Evening star., 1944-04-30
Victory May Come
Reasonably Soon
BIZ ODen L. Scott.

W tilc HlNdSiOH Ol 6urOpe Jllht soon
should be under way. One is that inva-
sion itself will be followed by a war OF
attrition in which German strength
gradually will be worn down. The other
is that invasion and its aftermath will
be an American-style blitzkreig that will
yield quick results.
All emphasis In reports to the public
Is upon the first view The country Ia
being warned that the war In Europe
may be only starting and that 1t really
can carry over into 1945 after a 1914
period of what will amount to trench
warfare. There is that possibility. Yet
there also is the possibility of very
rapid movement after invasion, carrying
with 1t the prospect Of an early climax
to the war.
The possibility of blitzkreig and of
an end to war in Europe during 1914 is
related to the strength that the United
States can throw into the scales.
This country possesses a land Army
of nearly 100000 men. Only small
segments of this Army have been used
to date. few divisions participated
in North Africa and a few more divi-
sions in Sicily and Italy There has
been no full-scale display of the power
packed by the bulk of American infan-
try divisions or by the air-borne troops
or by the rechanized forces. The
American Army has yet to demonstrate
the strength it has built up during
nearly four years Of preparation and
training. Invasion and its aftermath
will represent demonstration of that
strength and upon the showing made
Will depend the character and the
length Of the war that follows.
1t may be significant that in the two
full-scale demonstrations of American
power that have been made to date the
results have been highly satisfactory.
- *x
In one of those demonstrations. ARMY
Air Forces are rapidly driving the Ger
man Air Force from the sky. 1t was not
SO many months ago that the world
thought of the German Air Force as
1nv1ncible, or nearly so. The American
Air Forces recently have put on a DEM
onstration OF their power and the Ger
mans definitely are on the way out.
In the second of these demonstrations.
the United States Navy is chasing the
japanese Navy out of the greater part
OF the Pacific Ocean. For nearly two
years after war started, 1t appeared
that the japanese could have the Paci-
nc pretty much to themselves They
held hundreds of what were called "un-
sinkable" aircraft carriers, through
their occupation of most of the Pacific
Islands. Then, when the Navy had gath.
cred its strength, it struck and struck
hard. The Japanese have been running
ever since. If distances were not so
great, this war would be close to a deci.
sion
Now the ground forces of the United
States Army will have their turn. The
results, if all goes well, can be as dra-
matte as those attained by the air forces
and by the Navy.
This new United States Army repre-
sents the first fully equipped and fully
trained land Army that this country
has had since the Civil War. It is SUI
peroly armed. It's training is as thor
ough as any training ever can be. In
its combat divisions it is made I'D of
the Nations best men It's leadership
has been trained in actual combat ex-
perience in North Africa and italy. The
result is that the Germans may have
many surprises in store for them when
the new United States Army throws into
action everything that it has.
~ x*
Hltier's problem of countering the
blow to come is a most difficult one
His trouble is that he finds himself in
the middle, on the defensive, with enc.
mics confronting him on almost eyery
mile OF vast perimeter. He faces mil
lions of Russians along a 1,2oo-mile
front In the East. He faces an uncer-
tain number of Americans, British and
French in the Mediterranean and must
dispose forces in the Balkans. in Italv
and in Southern France. He faces mil
lions of Americans and British along a
front that can range from Northern
Norway to the southernmost point of
Western France.
Although the German retreat from
Russia has been masterful, it has been
costly in material. There can be no
more trading of space for time In that
part of the world without the threat of
disaster. Furthermore, it now appears
That Hitler will not be able to shift any
large forces from the East to the West.
Ihls means that he may have dificulty
dealing with an invasion from the West,
owing to his inability to dispose rather
modest forces over very large territory
The result, unless American luck il
oad' can be blitzkrieg from the north
and west and south that will overwhelu
the Germans in this year
NOBODY expects that the German
Army will do anything but 90 down
nghtlng. Everybody expects that army
to do highly skilled job of defense.
Even so, divided as it must be, that
army can be divided still further and
cut up rather rapidly, if the breaks 60
our way. The so-called internal lines"
ABOUT which this country heard so much
as Hitler advantage when Germany
was on the offensive, today are Hitlers
weakness when Germany is on the de.
fensive. These lines that once led out
OF Germany when Hitler was on this
offensive, now lead into Germany when
he is on the defensive.
All of that explains why today the
American people have as much or more
reason to hope for defeat of Germany
during 1914 as they have to fear that