The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-05-01
rpreting
The War

Nv KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press War Analyst
Az the war nears a confused
end in Europe only two segments
Of Germany proper, OF the pre-
Nazi Reich, remain in German
hands and both are being squeez-
ed out of existence between Allied
and Russian lines.
Those segments are the so-called
northern redoubt" above the wild
ened Russian-American junction
on the Elbe and still covering
German North Sea and Baltic ports
and the German end Of the Dan
ish peninsula; and much smaller
appendix of Germany south OF the
Danube reaching down almost into
the Salisbury Alps in Austria. 9th
erwise the war is winding up in
Nazi seized areas of central Eu-
rope where creation by force or
threat of force of Hitler's greater
Reich" began, in Austria and
Czechoslovakia, and in the Italian
Alps. The "fatherland' Of German
song and story is almost all in
the hands of United Nations con-
querors.
1t is more than possible that
even the small German appendix
in the south, the northern fore
field of the Bavarian redoubt, has
already been swept clear by an
actual or impending American
Russian junction in the Danube
valley. German radio broadcasts
indicate that both the American
Third Army spearhead driving
down the Danube and Russian col
umns boring up river from Vienna
are within touch Of each other
near Linz. The exact position Of
both forces in that region is OBJ
scured by news black-out add
ing the impression that a juno
ton cutting only only all northern
and central Germany but all
Czechoslovakia off from the mean
ingless Bavarian redoubt is at
hand.
When it comes Czechoslovakia
will be completely surrounded by
American and Russian armies
north, south, east and west. It has
been deeply penetrated so TAR, how
ever, only by one Russian column
which drove up from the south
across the Morava river to seize
Bruen. Patton's tanks used only
Czechoslovakian frontier roads on
the left bank of the Danube in their
fast sweep down the river to meet
the Russians. Otherwise, and ex.
cept for bombing operations appar-
emily carefully restricted by the
Allies and Russians alike to strict
ly high priority military targets,
Czechoslovakia seems destined to
emerge the least war-torn coun-
try in central Europe.
That will certainly be true if a
German surrender ends organized
warfare. 1t seems to be part of the
plan of joint action worked out in
the Churchill Roosevelt Stain
meeting in the Crimean that has
now ripped Germany proper te
shreds but spared Czechoslovakia
as far as possible. Whatever poll
teal implications there may be
in that-for until Czechoslovakis
is cleared of Nazi remnants ap
parently it will lie in the Russian
zone of occupation-it seems GER
tain that some formal commitment
Twas exchanged at Yalta to restore
it much as it was as an indepen
dent state and spare it the raw
ages Of war on anything like the
scale Germany and Austria have
known them.
Until German will or ability tt
continue the useless struggle il
Czechoslovakia is tested out, how
ever, there can be no certaint,
OF cessation of hostilities for those
American forces. That possible
last-stand area for Nazi die-hard!
is bulwarked north, east and ives
by mountains. While the Russian
drive to Bruen was probably pri
marily to close the Moraviar
gateway against possible German
use to reinforce their topping from
in eastern Austria, it also is pois
ed to drive swiftly into the heart
of Czechoslovakia if necessary, al
though presently marking time.