The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-04-09
Interpreting
The War
BY KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press War analvs,

A Russian-Allied siege ring +,
virtually complete about Hitler,
inner fortress and foreshadov,,
possible early collapse of the Bal,
Fan segment of the Axis defen,iv.
arch.
The junction was effected N
southeastern Rumania when Amor,
lean heavy bombers based in ItaIy
started blasting such Nazi supoIy
hubs as Bucharest and Ploest =,
indicated specific Russian ceques+
There were int'mations from bo.b
London and Naples that Allied AIR
power is to play an increasingly
important role in the Balkans a,
the Russian advance into RUM.
MIA develops.
1t is the first staff implementa.
ton of the strategic design for
three-front war on Germany laid
al Teheran. 1t makes the Allied
air bombardment of Hungarian
and Rumanjan targets the most
significant development of last
week in the European war theater
Repeat Bombings
There were repeat Allied bomb.
lngs from Italy of Bulgarian tar
gets also during the week. Sinea
Bulgaria is not at war with a,g.
STA, however, they fall into a dit.
ferent category although they
serve to illustrate the fact that
Bulgaria rather than doubly war.
stricken Rumania, now under the
heel of the Nazi boot, is the weak,
est link in Hitler's Balkan mill.
tary hegemony.
Berlin likely is more worried
about Bulgaria than Rumania, and
with good reason. Sustained Al,
lied air attack on Navy communi.
cations in Rumania could make
Bulgarian railroads urgently nee
essary for Nazi use to bolste. her
Black sea flank. German use Of
the roads unopposed by the Bul.
garian auth critics would create a
Russian Bulgarian crisis. That
too, with Russian armies in Ru.
mania moving down toward the
Observation-Disclosures border.
There seems little hope of more
than unorgsnized guerrilla resist.
ance to the NaZis in Rumania, for
the present at least. The Nazi coup
that took over a wavering Rumani,
an war ally was apparently COM
plete. German military deploy.
ments in the country and its close
proximity to the Reich itself made
that possible.
Similarly swift complete Nazi oC.
cupation of Bulgaria would be less
easy. 1t is more remote from Ger
maryland more disaffected due
to the Russian leanings of its peo.
pie. The Bulgarian army is intact,
having contributed nothing to the
iIl-starred Nazi war effort against
| Russia.
In Washington, President Roose-
welt noted enthusiastically during
the week the swift Russian pro.
gress. He said to press confer
ence that the Red army advance
to the Caroathjans had given The
Russians more places to 60 - to
the west, The southwest or the
south.
Geographically translated west
would mean a Russian drive north
of the Carpathians into western
Poland and toward Germany
own pre-war frontiers. That is even
row impending in the LWoW sec
tor. Southwest would mean the
drive into Rumania's Danube val
icy via the Galati gateway now
in progress. That is h route
from the east fer Russian thrust
across the top Of the whole Bal
kan peninsula to meet an always
possible Allied invasion from the
west.
The Presidents reference to 2
possible Russian drive south is not
so clear. Short of a Russian march
irto Rumaaia's southern neighbor
Bulgaria, there remains in that d.
rection only the Rumanian Black
sea coast from the Dniester to the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS border to be
taken. That gives Mr.. Roosevelt
words a possible ominous signili-
canoe for Bulgaria. It amounts TO
a cryptic warning of what mlgh,
happen if she fails to desert her
Nazi alignment in time, or affords
Germany any aid d conlor!
against Russia.
"