davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1944-05-15

The difficulty begins with second and
third rank Nazis, an unknown number
Of whom have simply taken party mem
bership to protect bureaucratic positions.
To find out the truth about these men
will be an impossible task if left to
British and American officials alone,
aided only by questionnaires and the
American system of sworn affidavits.
Even with heavy penalties for false
statements, this will not function for
real Nazis
Our objective will be to prevent
"chaos." But what do we mean by
chaos? In the first stage, chaos would
mean impediments to- operations of our
troops. In the two first stages it will be
necessary to prevent chaos in food dis
tribution. In other words, all technical
and economic matters must go on as
smoothly as possible.
But there is no possibility of new
regime emerging in Germany without
vast political chaos. Take the courts.
The administration of justice will be
important from the outset and the
drastic purging of the courts is essen
tial even if it produces considerable
chaos, for otherwise Nazis will intrench
themselves, under whatever guise, in
judgment over their co-nationals. The
same is true of the educational system
The most fundamental task, however,
is the breaking of the terror system
1t is estimated that the SIS army
contains at least 650,000 people. The
! party has complete military and civil
system paralleling the military and
civil system OF the state. The surrender
of the German Army does not involve
the surrender Of the Party army, which
is not even under the high command
The Party army and system will go
underground. And we shall need much
help from the German population in
exhuming and destroying this network
which is thoroughly trained in revolu-
tionary methods. This terror machine
is not profession. Its members are in
all sorts of Offices And if these men
remain alive and at large they will keep
their network intact-and rebuild it
as they are doing In American prison
camps, They can even function under
the most perfect foreign military dis
cipline-perhaps function best under
K And to that, considerable amount
of chaos would be preferable.
released by the Bell Syndicate.)
Evening star., 1944-05-15
This Changing World
By Constantine Brown

The heaviest burden of the assault
against Europe will fall on the Allies
air and ground forces, but the American
and British navies are expected to do
great deal more than convoy supply
and transport ships to the invasion
bases
The larger part of the British Navy
is concentrated in the invasion waters.
BattleShips, cruisers and auxiliaries of
all types have taken up their battle
stations and are ready to blast away
at the German wall with their heavy
guns. Lighter craft are kept in readi-
ness to fight off any Nazi attempt
to use Speedboats and submarines as
important weapons to oppose the
landing barges in the early days of the
invasion and permit the safe arrival of
supply and transport ships in ports now
occupied by the enemy
The German high command has in
dicated that among its many secret
weapons will be some entirely new types
of submarines and speedboats with a
short cruising radius but with effective
power.
The question of secret weapons is
open to all kinds of speculation which
ranges from the statements that the
Germans have prepared some very I'M
pleasant surprises for the Allies to state
ments that there is nothing the Ger
mans now have which is not known to
the Allied planners who already have
adopted countermeasureS.
In many naval quarters it is be-
lieved, however, that the Germans
may have been able to construct a
larger number of submarines of small
tonnage-possibly on the japanese
two-men submarine pattern with which
we first became acquainted in Deem
ber, 1941, at Pearl Harbor-to interfere
with the sending of the first assault
waves from the invasion ports to the
beaches of Western Europe. Such
ships might be an improvement on the
Evening star., 1944-05-15
Initial Stages of Battle
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot

he cannot change it; for troops COM
mitted to action, especially in such coun-
try as we are now fighting in, cannot
thereafter change their direction of ad-
vance, or be withdrawn and put into
action elsewhere in time to be of any
influence on the outcome of the battle.
The commander of the defense, for his
part, will also have a reserve under his
hand. His first care must be not to frit-
ter it away under the Immediately
insistent demands of the front line. He
will at once find every sector COM
mander clamoring for reinforcements.
He must Judge these demands with
respect to the military character of the
officers concerned the ground, and the
general conditions of the action as a
whole. He must give help where it is
absolutely essential he must give up
ground in order to gain time when that
is the better course; he must try to
draw the attacker into position favor
able for counterattack and he must try
above all else to beat the attacker to
the final punch.
A really successful general counter
attack is one which SmaShes a good
part of the original attacking forces
and Is able to restore, in whole or in
part, a strong defensive position before
the main reserve of the attacker Is put
into action This, in effect is beating
the attack in detail, piece by piece.
1t should be obvious, from what has
been said, that many hours or even
days may elapse before the final show
down In a great battle takes place. In
this case. Gen. Alexander undoubtedly
has the greater force. His object Is the
destruction of the German army in
Italy. He will keep piling on the power,
striving to force Marshal Kesserling
to commit at least part of his re-
serve in driblets to patch up the line
here and there; the alternative, Of
course, being such deep penetrations as
will break up the front-lne organization
into fragments.
Gen. Alexander has two main groups
of reserves-one under his hand in
South Italy the other in the .Anzio
beachhead. His plan undoubtedly cul-
inmates in an development of the Ger
man forces by concentric movement of
his superior forces from the south and
from the west 1t may also include a
new landing on the coast, or an air.
borne landing.
Marshal Kesserling will be seeking to
avoid development. He must have in
his mind the possibility that he may
have to retreat north of Rome. He prob
ably has fixed schedule of times and
places which must be maintained, and
which, If not maintained, will be his
signal for general withdrawal. Mar
shal Kesselring's object is entirely mega
tive. He cannot hope to destroy Gen.
Alexander. The best he can hope fol-
Is to stay roughly where he is.
(copyright, 1914. New York Tribune, Inc.)
Evening star., 1944-05-15

