Evening star., 1944-01-16
German Morale to Determine
COStOf Continent Invasion
Still Powerful, Nazis Can Claim Heavy
Toll, Unless Spirit Breaks Under
Strain of Defeats and Bombings
By Constantine Brown.

By C0nSfan
While preparations for the Allied
invasion of Western Europe are being
completed, those responsible for the
forthcoming operations are studying
with the utmost care the actual military
power Of the Reich.
Official and unofficial statements have
warned the American people that they
must be prepared to hear of rivers OF
blood flowing on the beaches OF the
invasion points. According to some high
officials, the Allied Armies may lose as
many as 100000 men in the invasion of
France others ridicule this figure. Then
there are few responsible military
men who, while declaring that any
such estimate is arbitrary, say the figure
may even be conservative if the Nazis
fight with the same determination as
they have shown in Italy. 1t all de-
pends on the quality and morale of the
German fighting men.
On paper the German Army still is
formidable. 1t consists of about A.
lites, who in any case would not be in
volved in any fighting on the western
front.
The number of the Wehrmacht's tank
divisions has been increased threefold
since 1910, when France collapsed At
present it boasts some SO divisions. From
what we have seen in Italy the quality
of the German tanks is excellent.
More Than 5000 Planes.
German aviation is estimated at be-
tween 5000 and 5000 combat planes.
They are of the latest model, and the
Nazi fighter is regarded very highly by
the Allies. According to some, in spite
of the many raids which have brought
destruction to the German cities and
industrial centers, the Nazi plane
plants are capable of an even larger
output than at present
1t is said that production Is limited
because, defensively, the Luftwaffe does
not need more than 5000 machines.
The days of offensives and large-scale
bombardments have gone. The Ger
mans are on the defensive everywhere
and need relatively few long range
bombers. They are concentrating pri-
marily on fighter planes and must base
their numbers on the availability OF
trained fighter pilots. The restricted
production permits the Germans to
introduce new types of machines which,
if proven successful, can be placed in
mass production.
The German armament and ammu-
milton plants have suffered devastating
damage from the British American
raids. But it is likely that the Nazis
have been able to erect number OF
them in areas where they have not
been found by the Allies. Whatever
the situation may be there has been
little indication, that the German armies
are suffering from lack of war ma
terial or that their equipment and ma
terial is of poor quality. The stores
captured by us in Italy and by the Rus
slams on the eastern front are ample
evidence to this.
The quality of the German troops
however, is subject which recently
has aroused a good deal of two-sided
discussion among Allied men.
See No Real Victor.
Judging by the prisoners We and
the Russians have captured, the Nazi
soldier is the same sulky offensive and
arrogant man we saw in Africa or in
the early stages of the battle in Russia
He claims to be confident of victory
The officers are no different in their
attitude toward their captors, but ad-
nit that while there is little hope for
a Nazi victory, they are convinced that
neither we nor the Russians can bring
the Reich to its knees as was the case
in 1918. In order to do so, most of
the Nazi officers tell us, We shall have
to stand such losses that neither side
will be able to claim real victory.
Those who catalogue and examine the
various statements of the prisoners be-
ieve, however, that this spirit is to be
found principally among the crack di-
visions at the front.
ItCPOl 10 1IOAl N1Cl LldIiy JSu n
different story. While there are nc
positive signs that the army and the
people at home have become demora-
lized, 1t is obvious to observers that the
new Nazi army is no longer what it
was last year
The old soldiers who have been fight
ing since 1899 are tired. All had hoped
after the collapse of France, that the
war would be lover by Christmas" in
the same way they believed in peace
by Christmas" in the World War
The new. troops are composed of
youngsters who have been "indoctrinat-
ed" since childhood and of men who
have been working in factories and be-
FDu~r Du~H