The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-01-15

The War
BY ELTON c. FAY
Associated Press War AnaIvs,

'e ess war Analyst
The paramount importance =,
ordnance in this phase of +be WV.
is underscored by recent no, ~s
from the battlefronts and hr W.
bate at home. Ne'
The Russians, traditional art,
lerymen, opened up their New o ,,.'
fensive in southern POLAND u.~
a thunderous barrage that b J.ul
open path for armor and ivy W."
try.
Field Marshal Won Rundsted+
pulling his forces back out =.
the Ardennes bulge, appears y,
times to be more concerned oua ~
removing his tanks in evacuatin-
valuable foot troops.
Both the Allies and the German,
have poured great quantities ~
arrnor and artillery into tbe.
battle. German tank losses bavs
climbed above the 1000 mark
While there has been no definite
statement OF Allied losses in armor
there is clue in the discIovro
by an Army Service Force officiol
that approximately 5000 pieces ~
American mobile equipment are
being destroyed in Europe eacb
Notwithstanding $50 tanks
Secretary of War Stimson h.,
said preliminary reports from tbe
Ardennes battle showed that tant
losses were about s per cent above
the expected monthly attrition
rate. 1t is not clear whether +bs
$50 monthly total mentioned by
the ASST officer represents The
expected monthly attrition rate
The battle on the Western Front
has stirred argument over who
has the best ordnance, particularly
tanks.
President Roosevelt, in his m.,.
sage to Congress, said the Armv
has developed a new heavy tank
mounting gun more powerful
than any yet mounted on fast.
moving vehicle" His reference
apparently was to tank described
previously by War Production
Board official. That official said
arsenals had started delivery Of
the tanks early in December
In London, a Parliament mem.
Der asserted that Allied tanks are
inferior, both in armor and anna.
ment, to those used by the Ger.
mans. He described the Sherman
tank, a medium weighing about 81
tons, as the best Allied tank, but
then said that the guns Of either
the German Panther or Tiger
tank would knock out any Allied
tank at 5000 yards.
The unofficial Army and Navy
Journal, an American publication,
recalls that the War Department
said last August that the Sherman
tank with a 105mm. howitzer was
the master of any German tank
in the field at that time.
Reports from Europe" the
journal says, make it doubtful
whether the Sherman remains the
master of the new German tanks
The adverse comparison of some
weapons which we use with Ger
man counterparts does not end
with tanks" says the journal
"Self-propelled guns, mines and
anti-tank guns, as well as many
enemy techniques have been cited
as more efficient"
This seems to be in conflict with
an article carried by another un'
official service publication, the
Army and Navy Register. The reg
lister quotes Col. S. B. Richie, as
sistant chief of the Ordance De-
partment' research and develop
ment service, as saying that "our
weapons, ammunition, and equip
ment are superior to that in The
hands of the enemy He contends
that the Comm. gun of the MIS-
tank destroyer is more powerful
than the German 88mm." and that
the American tank can out-ms
meuver all types of the relatively
slow-moving German tanks.
The unanswered question IN all
of this debate is how much OF the
new equipment-tanks, artillery
and explosives, is out OF the fac'
| fOrV and at the front