Japanese types and might cause us
some embarrassing moments at the
start. In view of the fact that they
will have to operate in relatively mar
row waters, the defense will not be as
difficult as the Germans wish to in
dicate. The Allies have such large
numbers of speedboats of all types that
there> is no serious concern over the
damage the Nazi boats might infiict.
For several months, German sub
marines with a long cruising radius
have been inactive. They have occa-
sionally attacked Allied conveys but
on the whole they have kept at a safe
distance from the escorting vessels and
planes.
This does not mean, according to some
naval observers, that the German sub
marine force has been so depleted that
1t can no longer go into action. The
general belief is that the German naval
command has not risked a substantial
part OF its U-boat fleet in view of the
forthcoming invasion. Since last fall q
number Of German submarines have
oeen sunk and prisoners have been
taken. The men are said to have been
mostly young men, especially the off,
GERS But these prisoners appear more
cocky and determined than early in 1943
and seem to be imbued with the notion
that the German navy has not yet
shown what it can do.
Allied air bombardments unquestion-
ably have impaired the Reichs con-
struction program. But from available
reports it appears that a number of
smaller yards are still able to operate
All construction of ships other than
submarines and very fast torpedo boats
something like our PTs-has been sus-
pended. The yards have devoted their
time exclusively to such constructions.
These ships are going to play an i'm
portant role in the German defense of
the Atlantic and in the Tyrrhenian and
the Adriatic Seas.
Evening star., 1944-05-15

AS we wait for further news from
Italy, let us remember that it is not
what happens in the first day or two
of a major offensive that really counts
barring miracles. An attacker can al
ways concentrate enough power to
smash into an opposing fortified zone
at some places and to certain depth.
The defender cannot be strong every
where, and the attacker has the inesti-
mable advantage of the initiative.
What counts is whether the attacker
has the reserves at hand to keep his
drive going, to exploit his initial gains
and to defeat the defenders attempts
at counterattack. This applies espe-
cially to counterattack by the enemy's
main strategic reserve.
We already have heard of fierce
German counterattacks" on the 9th
Army front. But these represent Moth
ing more than frontline German COM
pany commanders putting in their sup
porting platoons to recapture bit of
lost ground; or at most, a battalion
commander putting in his reserve COM
pany. These local counter-ope
must always be expected and they
must, of course, in the net, be over
come in order that the attack may
make progress. Also, it Is to be ex-
pected that the attack will penetrate
more deeply at some places than at
others.
The depth of penetration will be af-
fected by the character of the enemy re-
sistance, the ground, the weather, and
the weight of attack. In an attack on
a broad front, as in the present case,
if the attacker can penetrate deeply
where he wants to, or at least in one
or two places where he wants to, he is
setting the stage for victory, even though
he is held up in other places. On part
of the front, he will be making holding
attackS'-pinning down enemy forces so
they cannot be shifted to decisive points,
and keeping the enemy in doubt as to
the points where the attacker really
means to seek a decision
While these initial stages of the fight
ing are in progress, the commander of
the attacking force will be studying the
situation, checking off the advances
made, and holding under his hand his
reserve dlViSions-the forces which must
strike the decisive blow. He will, of
course, have a plan for the use of these
divisions He will know where he means
to put them in. This plan may be modi-
fed to some extent by the development
of the action: Thus one route of ad-
vance may prove hopeless, while another
which was thought impracticable may
unexpectedly open up,
The commander must judge all the
conflicting elements of battle carefully
and coolly, and he must make his deci-
sion as to the time and place of the
commitment of his main reserve with
the utmost care. Once he has made 1t,
Evening star., 1944-05-15
New Druft Rules

