Evening star., 1944-05-28

London, Washington and Moscow leave
no doubt as to the intentions Of the
Allies. The German generals and the
men under their command are fully
aware Of the consequences Of defeat.
The morale of the German defense
force cannot be determined with any
degree Of finality. From available res
ports and judging by the men we have
captured in Italy the morale Is un-
broken. But the Germans are not super
men and how they win be able to
Withstand the most murderous fire they
have ever seen from ground and naval
forces Is q matter which no man can
foresee.
The German military preparations
are said to be as perfect as modern
human genius can produce. Under
ground hangers for the Luftwaffe, un-
derground communications permitting
German forces to move from one point
to another without interference from
Allied gunnery. and many other devices
are believed to have been established
over an extensive area Of the invasion
front. British military authorities still
speak about surprise weapons such as
q rocket gun capable of hurting be-
tween six and ten tons of explosives at
distance OF 100 miles. Whether such
a gun actually exists Is difficult to
ascertain at this time, but within the
next few weeks-or days-we win find
out. II the Allies succeed in establish
ing a wide and deep. .beachhead where
they will be able to pour their invasion
troops and all the necessary material
and organize airfields, 1t is doubtful II
the German resistance will extend much
longer than this fall Faced with two
powerful armies, one in the west, and
the other in the east, the walls Of the
European fortress are bound to crllmble
IN shorter time than the average OBJ
server believes.
On the other hand, it would be rem.
dering disservice to the peoples Of the
Allied countries II the risks of the first
few weeks OF the battle against the Ger
mans were not sufficiently emphasized.
There is possibility that the German
defenses, manned by determined and ex-
perienced troops provided with ample
quantities Of material, win keep the
Allies from establishing a firm and
continuous beachhead. The conse.
quences Of such failure would be grave.
particularly for Britain.
Gigantic Plans Made.
The Allies will not make demonstra.
tion such as the Dieppe affair In 1o42.
They will attack in all earnestness with
everything at their disposal. For two
years we have been preparing for the
| most gigantic amphibious operation ever
known in history. A large number Of
troops who have been concentrated In
the United Kingdom over this psriod
/ will be involved. The losses viii be
considerable II we crack the German
wall. but they win be even larger II we
fail. The morale OF the British and
American troops is at least as good as
that of the Germans, although the prr.
pose Of the war Is SO different.
The Americans will give their utmost
because they want the war to end and
they want to return to their homes.
The British have an even greater
scope. The British leaders, as well as
the Tommy" in the ranks, realize that
the fate of the empire depends on the
results Of the great battles which will
develop. If, by misfortune, these battles
should end without our forces having
established themselves permanently in
the designated areas, there is no saying
what political conditions will develop in
Europe this year.
Russia is determined to synchronize
her actions with the actions of the
other United Nations. But failure to
break through the German wall in the
west would place the Russians in
difficult position. Their aim is said to
be a march through Prussia to Berlin
and the Elbe River. The Germans have
a large army on the eastern front
about 100 divisions, out of which about
IS or 40 are said to be satellite troops,
Should the Allies in the west fail in
their objective the power of Nad re-
sistance in the east would be greatly
increased and the Germans could SO
strengthen their defenses against the
(See NAZIS, Page C-3)