Evening star., 1943-06-01
Germony's Satellites
Dropping Out Of War
Major Eliot Sees Strength
And Loyalty Of Allies
Of Hitler Decreasing
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot.

By Maj. George Fielding Eliot.
One Of the most significant military
signs of the times is the falling off of the
fighting strength of Germany's satellites.
Last year the German propagandists
were making much of the aid they were
receiving from Italy, Hungary and Ru-
mania against Russia, and the Nazi high
command was bringing great pressure to
bear on Bulgaria to do likewise, though
they were unsuccessful.
Now we are informed by Prime Minis
ter Churchill that the total number of
satellite divisions on the Russian front
this year is only %. This is remarkable
change and merits analysis in some
detail
To begin with, there are IL Finnish
divisions on the Russian front, held there
by geographical and political facts which
for the moment cannot be gotten around.
There is known to be one Slovak division,
and the remnants of the Spanish Blue"
division
That leaves total of IA divisions to
represent Italy, Rumania and Hungary.
Rumania had last year considerably
the largest contingent in Russia of any
of the satellite professionalism in the
vicinity of % divisions. Many of these
were captured or broken up during the
Stalingrad campaign, and advices from
Russia place the Rumanian contingent
now at 'less than 10 divisions" Probably
the Rumanians have about eight divi-
sions still in Russia.
That means that of a total of nine
Italian and seven Hungarian divisions
known to have been in Russia last year,
only six are left. Thus the Germans have
lost about two-thirds Of their satellite
reinforcements for the main theater OF
operations in Russia.
This Is serious loss. 1t was, of course,
inevitable that the Italian troops should
be recalled for the defense of Italy as
that country for the first time became
Immediately threatened with invasion. It
was likewise inevitable that the Hungar-
Ian and Rumanian governments should
find it difficult to explain to their peoples
why their troops had been deliberately
sacrificed by the Germans as they were
In Russia and should find difficulty in
getting recruits to fill up the ranks. But
it will be noted that these difficulties
have arisen because of Allied victories.
They are the direct fruits of Stalingrad
and of Tunisia Germany has exposed
her allies to the flercest blows of war, and
under those blows the satellite powers
are crumbling.
Obviously the governments and the
peoples Of those powers have lost their
belief in German invincibility and are
of no mind to suffer further themselves
in losing cause
When the day of reckoning comes for
the master criminal, there is always a
race among his accomplices to see which
shall be the first to turn states evidence,
or at least to seek safety in flight. That
Is natural human reaction. AS long as
the satellites expected to profit by the
crumbs which fell from the masters
table, they were willing to fight on the
masters side. Now there are no crumbs
in prospect, and there is no more fight
left in the satellites.
1t was so in the last war Turkey and
Bulgaria were the first of the Central
Powers to yield, and then Austria Hun
gary In this war, it looks as though
Italy might be the first, and the defec-
tion Of Italy from the German cause
would very likely be followed by that OF
Bulgaria
AS previously remarked in these arti-
cles, the loss to the German cause of the
Italian troops in the Balkans, plus an
equivocal attitude on the part of Bull
garia. might very we'll result in al Allied
invasion of the Balkan Peninsula, and in
such case it is evident that the Ger
mans could not look for much hope from
Rumania or from Hungary, still less from
such puppet states as Croatia and Slo-
vakia
1t was all very we'll when the master
criminal was riding roughshod over the
unready constables. But now he is beset
by the forces he so rashly defied and as
always the first impulse of his accom-
plices is to 'get right" with the law. In
criminal circles neither gratitude nor
loyalty are likely to be dominant virtues.
Copyright, 1943, BY New York Tribune. Incl