The revised draft regulations re-
Gently announced by Major General
Lewis B. Hershey, director of selec-
tive Service, are generally COM
mendable.
These changes were dictated by
the declining overall manpower re-
quirements of the armed services and
the special need for younger men
as combat requirements. Under the
new regulations, which General
Hershey, having in mind the un-
predictable demands of war, de-
scribes as "permanent-at least for
today" every man has reasonably
clear picture of his draft status.
If he is under 26 and not literally
irreplaceable in his present work,
or in a deferrable agricultural cate
CORY, he may have every expecta-
ton of being called up. Those in
the age group 26 through % are
deferred for at least six months,
while those over 20, generally speak
ing, may be deferred indefinitely.
All of this, of course, is subject
to alteration by changing military
conditions. 1t may also be affected
by conditions in individual draft
areas, since the local boards still
retain maximum of discretion.
But, by any standard, the new regu-
lations constitute a definite and
welcome improvement over the con-
fusion which has prevailed in the
past.
Unfortunately, however, it is evi-
dent that Selective Service still is
being used for civilian disciplinary
purposes when it ought to be con-
fined to the attainment of legiti-
mate military objectives.
General Hershey's statement car
ries the threat that men 80 and
over may be inducted if not in
essential work or are found wasting
their skills. The armed services do
not want these men. They would be
inducted merely as punishment for
pot making their maximum contri-
button to the war effort. However
desirable it may be to channel men
into essential work, the Selective
Service Act was not adopted for
that purpose and it should not be
perverted to that end Such misuse
OF the law has been the source of
much trouble in the past, and the
result will not be different in the
future.
Evening star., 1944-05-15

is to be trained in American prin-
ciples of responsible self-dependency
and integrity, the task cannot be
left to the grade schools exclusively.
There must be adequate provision
for the cultivation of the instinct
of self improvement in the upper
levels of academic endeavor. A
casual visit to Hampton, Tuskegee,
MorehouSe or Fisk will suffice to
convince any doubter. The work of
these and other institutions of the
same general class is outstanding,
and its benefits are not limited
to Negroes. 1t influences the entire
Nation to the profit of every con-
Stituent element.
Headquarters for the campaign
are at 38 East Fifty-seventh street,
New York City.
Evening star., 1944-05-15
Monsoon Race

The quickening tempo of the
fighting along the Indo-Burmese
border is obviously dictated by the
imminence of the monsoon. That
rhythmic season of torrential rains
and high winds varies little from
year to year. Already it's advent has
been heralded by spasmodic squalls
and thundershowers When the
steady downpour really sets in, val
ley floors become lakes, while the
surrounding jungle is transformed
into a Shiny inferno of mud, venom
Gus insects and pestilential fevers.
Under such conditions, military
operations become virtually impos-
sible. Troops must seek shelter in
infrequent towns and villages, de-
pending on accumulated supplies
where they are out of touch with
railways or the very few "all-
weather" metalled roads.
This stern necessity is seen in the
swift retirement of the British
forces operating along the coast of
the Bay of Bengal against the Jap
anese-held port of Akyab. Last
spring, in a similar venture, they
stayed too long and suffered severely
before they got back across the
Indian border to their own base at
Chittagong.
The japanese further north in
the Manipur region are in reverse
posture. The success of their inva-
sion of this border Indian state
depended upon their ability to take
the capital city of Imphal and
beStride the high road which runs
from the border to the Assam Valley.
Their failure to do this threatens
to leave them stranded, with their
improviSed supply routes over hill
and jungle washed out by the mon
soon rains. This accounts for their
desperate assaults on British posi-
tions around Imphal and Kohima,
regardless of losses.
Climatic imperatives are also OBJ
vious in the complex struggle staged
in Northern Burma. There, mixed
force of Americans, British and
American-trained Chinese under
our own General Stilwell have been
pressing the Japanese steadily
southwark, building a weather-proof
highway as they advance which they
hope ultimately to connect with the
famous Burma road into China. In
this objective they have been assist
ed by British and American units
dropped by transport plane deep in
the jungles behind the japanese
lines. But such commando tactics
will have to stop with the monsoon,
while road-building must halt until
the rains cease in the autumn. If
the japanese can hold their railhead
bases of Myitkyina and Mogaung,
they will be in better posture than
their opponents.
Thus the curtain is about to de-
scend upon another years cam
paigning in one of the most difficult
war theaters in the world, where
climate masters man and dictates
the seasonal order of his goings.
Evening star., 1944-05-15
The New Diplomacy

From the New York Herald Tribune
In the bad old pre-1914 days, as is
we'll known, secret agreements were
secretly arrived at by certain sinister
professionals known as diplomats. That
reprehensible situation has long been
done away with; We now have agents"
instead of diplomats, the amateur has
replaced the professional, the discreetly
whispered conversation has yielded to
the press conference and the political
gossip column. Yet the results are at
times disappointing; too often, in place
of secret agreements secretly arrived at,
all we seem to have got is secret dis
agreements openly arrived at, in fine
blaze Of publicity and popular bewilder-
ment. 1t is a question as to whether
this is any great improvement.
Evening star., 1944-05-15
College Appeal

