The Wilmington morning star., 1944-04-30
Interpreting
The War
BY KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press War Analvs.

As Vie Way LAY weekend ar.
rives for war tortured Eurone
crescendo of Allied bombing oyoa
Hitler's roofless continental fort
ress is thunderously proclaimin,
to friend and foe alike that tbs
hour of Anglo-American invasinn
is close at hand.
Day and night for two nm
weeks, big and medium bombe~s
and their fighte- escort umbrella,
have roared out of sealed.off Brit
ain to dump destruction in tbou
sand-ton lots on Nazi Atlantic wall
fortific atoms along the coast and
far behind it on critical war in
dustry and communication cen.
tiers.
The final softening-up air blast.
ing to open the way ashore for
British and American ground
troops getting set in England for
the epic amphibious assault al.
pears to be full course. Its cn.
mulative effects are revealed !,
weakening Nazi air resistance and
the storm of conjecture in Ger.
many as to where and just when
the first overseas invasion blows
will fall
German speculation, as reported
from Nazi-ringed neutral observa.
lion posts, deals mostly with the
place, the weather and the ocean
tides and moon cycles must plav
in Allied strategic and tactical
plans for the invasion.
Best In May
The same factors appear TO i'm.
press Russian commentators.
From both sources, and we'll back.
ed by the almanac, comes the
thought that physical conditions
along the Channel and North sea
coasts of the continent will be
right for action during May.
May-time conditions also should
be suitable in Russia from the
Baltic to the Black sea for a syn.
chronized Red army attack. The
lull at err the great Russian winter
offensive crashed through to the
Carpathians to split the German
eastern army in two is in Itself
significant. Moscow has not ad.
mitted that it has ended DESPITE
Nazi and Romanian assertions
that the battle is on again in pow.
erful Russian drives at the Galati
gateway to the Balkans.
The significance of the Russian
halt lies in the probability that
it marked preparations for tran.
sition from winter to springsum.
mer campaigning. May is the
weather transition period there.
The mud and floods of April pass
and the heat of summer has not
yet developed. Russian reorgani.
cation and re-equipment for the
spring campaign and the
linking up of bat'le-v'recked and
extended communication lines
foreshadow even more tremendous
battles to come soon in the east
keyed in with Allied invasion as
saults in the west.
One notable aspect of the mighty
Allied air attack as it progresse.
day by day and night by night
is tn e greater concentration
against rail hubs serving the At
iantic wall enemy defenses. Real
echelon air fields also are coming
in for repeated poundiAgs as well
as plane factory centers deeper
in the Nazi fortress. Plotted Oh
continental maps these attacks Of
fer no discernible indication
where the final phase of the ali
concentration will develop to cove
actual landing operations. A1e'
air cohorts still seem huntlng l0
enemy targets so critical as Il
force the reluctant LuftWaffe up II
defend them.
1t can be assumed that at som'
point there will be sudden com
plete shift in Allied tactics to mas
the full weight of combined Ans-o
American air power over and De
hind selected landing poin S; ol
there is no indication yet OF maj
Not until it comes, nor until bet
lin can be certain it Is not le'
Or tactical diversion move ca
Hitler's generals know certaln5
where the invasion Crisis WI
come, certain as they may lee
that it is only weeks at most away