Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-12-03
Opening of Red Offensive
On Eastern Front Awaited
Early Defeat of Nazis Held Contingent Upon
Russian Drive Synchronized With Present
Campaign From West
By Constantine Broyn

American strategists are looking
toward the East for an indication that
the Russian armies are about to begin
their steamroller march across the
Vistula River toward the heart of Ger
many. Unless such an offensive is
launched in the near future the results
of the present about drive on the west
ern front may be less fruitful than has
been anticipated.
Next Tuesday 1t will be one year since
President Roosevelt, Prime Minister
Churchill and Premier Stain completed
their military and political converse
tions at Teheran which restored the
full harmony among the big three and
brought about the present operations
on the western front.
The details of those momentous meet
ings were kept jealousy guarded for
several months. The conferences now
have become history and some of the
participants recently have felt free to
tell what happened.
Premier Stain and Prime Minister
Churchill did not see eye to eye about
the strategy to be adopted for the final
defeat Of Germany. The British leader
advocated a campaign across the Medi-
terranean, with British and American
troops attacking Germany from the
south, through Italy and the Bal
kans. This operation, according to Mr..
Churchill and his military advisers,
may have been longer than a direct
attack across the Channel through
France and the LowlanGs But it pre-
sented the great advantage of being
less costly in lives and also in bring
ing into the war an additional ally,
Turkey, with more than 100000 men.
Stain Opposed Plan.
Premier Stain was definitely OPP
posed to this plan. The Balkans with
their inadequate lines of communica-
ton were not as good base of opera
tons as Western Europe. From the
military point of view, the Balkans,
Stain said, are inconsequential and
Turkeys assistance would be bound to
be only nominal The Russian leader
who says all he has to say in a few
crisp sentences, stated: Our object is
to defeat Hitler as quickly as possible
There Is only one way to do this. The
American and British forces must ex-
pend all they have and break him
from the west. We shall do the same
from the east. Caught between these
huge forces, the Hitlerites are bound
to collapse in short time"
President Roosevelt and his military
advisers, who had known since the
Casablanca meeting that America
eventually would have to finish the
main effort to defeat the Axis and that
American troops and war material
would be required to do the job
favored Premier Stains strategy. Lo-
gistically, the Mediterranean front
meant at least another 1000 miles added
to our lines of communication, a very
important consideration from the mill
tary point of view.
Moreover, Mr.. Roosevelt and his polit-
ical advisers who accompanied him to
Teheran-Harry Hopkins and Ambassa-
dor Wynant-realize that politically the
Balkans were laden with dynamite. Mr..
Roosevelt joined his voice to that of
Premier Stain. The offensive in the
west was thus decided. 1t was fully and
solemnly agreed at that final military
meeting that the ofTensives of the
British and American armies in the west
and the drive of the Red Armies in
the east would be synchronized 1t was
fully understood that within a short
time after our landing in Normandy the
Russian steamroller, composed of at
least 300 and probably 400 divisions,
would start crushing the retreating
Germans.
Russian Drive Halted.
There was no immediate synchroni-
cation, however. The Russians waited
for the final results of the cross-Channel
invasion before putting their masses in
motion. In July the Russian armies
started their operations which took them
to the gates of Warsaw. But to the great
astonishment of all the American and
British strategists the Russian avail
anche did not continue beyond Praga,
the suburb of Warsaw on the eastern
bank of the Vistula.
Instead, a force estimated at about
1,250,000 men was transferred to the
south and the Russian conquest of the
Balkans which had been described at
Teheran as an "inconsequential and un-
important battle area proceeded on a
large scale. Bulgaria, Romania. Yugo-
slavia and Hungary were targets of the
Reds nightly blows.
With the exception of the stubborn
resistance of Hungary, there has beer
little fighting in most of these Balkan
states, which eagerly accepted Russia's
liberation and integrated Immediately
their remaining weakened forces into
the Red armies. Another group Of
armies estimated at about 100000 mer
was ordered by Moscow to proceed tt
the north. Finland was easily con.
quered and now the Muscovite force.
are in process of bringing into tn,
Soviet Union the Baltic states which
had been occupied after June. 1941 b.
the Nazis.
Unlike in the World War, there i
no coordination of strategists anon,
all the Allies. The American ant
British armies have a center wher
strategy is decided. There is the com
bined chiefs of staff organization i,
Washington composed of an equa
number of American and British chic
strategists. Gen. Eisenhower, the com
mander in chief Of all Allied forces il
the West, and Marshal Sir Harold Alex
ander, the commander in chief of AL