Evening star., 1944-01-16

me 0fOtCn.
lieved that they would not be called TO
the fighting front. The youngsters have
suffered from malnutrition and are no
longer as fit for military service as they
have been in the past.
Homes Worry Older Men.
American military analysts maintain
that more than in the United States, the
German after 80 is of no real use as q
fighter in war where acrobatics form
part of the military training. The con-
Germ over the future of the wife and
children who are nowhere near as well
taken care of as they are in the coun-
try, is not likely to make good soldiers
out of middle-aged men.
Furthermore, it is pointed out, no
army in the world can conserve its
morale when it is forced to retreat
continually. 1t is true that the German
strategists are past masters in retreat.
They organize them with typical Ger
man meticulous care and so far have
succeeded with the exception of Stalin-
grad and Tunisia to extricate their men
from the most hopeless situation. The
withdrawal from Sicily, for instance, is
regarded as one of the most brilliant
operations of the German general staff.
The Germans evacuated as much as IS
per cent of their forces from Sicily de-
spite complete Allied air and naval SUI
premacy.
But in spite Of the care with which
~, l. ~,
preventing them from becoming a rout,
an army on the march to the rear under
pressure of continuaEy advancing enemy
forces, cannot keep its morale intact for
long time.
1t is more than year since the Nazis
began to advance in reverse. There
| are no definite indications as yet that
| their morale has been seriously inn
| paired. The men granted leave from
the front are, of course, no longer the
same cocksure individuals who returned
to their towns or villages after the first
offensive in Russia. They are said to
| hate the idea of returning to their old
combat units. But the Goebbels propa-
ganda, which tells them that if the
I o@Ai iAAoAA oAAAiic give AL, llOb Ollly tIl0
fatherland, but their families will DO
destroyed or become serfs of the con-
queror, still is playing an important
! role in Germany.
Fear Keeps Morale High.
How long the German morale will be
maintained is difficult to say. Allied
bombings have caused certain obvious
lassltude among the civilians who have
suffered the most from them. But 1t
has not yet made room for open re-
bellions or vociferous protests against
the continuation of the war. The fear
of the German people that they will be
roughly handled by the Russians,
Czechs, Poles and the other inferior
races" from Eastern Europe is believed
to be the principal reason German
morale is holding. Until more definite
information is obtained about the
morale of the Nazi Army and of the
people at home, it would be useless to
make any estimate as to the cost Of
an invasion in Western Europe.
AS things are today, there seems to be
no argument that our offensive across
the Channel will be most costly affair.
Between so and go Nazi divisions are
in the Lowlands and France. Accord
ing to available reports, they have ex-
cellent equipment and first-class trans
portatlon by road, rail and waterway.
The entire Nazi force is extremely mo-
bile.
The potential invasion points are
well known to professional military
men, Hence, we expect strong con-
centratlon OF power is behind the ac-
tual invasion beaches. The disposition
OF the German Army is such that divi-
slonS can be transferred from one
threatened point to another inside two
days. And while there is no question
that our overwhelming air superiority
Will give us a strong advantage, air
armies cannot defeat ground forces IL
they nave even weak support from
their own aviation.
western Europe will have to be con-
quered with infantry, artillery and tank
forces. The Russians are believed tn
nave used an army at least two and a
nan times as strong as the German
Army in their successful operations on
tne eastern front. Amphibious OPERA
tlons, as demonstrated in the invasion
Oh Italy, are even more complicated.
Will Require Big Force.
According to available information.
the German forces which opposed the
landings OF the armies of 1t. Gen MARI
| clark and Gen. Bernard r, Montoonoer,,
IN Italy were about one-third of those
OF the Allies If the same proportion i,
TO be applied to the landings in Vest
ern Europe, and if the Nazis fight with
the same determination as they fought
in Italy, the Allies will be compelled tn
employ a very large invasion army in
! deed.
1t must be further added that willis
the fixed defenses at Salerno and Naples
were only mediocre, the Germans hava
been working to defend the west coast
OF Europe for at least 18 months Ths
defenses are described by Allied military
observers as very formidable.
On the basis of such analyses 1t would
appear that the statements of those who
nave warned the American people to
prepare themselves for heavy casualties
have not been exaggerated.
AT the same time, however, 1t is not
excluded that the German defeats in
Russia might handicap the morale OF
the Nazi forces to such an extent that
The nghtlng men may lose hope and
| offer us only weak resistance