The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-01-08
Interpreting
The War
BY ELTON G. FAY
Associated Press War AnaiySt


From where did the ultra mod.
ern armor and other ordnanc.
used in the German ofensjy.
come?
Probably much Of it from fac.
tories too deep in the earth for
bombs to reach or too remote in
the German Hinterland for came.
ras of reconnaissance planes ia
discover.
This is the considered opinion O,
military men who have perused dis.
patches from the battle fronts.
But, they add, this does not show
that strategic bombing of the en-.
emy's war economy is a failure
Instead, it reveals that the Job
is longer, the target more difficult
the enemy even more resourceful
than earlier estimates suggested
That the strategic air war is
| producing valuable results is an.
parent. With many fighter plane
assembly plants bombed out, the
Luftwaffe is able to muster air CD.
position only sporadically or not
| at all.
FORCE DRASTIC RATIONING
| Long continued attacks on The
eneny's oil industry have forced
upon both the German air and
ground forces the most drastic
forms of rationing.
But through it all the enemy
husbanded and hid stockpiles OF
petroleum, raw metals and critical
minerals for the manufacture Of
weapons for the final decisive
battles on the ground. When Al.
lied air attacks smashed industrial
cities, he took these highest prior.
ity items into underground plants
or to alternate plants deep in east.
ern Germany or Poland.
1t is believed that large amounts
of the original supply of German
armor and artillery were chewed
up in the Russian offensives Of
1912 and 1913. These were replaced
and into those requirements were
Incorporated new designs.
The Anglo-American drive across
France last SUMMER cut heavily
into those requirements. At this
point, the value of the Nazi plan
for putting critical war production
underground and in other hidden
plants was demonstrated.
The losses of the battle Of
France were replaced, at least
in part, in those plants. Again it
was possible (even though not
from choice) for the enemy to put
into the field equipment Of the
latest design.
The assumption is that tanks
and other ordnance being used by
the Germans in their ardennes OPP
Grafton, and elsewhere on the
western front as well as against
the Russians at Budapest, is be-
ing fed to the forward areas from
strategic reserves. These reserves,
in turn, are supplied from the hid
den factories.
The strategic pools of armor ap-
parently are located behind the
individual fronts and the orders Of
the German high command are
that armor from one pool must
not be sent to another front unless
the reason is of transcendent i'm
portance.
Therefore, it is believed that the
tanks being used by German arm
ored divisions on the western front
still are coming from stategic re-
serves located in that area, with
pools for the eastern front still
untapped except for what is being
used in the Budapest operation.
In this connection, there is the
suggestion that Russia, aside from
whatever political reasons may ex'
list as controlling factors, has de-
layed central front offensive un-
til she can build her striking
power up to greater proportions
The Red Army has been close
student of the German war po-