Evening star., 1948-12-15
Soviet Strenqth

Judging from reports about it, General
Franz Halder's private wartime diary
ought to be translated and published in
this country for the enlightenment of all
those Americans-a not inconsiderable
number-who tend to belitue the military
prowess of the Russians and who lean to
the idea that the Soviet system would
collapse under a few powerful offensive
blows.
In effect, as abridged in the reports, the
diary-written by Halder as Chief of the
German General Staff-is somber warn
ing against all such thinking. At any
rate, In its coverage of the first fifteen
months of the savage Nazi invasion of
Russia, 1t adds up to a perfect example
of how easily men and their governments
can invite catastrophe upon themselves
when blind stupidity or eager wishfulness
leads them into the perilous mistake of
making light of their actual or potential
enemies.
Thus, according to the diary, Hitler and
his generals decided to attack Russia on
the basis of an incredibly wrong estimate
of Soviet ground .and air forceS-an esti-
mate measuring those forces far below
their actual strength.
In General Halder's words written on
August II, 1941, less than two months
after the invasion began), "At the outset
of the war we reckoned with about two.
hundred enemy divisions. Now we have
already counted three hundred and sixty
= and If we smash dozen of them.
the Russians simply put up another
Dozen"
The diary goes on to observe that
although the Soviet forces had inferior
equipment, suffered often from poor
tactical leadership and were consistently
outgeneraled, they ultimately triumphed
for these reasons, among others: % They
expended their manpower on ruthlesSly
lavish scale; (2) they fought with great
courage and effectiveness in retreat; 60
they lured the Nazi Army into over
extending its lines of communication; al
they made powerful allies of the bitter
Russian winter and the vast spaces of the
U. s. s. R., and (5), although in July, 1941,
Hitler and his generals seriously believed
that they had defeated Russia, the latter
having trained huge forces in the rear
struck back with massive counterattacks
that finally shattered the invaders
OF course, the NaZis might have won
indeed, Stain himself Is on record as
declaring that they would have won-had
it not been for our lend-lease aid to
Russia and the pulverizing Anglo-American
air offensive and cross-channel invasion
that hammered Germany to its knees in
the West. That said, however, the fact
remains that for months the Soviet forces
absorbed the brunt of Hitler's attack, COM
pletely confounded all Nazi calculations,
and plainly demonstrated power and fight
ing ability of the greatest magnitude.
Never before in history had any country
more grossly underestimated the strength
of another.
To the extent that it thus holds up
Germany as grim lesson, the Halder
diary should be instructive to all groups,
including Russians, who may tend to look
down their noses at each others actual
or potential power. AS far as Americans
are concerned, 1t should sober any of us
who may be disposed to believe that the
its ground forces are the strongest in being,
even though 1t is capable of producing the
atomic bomb, and even though reports
indicate that it is building a strong sub
marine fleet and powerful jet-propelled
air force and may possess the most for
midable supersonic rockets in the world.
To be sure, there are definite signs of
weakness in the Soviet system; its strength
is not limitless, supreme or invincible; and
there is no more reason to stand in fright
ened awe of 1T than there was. in the case
of Nazi Germany. Nevertheless, while not
exaggerating it, Americans must guard
against the even more dangerous extreme
of minimizing it too much. The point is
militarily automatic, and the Halder diary
grimly confirms It,