The Wilmington morning star., 1944-05-20
Interpreting
The War
By KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press War AnaIvst

ASSooi"scu fIcSS war Analyst
Possible collapse of the vaunted
Nazi Adolf Hitler defense line !,
Italy in even less time than :.
took Allied troops to smash i,
Gustav forward wall doomed in ~
ficial reports and press accounts
from the seething peninsular fron4
as the battle rolled into its SECOND
week.
Critically denied in the right cAr
ter by French capture of SAM,
Olivia village on its commandia,
hill top south of the Liri, the whoIs
right wing of the German secon
GARY front below Rome appeared
doomed. Nazi evacuation of the Az
runci mountain pass and CO.,
point to escape entrapment SEEM,
ed expected by Allied Observer
to heigh;en the impression that
general German retreat up the ~
nlnsula may be impending if it has
not already begun. '
The lesser hills of the Anso,,;
mountains north of the cossfal
town of Terracina offer sor9a
chance OF another enemy stand on
the sea flank of the line. Thev ava
neither as formidable barrier n
frontal or flank attack a. the Ar,
runci cluster, however, nor arc
they as well served with road rom,
munications. An extemporized de.
fensive position there would also
be dangerously exposed to allied
attack from the rear from the An.
zio beachhead below Rome and
subject to the raking fire of Allied
naval guns.
A staff spokesman for the Allied
commander in Italy termed the
Nazi flight from the Auruncis "a
disorderly retreat" instead of a
withdrawal
There can be no serious quest on
that the Allied break-through to or
into the Hitler line is forcing the
enemy to a momentous decision.
He must stand and fight or begin
his retreat, abandoning the defense
CT Rome, before it is too late. And
the line on which to make that
stand now below the Pontine mar
shes would be both longer than
ether the lost Gustav or the crack,
ed Hitler line, and more vulaer.
able to thanking maneuvers.
II The Nazi decision to defend
Rome, once Allied forces had gain
ed a substantial footing on tho
Italian peninsula, always was cues.
tionable from a strictly military
standpoint in view of German COM
mitments on other over-extended
continental fronts. 1t can only be
ascribed to the belief Of Hitler and
: his advisers that loss of the Italian
boot would lead to the loss also
of the whole Balkan peninsula.
Obviously the Nazi commander
in Italy must look now to highest
Nazi authority for orders. His sit.
uation could become desperate
short of heavy reinforcements with-
. out delay, and there is little ID
warrant the thought that they car
be spared from other fronts even
if they could reach him in time ID
save Rome.
Far in the German rear up thu
peninsula Allied air forces have
been constantly mauling Nazi es'
sential communications for weeks
That is calculated to complicats
seriously the task Of extricatine
German armies if the retreat order
has already gone our. There il
evidence from neutral sources also
that Allied successes in Italy have
already stirred anti-Nazi element.
of the population into sabotage &C
tivity to add to German difficulties
The German armies in Russia
paid heavily for over delay in high
command orders for withdrawal
from positions already doomed
That also as true in Tunisia and
in Sicily and it could be repeated
on the Italian boot.
There is more than hint thai
Allied Italian headquarters expects
a general German retreat to start
at any moment, and race up the
peninsula to ensue with skillful
enemy rear guard actions baking
complete humiliation Of the foe.