The best indication of what
American Negroes wish to do in the
future probably is to be found in
the record of what they have done
in the recent past. No other group
in the whole history of the world
may be said to have accomplished
so much in so short while. There
is no need to cite statistics to prove
the increase of health, wealth, cul-
ture, constructive idealism and CO.
operation among colored citizens of
the United States within the life
span of living observers. 1t is a
fact which is part of the experience
of every thoughtful individual
But the end, of course, is not yet.
On the contrary, new chapter in
the history of Negro progress is
opening, and convincing evidence of
its power and vitality may be dis
covered in the United Negro College
Fund campaign which currently is
going on. Twenty seven leading
institutions Of learning have pooled
their interests so that single appeal
may be made for all. Walter Hoving
is chairman of the drive, John D.
Rockefeller, jr., chairman of the
Advisory Committee, and the Rev.
erend Dr. Anson Phelps Stokes a
member of the Executive Committee.
Such names insure the efficiency as
well as the high social character of
the endeavor. The goal is a rela-
lively small sum-only one and a
half million dollars.
Ten or twenty times that amount
usefully could be spent to develop
the facilities of education for which
hundreds of thousands of young
Negro men and women, boys and
girls, are reaching out. Less than
half of the potential student body
Is being accommodated under pre-
vailing conditions. Yet it requires
no argument that If Negro youth
Evening star., 1944-05-15
Ronge of Fighter Planes

The transcontinental flying rec
ord just established by two of the
Army's Psi Mustangs is dramatic
confirmation of the sensational
quality of this class of fighter planes
and of the amazing extension of the
range of combat aviation since the
start of the war. One of the two
roared across the country in six
hours and thirty-one and one-half
minutes, including time spent for re-
fueling at Kansas City. The other,
though eight minutes slower" had
the distinction of streaking clear
from Los Angeles to New York with
out single stop. The average speed
of the first was 378 miles an hour,
and of the second about 37O miles,
but both went occasionally faster
sometimes as fast as 430 miles.
On the strength of the Mustangs
battle performance in European
skies, this news is not altogether
surprising, for the machine has
been generally recognized for some
time as the best single engine
fighter in the world, and one of the
| SWifteSt. Yet last weeks trans
continental feat is an eye-opener in
the sense that it reveals the Psi
with range much greater than
| that heretofore aScribed to it. Last
January, when the first publicity
about it was allowed to pass the
censorship, it was credited with
being able to make round-trip COM
bat flights of about 800 miles. At
the time, that was considered out
standing enough, but now we know
that it can travel nonstop for at
least 2,470 miles.
In the light of the Mustangs per-
formance, it is interesting, even
astonishing, to recall that at the
outset of the war the range of
fighter planes, depending on models,
averaged anywhere from 200 to 400
miles at best. 1t was impossible
then to send any protective escorts
along with our big Allied bombers
attacking deep in enemy territory.
But the engineers have since
changed all that. With new designs,
better engines, special fuel-carrying
devices and numerous other i'm
provements, our fighters today can
accompany our bombers almost
anywhere.
This development has made life
Evening star., 1944-05-15
On the Record
By Dorothy THOMPSON

The revelation to American Journal
lists in London of what is being prepared
in the United States Army Civil Affairs
Training Center, Somewhere in Eng
land" to which will be intrusted civil
administration in Europe, comedies with
the opening of a new offensive in Italy
which may be augmented elsewhere be-
fore this column appears.
Thus the description of the adminis-
tration we intend to set up, especially in
conquered Germany, is beyond the
platonic stage. We intend to win, to
occupy, to administer. 1t will be the
most gigantic problem that has ever
confronted armies or policy making
bodies.
The revelations might well lead to a
heated debate, unless we all realize that
occupation and administration can only
be carried out by stages.
The stages are fluid, but obviously
there will be three: The first continu-
ing war stage, before our enemies &C
knowledge defeat and give up their
arms. In this stage, only military con-
siderations are admissible.
The next stage is bound to be tran
sitional The material for a completely
new civil administration will be nom
existent. In this stage, great regroup-
ings of the population will take place
We shall find millions of foreign work.
ers, who will have to be restored to
their own countries. There will also be
millions of refugees, who have been
moved out OF their normal homes, in
the most bombed centers-sonne OF
these homes no longer exist or are unfit
for tenancy. And other millions will be
added by flight from battle areas.
Under these conditions, 1t will be
absolutely necessary to keep an ad-
ministration functionipg.
But obviously the aim is to come to
a third stage, namely, to the total liqui-
dation of the Nazi regime, and the
creation of new one.
People who have the third stage in
mind will easily criticize the two others.
For in the first and second stages our
authorities have announced that they
intend to keep some Nazis in Office.
OF course, the leading Nazis will i'm
mediately be removed. That has been
announced. 1t should not be difficult
to know who they are since the NaZis
have, themselves, published Party Year
books, listing their most important party
officials.