Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-06-08
BEHIND
THE NEWS
BY Paul
MalIon

~
w splendid success of our
first crack into the Nazi West
Wall must be measured against
the prospect that the Germans
ordinarily would require two or
three days TO muster their scat
tered forces for a counterattack
and, in that counterattack the
real fight will come.
The wall itself is about ID
miles deep on an average. Good
fortified works run back that
far. with minor works even far
Their back. The depth did not
count much under our strategy
because we landed great army
by air to squeeze ii from the
inside as well as the beaches.
But the Germans naturally
would want TO wait TO see
whether this Normandy landing
developed into our real attack
before pushing their reserves
into the fray.
Their armies have been held
far back from the coast at stra-
tegic road junctures TO meet the
real battle in any direction pre-
scented.
1t was three days after our
easy landing at Salerno that we
ran into near humiliation in an
ambush.
THERE can be no doubt that
Il we achieved a certain
amount of tactical surprise.
Their radio did not broadcast
the news of the invasion until
12:40 a. m, EWT., after our
airborne troops actually had
landed.
If the Germans had not been
deceived, they would have
spread the alarm the moment
our ships left England to jour-
ney three or more hours across
the channel.
Furthermore, their radio had
broadcast only two days earlier
that no invasion should be ex-
pected for a month. Up to that
time, they had been expecting
the blow every day.
That we were coming. how
ever. was no surprise to any one.
Indeed, this was the most highly
advertised and publicized- in
vasion of all military history.
and achieved its deception only
in the confusion of over-adver-
Using.
Also it was the most fully re-
ported of military actions,
though not by Gen. Eisenhower,
whose communicates were wisely
terse and communicative.
ALSO. we hit at the best spot
"A geographically for conti-
mental invasion. You may recall
reading in this column April Il:
IAN ideal plan would call for
simultaneous invasiOns Of north
ern France around lie Hgvre,
aimed up the Seine at Paris,
and invasion Of southern France
through the Garonne and Rhone
valleys"
BY landing south of the Seine
River. we choose the shortest,
least billy route to Paris, and a
position which would afford us
the protection of the river on
our left flank as we moved to-
ward the city.
The nature of the fighting and
the form the battles will take.
however, will depend largely on
the German counterattacks and
Gen. Eisenhower future opera
tons, which no one can Surmise
in advance.
Evidences Of cracking Ger
man manpower have appeared
lately in Italy and on the Rus
sian front (where. incidentally,
the Reds have been marking
time the past few weeks only
TO synchronize their efforts with
ours. rather than reorganize
their forces and supplies as ad-
vertised).
Whether the manpower de-
feet will appear in France and
enable us to break them swiftly
will not be evident until the
real battle develops fully.
All the surprises at the out
set were in our favor.
The promised counter air at
tack on London, or even inva-
sion of Britain, failed to ma
terialize, and there were no inn
mediate reports of Wanted
secret weapons or the use of
gas.
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