Evening star., 1945-01-21


tacks and concentrate artillery fire than
on aviation. The Germans still occupy
important Polish and Baltic territory.
On the eastern front they have force
about twice the size of that in the west.
The Russian victories, carved by armies
totaling about 2,5O0,000 men, are bound
to be spectacular
But it looks as If the Germans will
duplicate their strategy of last year in
Russia and the strategy advocated last
summer by Won Rundstedt in France.
This consists of fighting powerful rear
guard actions to enable the bulk of the
divisions to disengage themselves and
withdraw to the powerful Notifications
which extend roughly from Insterbourg
in East Prussia to the West Beskies in
the south.
Fortifications Believed Powerful.
The Allied high command knows littls
of the strength of the new German
Notifications Whether the Russians
have any definite information is un.
certain. Blu srom various reports OBJ
tainea ~iGb o-fore the war or from
Polish and other underground sources,
it is believed that the German eastern
system of Notifications is stronger and
even more modern that the Siegfried
Line. Before his death Fritz Todt, the
famous German engineer who is re-
sponsible for the West Wall, spent much
time in the east and is said to have de-
vised line of Notifications in such
depth that extremely heavy fighting
will be required before 1t can be broken.
That the Red armies will be able to
throw the Germans out of Western
Poland, most military observers have
little doubt. They expect the Germans
to fight battle of attrition in that
conquered land, inflict as heavy losses,
particularly in war material, as possible,
and then withdraw to the strongly
fortified positions in their homeland.
The communicates from the eastern
front and descriptive dispatches from
the special correspondents are bound to
fill the hearts and minds of the Amer.
ican people with enthusiasm and opti-
mism. But it must be realized that
unless the German morale has been
greatly weakened there will be no repe-
tition of the spectacular victories of the
Red armies of two years ago and last
year when the Germans were many
hundreds of miles from their supply
bases and also were fighting In an
enemy country.
Backs Against the Wall.
Now the Nazis have their backs
against the wall. Their propagandists,
assisted to a great extent by many ILL
| advised official statements of policy
| from Washington and London, have
been able to strengthen the powers OF
resistance of the Germans on the bat
| tlefeld and on the home front. Millions
of leaflets are reported to have been
printed by the German government and
! distributed to the men at the front and
| to the population. They contain not
only Secretary of the Treasury Morgan
| thau's plan for the economic destruction
of Germany, but also Prime Minister
Churchill's statement in the House Of
Commons referring to the mass trans
fer of populations from Poland into the
Reich. Secretary of State Stettinius'
Endorsement of the Churchill statement
is included.
The people in East Prussia, Silesia
and Pomerania are being told on the
basis of these statements that if the.
Russians are allowed to break through
the Notifications and enter the soil of
the Reich they will lose their homes
and will have to go in exile as slaves
OF the "Asiatics." This propaganda is
said to be having strong effect be-
cause it is based on factual statements
made by responsible leaders in Great
Britain and the United States.
Hence, we must look to most feroci-
Gus defense of the Fatherland by all
Germans, regardless of whether they
are members of the regular armed forces
or have been organized in guerrilla
bands.
Morale Still High.
The German factories in the east
nave not suHered from the attacks OF
the Allied air forces. They are modern
and are reported to be manufacturing
more than IS per cent of the German
war material. Thus, while the Russians,
after having used up the bulk of sup
plies gathered since last July, must rely
on material received principally from
the United States, the Germans have
all the necessary material on hand. The
factories are no farther than $50 miles
from their fortihcation lines.
The Germans have about l,600, 900
soldiers on the eastern front. 1t may
be assumed that they are even more ia
natical than those on the western front.
In spite of the continuous propagands
OF the Free Germany Committee in Mos
cow, headed by Marshal Won Paulus. the
German morale has not been affected in
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