Evening star., 1944-10-01
War Review
Stiff Nazi Defense
Holding Allies
By Houard p. Bailey.

s011ASLlCQ 0GKulAn QelcOScS 4lOul
the entire length Of the Siegfries
Line last week, the approach Of bat
weather, which has restricted al
activities, and a semipessimistll
statement by winston Churchill ol
the possible length OF the war II
Europe combined to debate some.
what the optimism Of those whit
have looked for victory over tn,
Nazis within the next few weeks. +
The smashing Of the British ls
Air-Borne Division at Arnhem ant
a temporary setback for 1t. Gen
Patton's American Sd Army, which
was forced to yield a hard-won toe.
hold In the important fort OF Driant
which guards the approaches tt
Metz, served further to increase the
doubts concerning an early victory
There was every evidence that the
Nazis are fighting desperately te
hold OF the general invasion OF
Germany until after winter sets in
hoping that the time thus gained
may temper the extreme demand OF
unconditional surrender. In fact
last week in the House of Commons
there was some debate over whether
peace terms might not be made less
stringent.
In Berlin Propaganda Minister
Goebbels used the reports Of Secre-
tary Morgenthau's plan for postwar
Germany, which were described as
reducing Germany to land of small
farms with no industry at all, as a
spur to incite the Nazis on to great
er efforts to resist.
Yanks 50 Miles From Essen.
Whatever the reasoning back of
the Nazi continuation In the war,
there was plenty of evidence that
those defending the soil of Germany
are bringing fresh fury to bear in
their resistance.
New landings by parachutists be-
hind German lines were reported
Monday, when American units
dropped into the Reichswald Forest
southeast of firmly held Nijmegen.
This particular sector is about SO
miles from Essen, badly battered
home Of the great Krupp arma-
ments industry.
All day Monday along the entire
line from Holland to Switzerland,
the Nazis counterattacked fiercely
but despite the power of the defense,
Patton made some gains near Bac.
carat, % miles southeast Of Nancy,
and Patch consolidated his position
to strike at Belfort Gap.
On Monday, also, Gen. Eisenhower
called on alien labor now employed
In German war plants to be prepared
for action. He warned that none
should remain in the war plants be-
cause Of the imminence of heavy air
raids and the workers were urged to
slip away into hiding.
Germans Lost 1,000, 900.
On Tuesday, summary of Ger
man losses was issued indicating
that since D-day, the Nazis have lost
1,000, 900 men, 10000 Of whom have
been killed, 100000 badly injured,
500,0 900 taken prisoners and the rest
sealed of In the Channel Islands.
An additional 200, 900 face entrap-
ment in Holland as the British and
Canadians drive toward complete
isolation Of the garrisons along the
coast.
Wednesday brought the tragic
revelation of the debacle which re-
suited from the effort of the British
air-borne force to seize and hold
Arnhem to secure the path leading
around the end of the Siegfried Line
and to the heart of the Ruhr Valley.
Dempsey's British I'd Army had bat
tied with all it had to make contact
with the pocket of skytroopers, but
the German forces intervening
proved too powerful, and filthy flying
weather barred reinforcing and re-
supplying the pocketed troops. Final
ly. all hope gone, about 1000 of the
skytroopers made their way back
across the river leaving most Of their
wounded and thousands of others
behind as prisoners. The Nazis
claimed total of / 500 British killed
and $3.50 prisoners.
As the week closed, despite the re-
verses suffered by the Allies earlier,
substantial progress was made, con-
sidering the violence and strength of
the defense. The American Sd and
7th Armies had made important
gains in Alsace-Lorraine. Patton's
troops smashed 50 German tanks
to push forward toward four main
paths through the Vosges Mountains
toward the Rhine, and Patch moved
to within II miles of Belfort. The
British were advancing westward
across Holland to complete the tran
being sprung on the coastal gar
risons. Calais apparently is about
to fall into Allied hands, the Brit
1sh granting a short armistice to
the Nazis holding the port to per-
init evacuation of the civilian popu-
lation. -
Allied bombers by the hundreds
poured fresh destruction down on
German war industries and on
transportation facilities. The wealth
er which barred aid to the Arnhem
skytroopers did not halt the big
oombers striking inland.
Allies Land in Albania.
In the Balkans fresh trouble is
developing rapidly for the Nazis and
there is increasing probability that
the troops now occupying Greece
VIII be isolated and eliminated. AL
hed landings Gin what strength has
not been discloseO were made ali
along the coast of Albania. These
troops who had powerful sea and air
support are said to have made con-
tact with Tito's Partisans, leaving the
Germans only narrow escape route
between the Allies to the south and
the Russians who have entered
Yugoslavia from the north in the
neighborhood of the Iron Gate. The
Nazis must move between these clos
ing points through terrain pocketed
with Partisan units set to hammer
tne retreat. Greek forces have re-
sumed action on some of The more
remote Islands with good effect
Both Russian forces operating
from Romania and Yugoslayia have
Ieached the Hungarian border and
invasion OF that unhappy Hitler sat-
elite fror1 fha e1,,&L -