The Wilmington morning star., 1943-05-03
interpreting
The War y
BY CARL C. CRAN,,,

ana moving into the Medit.s' S'
can betray German nervo,s 'aa'
over impending events sinO;1sne irOgsnea
that on November 7 when ,as pai %
and American conveys wera 0stsa
ing the beaches of North tae'f,
Not only the German hhH'a.
casts, but also the general W.T.. %o'd'
ancy Of the Soviet press whio5e't tSps''t
Deen given its cue by p,alla'
Stain, and the outright pres'1ls ssss
OF Gen. Henri Giraud, the Saq
commander-in-chief in North ~
ca, create the definite imnr.'&s
that May is to be one of S tbs ~
matte months of the war ~' %
It seems very doubtful tb,.
official Russian press, wbisS T,S, a'
mained aloof from the nerna u le
throughout 1912 when WasSin1H'' H'
and London were doing thair ths,i,is'a sall b
to scare the Nazis with the tbDsss usS
OF a second front, would be nrea' 4,,'
peting a coming blow from ,'us, m,
west unless it had everv T'll coss ne
dence that European inv.sis, .vi.,'
indeed is in the offing. INVASION
In the past week the R,ssi,,
papers have not only prenarsd J'.aq %
Russian people for a victorr ru 'as ie
North Africa comparable ' to n u
Red army's at stal.ngradi y s,s ns
they have hinted strongly at srsa. sa
events to come this month, '''''
In the last two days. Berlin y,
dio correspondents have rennr+.s NJ, 10,
a concentration of IS Allied tT:'sU tranS
ports and supply ships. manv n, S'ls, y,
them carrying landing barges VI y.
Gibraltar. Previously, they had
reported the departure into a th.
Mediterranean of three Brtis,
battleships and battlecrusers
three aircraft carriers. four crhs'
ers and eight destroyers, and t1ay
added that there was an almost
continuous flow of Allied arcrsf
through the Gibraltar airdrome in
the direction of the Medterran.
can.
| These German reports are in.
tended by no means for the infor.
nation of the American newspan.
er reader, but perhaps in the hone
of eliciting a few useful hints from
the Allied side. They cannot be re.
lied upon as accurate.
The first intimation Of the Al.
lied landings in North Africa how.
ever, came from Berlin broadcast;
reporting similarly large convoys
passing Gibraltar to the east.
Then, as now, the Germans
could only guess where the blow
would fall.
For months the British, Amer.
cans and French have been hH
ing up and equipping their a-s
in North Africa, and concH
which the Germans note msyM
intended for the same place
! It is interesting, however; that
Gen. Giraud is confident enough
of present United Nations strength
| in North Africa to predict that
"this month of May will see the
complete defeat of the Boche in
Tunisia.
/ He added that 1914 will see the
end of the 80 year war-Which be-
gan in 1914-and the Allied VIC
tory. In this he agrees with the
more cautiously expressed opln.
ion of Prime Minister Churchill
who ''imagines'' that the deatn
kneel of the Axis will be sounded
/, in 1914 although it might not be
, until 1915.
Giraud's optimism is despite Al.
lied failure to score break
through in the first push Of thef
offensive in Tunisia. The failure
, probably is due to several dayS
of bad weather which inter1errea
with their aerial operations, extra
ordinarily difficult transport conal'
tions in the mountains, ana uls
naturally strong positions held by
the Germans.
Allied progress the first Jew
days was as good or better 'aall
could be expected, and it is proo'
able that they will resume m .Ls
push in the next few days al'el
gathering fresh strength. Ihe ueI, =.
mans so far have been unable " "
take advantage of the lul u
launch successful counterollen'
sive and it looks bad for the ANS.
The news of the last few DAYS
suggests that the Germans are en. ~.
gagged in a desperate effort 10 Snn.
reinforcements and supplies nol ol
only to Tunisia but to the sehela, I.a
Mediterranean area to meet '''
next move. =,
Raids by Allied four-englnEd' , y
planes ON Grosseto. norln W ="
: Rome, and Bari, on the Adflau. ,laus,
Init Axis reserve and ferry oas,, ;r
where considerable enemy o4b an
: movements to the Tunislan or O,a -.
er Mediterranean areas may "'''
been observed.
Raids by Allied four,englns' sroe
planes on Gosseto, north OF n ho,xI ax,.
! and Bari, on the Adriatlc' MI tar. nn
reserve and ferry bases WIZ, o
considerable enemy air ilioss NV,
nents to the Tunisian or QUIZ QUIZ
Mediterranean areas may nav
been observed. :,
Allied airmen report that IN, a,
kinds of small craft are 0eu, CIV,
used to transport men anu 'ar nrJ
plies to Tunisia. These are anr nj
~ ,,okeshift iettleS d"'