disclosed Allied personnel and
shipping losses in the Nazi bomb.
ing of the Bari entry port for 9Th
Army reinforcementS and su2.t5
sooner or later will push it into
the open
diversion Effort
AS a matter Of TACT it long has
seemed that the hnglo-Amercan
invasion of the lteH1n mainland
primarily was a diversion effort
from the start.
That campaign, however, knock
ed Italy quickly out Of the war
and secured the f'oggia plain ali
bases for tWo-Way combardmen
of German cities. industries AM
vital war communications centers
It also has imposed the three
of other continental lnvasions SOol
to follow in the south on the Maj
high command, whether in the Bal
kans, on the south coast of France
or elsewhere.
1t has definitely ard increasingly
shaken the Nazl satellite structure
in Bulgaria, Rumania and HUI
gary. 1t has drawn Turkey no.
mentously closer to some form Of
participation in the war against
Germany
But most of all. it compelled
heavy Nazi Withdrawals in planes
and troops from the Soviet 'front.'
at a critical moment for the nus
slams.
The stunning successes OF the
Russians from the Volga to me
Dnieper and beyond are IN sonle
measure traceable 10 that Allleo
campaign in Italy Ii IS unqueS,
tionably a vital element IN tle ~"
integrated Russlan-Ailed strategy
design plotted at Teheran. AND w.
primarily. it still may De y"
version offensive.
The one thing utterly clear ANU.
the Italian campaign is that 1t was
planned, and is being fought ~l~'
out prejudice TO Allied pfepaI51.
tons for a second-front aSssI.
from the west. There is no ol INK,
logical explanation for the lacl , l,,i
with well-established Allied co4uJ "
of the air and undisputed Allss
domination CT the seas that %a%
the Italian coasts, there nave p''+
no major sea-born sweeps a ,.,
either end OF the Nazi defense HUE
to seize heachheads in its rea'' =.
With a crisis close at manu- -
Russia as the season Tor "lH's INV,
battle nears the Allied DIVERS ".
role in Italy is doubly lmpol''''