The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-01-21
interpreting
The War
By KIRkE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press War Ana,

The Russian winter offas
dominates the war news NJ '' "
world this week end. We
Reaching from the Baltic n g.
Danube, it outmodes everv nr. Wy
Gus operation of this or anv F n,,.'
war in size, power and speeS S"'S'
1t holds uncalculable poter,;,r
ties despite official Allied rsT,a
lance to ascribe to ii vet 1n. 1.'
bilities for bringing an earIy S ~,
to the war in Europe. For I'M. n
reason it overshadows even tb a'
impending new ChurchilI.Poo..
velt-Stalin meeting, Or the arss
ing spectacle of japanese failNr.
for many days to muster mars
than token resistance TO Nacar
thurs power-laden invasion If nv
ION of to react effecivtly 10 Adm.
raj Halsey's surface and ri,
sweeps of the South China Sea-
Even the formal recapitulator 4.
the battle OF the Belgian bulge by
General Eisenhower'S headouar.
tiers, disclosing that the Nazi gsm.
BILE has not seriously affected OIL,
own plans and preparations for H.
ture operations" took a secondary
news rating against the back.
ground of the Russian drive 10 end
the war.
Whether the Nazi high command
had sought to evade total dis.
aster in the east by quick and
deep retreat in the face Of The
Red army onslaught in Poland or
been caught to extended to check
the Russian juggernaut was still
uncertain.
There was no doubt at the week
end, however, that every eastern
gateway to Berlin from the upper
Oder valley to the Baltic coastal
plains was being menaced by the
Russians some of them like the
Breslau and Pozan passes, at per.
ilously close range. Day by day The
victory guns of Moscow doomed
ear shattering salutes to new Red
army successes.
Nazi evacuation of the Slovakian
hump was reported by Berlin as
the Russians drove beyond captu.
ed Krakow to sever its communi.
cation life lines and outflank the
vital industrial heart Of German
Silesia now in sound Of Russian
guns. 1t was already outflanked
from the north by Russian capture
of Czestochowa. There seemed lii.
tie prospect that the surging Red
armies on the southern wing Of
the offensive could be brought 10
a stand short of the Yah and Oder
vallies, if there.
1t seemed clear that in less than
a week the two main Russian Wis.,
tula bridgehead drives had been
welded into a single massive sal.
lent reaching clear across Poland
Northwest of recaptured Warsaw
ether Red forces were seven.
league botting their way down the
iWarsaw-Danzig railway and flank
ing highways toward a trio Of crit
ical German communication hubs
upon which contact between East
Prussia and the rest Of the Reich
depends.
In the west, crushing losses il
flicted on the Nazis in the b,
gian bulge battle as revealed by
EisenhoWer's headquarters went
far to justify the indicated belief
of his staff that the foe had been
stripped of the means Of renew
ing his counter attack anywhere
on major scale There was def
mite confirmation, too, Of the as
sertion that while the German |
gamble in Belgium had bought
little time at shocking cost in cas-
ualties, it had not materially de-
layed British-American plans fol Z
renewing the assault on the Sle8 /
fried line to match Russian pres
sure in the east.