Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1945-01-04
'THEWORLD
IN REVIEW
BY Maj. Gen.
D. P. Barrows


against Germany. This is what
Won Rundstedt has been bat
Ting for. 10 relieve for a time
the crumbling German defense
on the Cologne front and on the
Saar.
If the German statement Is
true that at least one-half of
the American divisions of the
First and Third armies have
been withdrawn from their
previous positions to stop the
German offensive in the Ar
dennes, and if Won Rundstedt
can retire from the salient he
has created without losing
large part of his offensive force,
then he will have accomplished
his plan of trading his best re-
serves for time.
THE balance between advan-
Il tage and disadvantage lies
in the proportion of these Ger
man forces which Eisenhower
can destroy before they can
regain the shelter of the SleG-
fried Line or West Wall.
If Eisenhower can annihilate,
by death or capture, half of this
German force with half OF its
tanks. the German sacrifice
may be fruitless. But the base
of the German salient is wide
and the enemy's withdrawal
will be skillful.
Tactically, the Germans are
expert fighters and their prevl-
Gus success in escaping from
salients has been remarkable.
West of the Seine it looked
again as though this German
army might be destroyed. but
the Germans were too nimble
and adroit and escaped across
the river. This same German
army, reorganized, is still fight
ing US today:
TN THE German retreat from
l. Russia, Moscow announced
again and again that the Rus
slams had enormous numbers OF
German troops enclosed between
their "pincers," but they could
never close this clutch upon the
retiring enemy.
In the present case. on the
Hungarian front. we must pre-
sumo that the German armies.
after losing Budapest, will fall
back upon strong prepared posi-
tons covering Austria and the
city of Vienna. before which
the Russian armies will have TO
pause also.
And, in Italy, the Allied
armies under Gen. Clark, have
already paused because, as l
believe, the British and Ameri-
can troops under his command
are insufficient TO assault the
German armies in northern
Italy.
THIS general pause, if it must
Il occur. need not be long-a
matter of few weeks-rather
than the months that some as
sumo must pass before our Of
fensive can be resumed. But, IN
any case. il will give a brief
time in which two problems
must be examined afreSh.
One of them is military. IT
has to do with the CO-ORD1-
MATED ATTACK OF ALL
ARMIES, American, British
and Russian. in order to bring
the war against Germany TO a
conclusion.
In a previous article, I sug-
eested that the Red army may
no longer be physically able TO
asSail the German defense on
the ViStula and in East Prus-
STA. If this is true. it should be
made known 10 us and this calls
for candor on the part of Mos
COW.
THE British armies under
Il Montgomery in Holland did
not actively participate IN the
recent offenSives of the Ameri-
can armies to the south. And
this was probably due TO the
fact that the Germans have
flooded Holland. and Mont
gomery has been waiting for the
innumerable river courses and
canals and shallow floods over
Hollands meadows to freeze.
Heavy freezing should lib
crate the British offensive. The
decisive front of the war against
Germany is still the Western
Front. the Prussian and Bava-
rian Rhineland and the great in
dustrial region of the Ruhr
which lies behind il. Shortly,
this offensive can continue.
DUT there is another front
ID which should be settled be-
fore the great Allied offensive is
resumed. II is the political
front. 1t is the question whether
the war is TO accomplish a just
political settlement of Europe;
whether the small nations. which
have lost their independence in
the war, are to be restored;
whether Europe is TO be here
after dominated by imperial
spheres of influence; whether
enemies as well as allies are TO
he left in possession of their
national territory.
EUROPE will not have con-
~ tinuous peace, and the sac
rifices of the war will not be