The Wilmington morning star., 1945-03-25
interpreting
The War
BY KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press W. sun

The Allies frightened 80
with a vengeance t5S .,.e VIC.
upon Nazi Germany. weekend
Inc crushing military nras,
oelng exerted from both eas. ' az
west should bring o-l,cls ana
mination whether the cer Ts.es.
are offering brittle shell - 40
hard core Of final deterse " 4
With the massive rev. or..
Of the Rhine, coupled with S'4 g.
Russian onslaught cas-. ~ D '.s
lin, the final strategy 1s, Per
upon which the Allies are coyn,.
ing to break Germany viii IT~a "
fight on is emerging from Ea1s.. ~
the smoke screen Of military =.
curity. &C.
Soon the world should Lro.
whether the Nazi war rac5;n.
Dombtorn as it has been. is cs1s
bic OF creakjng along for an y.
definite time, or is likely 10 ri,
lapse in ruins.
Four Allied armies and tor,
airforces are involved in The nsw.
est onslaught against Germa.y
General Eisenhower was em7Ioy.
ing apparently more than / 25o nm
troops in an effort to bring Ger.
many to her knees within fbs
shortest possible time.
Germany appeared doomed :,
the last March weekend dawned
Mighty Red armies in tire upper
Oder valley were on tne ylove
again knocking at the 9atewavs
that lead into the southern end
OF the great central plain backed
up against the Bavarian AIps
| where Hitlerism and Hitler him.
self planned to make their last
stand.
Leaving a suicide Nazi garrison
still holding out in Breslau to die
on the vine, Ukrainian troop, mad
virtually cleared the whole wide
sweep of the Oder valley to the
eastern flank of the Sudeten noun.
tains. In the center they had
set foot on approaches to the
Sudeten passes that lead over
directly to Prague. Northward
they were poised at Lauban TO
strike westward toward Dresden
or wheel south~estward through
the Zittau Gap and converge on
Prague. Southwark at half en-.
circled Ratibor they were begin.
ing to force passage through the
Moravian corridor that leads
either southwestward to Vienna or
northwestward to Prague. The
sweep Of that sO-mile wide new
Russian offensive seemed to jus,
tify Moscow speculation that
Prague might be its ultimate OBJ.
jective.
Five important city bastions in
upped Silesia were obviously
marked for early Russian seizure
including Frankenstein, guardian
of the central Sudetan passes, and
Ratibor. Linked with swift and
startling Allied victories across
the Rhine the Red Army break
through drive in Silesia gained
added significance. 1t looked as
the beginning in the east Of
concerted Russian.Allied plan 10
drive to a junction somewhere in
the heart Of south central Ger
many TO match a similar junction
drive from the lower Rhine and
Oder that would split Nazidom
apart in the north.
There is no reasonable doubt
that in the joint Russian-Ahed
strategic directives drawn up at
Yalta and now being put into
execution, weight was given to the
unchalIenged conclusion that BIT
ter as Nazi defense Of bomb
smashed Berlin might be, it has
already been written of by the
Nazis as no more than delaying
action. That is based Of the IN
ner defense conception with the
central German plain and par
ticular the Alpine backed Nuth,
ern end OF that plain as the final
citadel.
The obvious answer is to split
Germany apart in the south ana
the north simultaneously Inc
fact that she is bled white Tor
manpower makes it all the more
desirable to mount multiple o.
fensives on all active fronts rather
than to mass either east or Wss'
for single break-through drives
| W