Evening star., 1944-06-04
Allied Army of Revenge
Awaits D>Day in England

tine oay on which these brave soldiers
OF many conquered nations have their
chance to strike q blow for freedom
that viii count.
High cheek-boned Poles rugged.
husky men, walking with firm step.
ruddy with health. Slim-faced Nor
wegians. blue eyes aglow from an inner
nre. Mercurial Free French, usually
mustached. singing The Marsellaise" on
any and all occasions, standing up while
the band plays God Save the king"
and then organizing inpromptu uuartets
to sing their national anthem. A suat-
tering Of Czechoslovaks and q few
Greeks, although not many Of the latter.
And few chunky men with "Neder-
land" blazoned on their shoulder
patches.
You see them manning tanks on
maneuvers, driving the ungainIy iron
steeds Of war down quiet British country
lanes. manning gun carriers and de-
ploying through quiet English fields.
You see them, stalwart, healthy men.
packing rifles and marching along quiet
lanes at brisk clip You look at their
grim faces and you are glad you aren't a
Nazi.
Behind nearly every face Is a story.
of slaughtered relatives, murdered
fathers, wives and children. They tell
them unwillingly, and only when emo
tionally ready. But the stories are
there 1t isn't going to be pretty when
they face Germans across battle front
hot pretty for the Germans.
Months of Training
Their numbers are secret, but their
organizations are their own. For many
months they have been training with
other Allied troops for the coming Job
and they have fitted into the Allied
military machine with perfect preci-
sion. They win 60 forward, naturally,
under their own officers, under the
combined high command of the United
States and Great Britain.
Lacking everything of military ma
ture these fighting men from the con-
quered countries form q considerable
military force. Their uniforms, their
they possess have been furnished from
the tremendous Allied military larder,
but they have adapted themselves, say
United States officers, to the new equip
ment. Polish flyers have done q good
job with the Royal Air Force and will
be in on D-day.
They Are Ready
The Poles seem to predominate, al
though many Norwegians are seen.
How the Poles got to England, whether
they were here when their country was
overrun, isn't talked about. But they
are here, many of them, ready to get
going on the job of liberation and
: Tetribution. Quite probably the Poles
won't fight in their own country That
seems at present, to be job for the
Russians, who have crossed the Polish
border In parts. One can imagine the
value OF Norwegians, for instance, ia
miliar with the terrain Of their country
and the language, If an Allied landing
Is made In Norway. Or the value of a
Frenchman, familiar with the coastal
terrain Of France, If landings are made
in territory familiar to him.
! But the fighting attitude, the air Of
: grim expectancy of these men, Is the
: impressive thing. They have had years
: of repression, years in which liberation
seemed far away. Their hearts have
yearned for the day when they would
join Allied armies of liberation, fighting
on German soil. Now the day Is not
far distant
Good soldiers, trained under good
commanders, only the best fighters have
had the fortitude and will power to
hold on when the world seemed crash
ing to ruins about their countries and
the way Of liberation seemed long and
hard.
The Nazis are going to learn the hard
way when the pentup emotions of SOL
diers of conquered lands are turned
loose against the Wehrmacht.