The Wilmington morning star., 1944-06-04
Interpreting
The War
BY KIRKE l.. SIMPSON
Associated Press War Analyst


The European front, rumonng
with ever increasing portents OF
impending Russian and Allied Of
fensives to match events in Italy
that have brought Rome within
sight of American troops from the
AIban hills, dominated the W +
news this June weekend; but not
to the exclusion of the Pacific and
Asiatic theaters.
There seemed every prospect
that General Clark's Memorial day
forecast of early occupation of
Rome might be fulfilled W n n
days. A final plea from the Pope
to spare the city reflected that
thought. 1t remains only for Hit
Ter and his generals to indicate
whether they will abandon it to
make their next stand farther up
the Italian peninsula, or fort up in
Rome itself to expose its popula-
lation and it's irreplacable art trea-
sures and classical monuments to
the havoc of modern warfare.
Aerial Attacks Near Peak
It could not be doubted that IN
Russian-Allied grand strategy coun-
ellis the Italian offensive is at or
very near the predetermined point
where Soviet onsets from the east
and the long awaited Anglo-Amer-
lean amphibious assault on the
continent from the west would be
loosed. Preliminary aerial soften
ing-up of enemy defenses on both
fronts was nearing its peak.
The titanic clock a n d
round the-continent allied air attack
from Britain and Italy has attained
a scope, supplemented by Russian
operations in the east, that puts
Nazi communications to an ex-
IRENE strain. Allied shuttle bomb
ing operations, using Russian bases
have been initiated. To what extent
the bombings have impaired enc
my ability to meet the ground Of
fensives to come only time can
tell.
About the only certainty in the
situation is that neither in Europe
nor in the east can air power alone
be decisive. Victory over Germany
and Japan alike will come finally
on the ground in man-to-man COM
bat.
In Bombing Range
That test still is to be applied
to Japan. The American advance in
the Pacific has brought Nipponese
eastern island defenses and the is
lands of Japan themselves within
bombing range.
1t seems obvious, nevertheless,
that it is not in the Pacific but in
China that the decisive battles of
the war with Japan will be fought.
That is the indicated japanese fore
cast. 1t serves to explain better
than any other theory yet ad-
vanced the Japanese offensive in
Honan province.
While t h Japanese, now esti-
mated to have massed nearly 3O0,-
900 troops in the Hankow and Can
ton areas, were still engaged in
clearing the northern end of the
Peiping-Canton railway above Han
koW it was difficult to determine
their purpose. Now that they have
driven southwark of Hankow and
are again menacing Changsha and
are also reported to have heavily
reinforced their Canton garrison,
their first objective seems clearer.
1t is to open a north-south rail
and road communication system
from Peiping to Canton.
Washington military authorities
have not revealed their own inter-
probation of the widening Japanese
offensive in China. Chungking
spokesman 60 no further than to
admit its size and dangerously rap
id advance against Chinese troops
ill-equipped to deal with Nippone5e
tanks and heavy armament Only
in the blistering attacks by Ameri-
can and Chinese American air
forces are the battle odds there in
Allied favor.