Evening star., 1943-06-27


fleeing in search of a haven back in
land out of reach of the planes which
are scof11ng at Goebbels' claim that
the Axis is ready for any invasion.
Like the Maginot and the Mareth Lines,
which were considered almost impreg-
nable, the Nazi high command has pro-
claimed that the Allies will never be able
to breach the West Wall. The Maginot
Line was fianked by the German right
wing and the Mareth Line by the British
left wing. The West Wall is being passed
by the great armadas of bombers and
fighters which speed high above it to
accomplish with two or three hundred
or more bombers in half-hour what
great armies might be weeks or months
in attaining. the destruction of vital war
industries producing considerable por-
ton Of Germany's war needs for guns,
planes, rubber, fuel, motors and other
essentials.
There is no comparison between the
fighting for Pantelleria and that which
is underway for Europe" Herr Goebbels
continued, but 1t. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz.
commander of the North African Air
Forces, speaking at an advanced Allies
airbase, stated as emphatically that there
is no barrier to the advance of Allied
troops which cannot be reduced by the
air power which the Allies have in ample
strength.
That an invasion will come soon seems
to be the uppermost opinion in Berlin,
and Italy is picked as the most likely
spot for the invasion when it occurs.
From Allied sources there is no COM
ment other than a statement by Sec
retary of the Navy Knox that plans for
the attack in Europe are moving along,
statement which he made in answer
to question concerning the latest Rus
sian demand TOR a second front which
came in Moscow communique made
public last Tuesday. Moscow declared
that German nerves are shattered by the
constant raids on the Ruhr and that a
crisis is rapidly developing in Germany
and Italy. Badly shocked by the losses
on the Russian front. the defeat in
North Africa and the failure to attain
q single noteworthy success, the Nazis
are in condition which makes an in
vasion imperative now for a quick deci-
sion, says Moscow.
Lending emphasis to Secretary Knox's
statement and the assurances given the
Governors Conference at Columbus,
Ohio, Tuesday, by Gen. Marshall that
the initiative has passed to the Allies,
the British Broadcasting Co. urged the
French underground to keep alert for
the signal to start operations, one of the
most important of which would be the
wrecking of all trains carrying supplies
and troops to aid the Axis armies.
Great Allied concentrations in North
Africa, including unusually large num-
bers of paratroopers, and the wide field
of operations of Allied aircraft which
during the week struck from Sicily and
Sardinia, all the way to Salonika in
Greece, have caused a tremendous in
crease in the apprehensions of the Axis
leaders who know that the invasion is
sure to come, but can't figure when or
where. Latest estimates on the DISPOSE
ton of Axis forces place 100000 in Nor
way $4,000 in France and more than
l,O00, 900 in the Balkans, to say nothing
of the others in Belgium Holland and
Denmark and in italy and her islands,
all waiting and feeling the strain of
waiting because they are on the defensive
and must be prepared to meet the shock
of invasion at some time and place of
Allied choosing
AS the week closed, it was stated that
Germany has concentrated 10000 men
at Brenner Pass, the gateway from
Northern italy into Austria, indicating,
of course, a German fear that italy,
when, as and if invaded will fall quickly
and the Nazis are planning for the worst.