Evening star., 1945-01-06

We had In Europe two active ant
indomitable Allies-Britain and thu
Soviet Union-and there were alse
the heroic resistance movements il
the occupied countries, constantly
engaging and harrassing the Ger.
mans.
We cannot forget how Britain hele
the line, alone, in 1910 and l941; ane
at the same time, despite ferociou!
bombardment from the air, built ur
La tremendous ornaments industr,
which enabled her to take the often.
sive at Ell Alamein in 1912.
We cannot forget the heroic de.
fense of Moscow and Leningrad ant
Stalingrad, or the tremendous Rus
! sian offensives of 1943 and 1914 which
destroyed formidable German armies
Nor can We forget how, for NOR,
than seven long years. the Chiness
people have been sustaining the bar.
barous attacks of the Japanese anc
containing large enemy forces on the
vast areas of the Asiatic mainland.
Friends for the Peace
As Well as War.
| In the future we must never for.
get the lesson that we have learned
that we must have friends who viii
work with us in peace as they have
fought at our side in war.
AS result of the combined effort,
| nf tho Allied t,,i1it, ,,.v
victories were achieved in 1914: The
liberation of France, Belgium, Greece
and parts Of the Netherlands, Nor
way, Poland, Yugoslavia and Czecho-
slovakia; the surrender of Romania
and Bulgaria; the invasion of Ger
many itself and Hungary: the steady
march through the Pacific Islands tc
the Philippines, Guam and Saipan;
land the beginnings of a mighty all
offensive against the japanese
Islands.
Now. as this Seventy Ninth Con-
gress meets, We have reached the
most critical phase of the war.
The greatest victory of the last
year was, of course, the successful
breach on June s, 1914, of the Ger
man 'impregnable" sea wall of Eu-
rope and the victorious sweep of the
Allied forces through France and
Belgium and Luxembourg rg-almost to
the Rhine itself.
The cross-Channe1 invasion of the
Allied armies was the greatest am
phibious operation in the history of
the world. 1t overshadowed all
other operations in this or any
other war in its immensity. It's sue
cess is tribute to the fighting cour-
| age of the soldiers who stormed the
beaches-to the sailors and ner-
| chant seamen who put the soldiers
ashore and kept them supplied-and
to the military and naval leaders
who achieved a real miracle OF
planning and execution. And it is
also a tribute to the ability of two
nations, Britain and America, to
plan together, and work together
and fight together in perfect CO.
operation and perfect harmony.
This cross-C Channel invasion was
followed in August by a second great
amphlblous operation, landine
troops in Southern France. In this
the same cooperation and the same
harmony existed between the Amer
ican, French and other Allied forces
based in North Africa. and Italy.
The success of the two invasions
Is a tribute also to the ability o1
many men, and women to maintain
silence, when a few careless words
would have imperiled the lives oi
hundreds of thousands, and would
have jeopardized the whole vast
undertakings.
These two great operations were
made possible by success in the
Battle of. the Atlantic. -s.s
Nazis May Improve q"
Their Submarines.
Without this success over German
submarines we could not have bull,
up our invasion forces or air forces
in Great Britain nor could we have
kept a steady stream of supplies
flowing to them after they hac
landed in France.
The NaZis, however, NAV succeed
in improving their submarines ano
their crews. They have recently in
creased their U-boat activity. The
Battle OF the Atlantic-like all cam
palgns in this war-demands eternal
vigilance. But the British. Cana
dian and other Allied navies. to-
gether with our own, are constantly
on the alert.
The tremendous operations in
Western Europe have overshadowed
In the public mind the less spec
tacular but vitally important Italian
front. Its place in the strategic
conduct of the war in Europe has
been obscured and-by some people
Observation-Disclosures.
1t is important that any miscon-
ceptlon on that score be corrected
now.
What the Allied forces in Italy
are doing is a well-considered part
IN our strategy in Europe, now
aimed at only one objective-the
total defeat of the Germans. These
valiant forces in Italy are contin-
uing to keep a substantial portion of
the German Army under constant
pressure-including some 20 first
line German divisions and the nee
essary supply and transport and re-
placement troops-all of which our
enemies need SO badly elsewhere.
Over very difficult terrain and
through adverse weather conditions
our 5th Army and the British 9th
Army-reinforced by units from
other United Nations, including
brave and well-equipped unit of the
Brazilian Army-have, in the past
year, pushed north through bloody
Casino and the Anzio beachhead
and through Rome until now they
occupy heights overlooking the val
ley of the Pc.
The greatest tribute which can
be paid to the courage and fighting
ability Of these splendid soldiers in
Italy is to point out that although
their strength is about equal to that
OF the Germans they oppose the
Allies have been continuously on
the offensive.
That pressure, that offensive, by
na1r frnn,c T<1 L., ,,.;J1