LENGTH OF THE WAR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 33, 14 December 1943, Page 4

LENGTH OF THE WAR

THE war will not end this year, though there is a prospect that it will do so in the European zone in 1944. That is the conclusion to be drawn from the speech delivered at the Guild Hall by Field-Marshal Smuts, the South African Prime Minister, when he intimated that "by the winter we shall have closed in upon Hitler's central fortress of Europe and be making* dispositions for a grand assault by all arms next year. That assault .will be the first priority." The length of the European war will depend largely upon two things: The measure of success which attends the Allied grand assault and the nature of the defence which greets it. When the Allies go in for the kill the elastic strategy of the Germans on the eastern front, of which so much has been heard in recent weeks during their enforced retirement under inexorable Russian pressure, will not have must justification. The Germans will be forced to stand and fight somewhere or be compressed into an etfer narrowing space in which they will be finally annihilated. Though Hitler'b clique has declared that he will never surrender, that may not apply to his armies, which even now realise that defeat is in store for them. On their attitude also will depend the length of the war. The German as a fighter can never be despised when things are running in his favour on the outward journey, but when he is being pressed back into the Fatherland there is a different tale to tell — he is not so good. And that makes all the difference. The announcement of the pending Allied assault on the European front next year should be acceptable news to the Russians, and it is more than a coincidence that Field Marshal Smuts' speech practically synchronised with the opening in Moscow of the momentous conference between the Foreign Secretaries of the United States,, Britain and Russia to discuss vital matters regarding the war and its prosecution. As an authoritative spokesman of the British Nation, Field Marshal Smuts' survey of the present outlook, of the great changes that have taken place in a comparatively short time, of the factors which have brought them about, presented a picture that was distinctly encouraging, a sharp contrast to that of 12 months ago. The Russians, in were served with notice that assistance from the West is nearly at hand. To those in the East this may appear to be somewhat overdue, in fact very belated,, but critics must face up to realities and realise that it was impossible to reach this stage earlier than is being done. Field Marshal Smuts made that reasonably clear when he declared that "from El Alamein onwards the British Commonwealth have done things on the battlefront which will stand comparison with the contributions of any of our Allies." It is well that this particular point should be emphasised, and remembered, because the British nation, including New Zealanders, are sometimes inclined to be forgetful and perhaps a little critical of what the Empire has done in bringing about the present reversal of Hitler's fortunes. Field Marshal Smuts's speech throughout struck a sober, confident note, and that made it all the more inspiring and impressive.. Europe is still the No. 1 priority, and after that Japan is next on the list. Enemy countries now know for certain the order of their fate. It almost seems as if Hitler is already preparing for his. There must be world-wide curiosity as to why, atthis time of crisis for his armies in the East, he received, according to a communique from his headquarters, "leadingpersonalities of the State and party" to hear a number of speakers lecture on world strategy and ideological home political subjects, and Hitler talk on the political and military situation. This communique would have been less intriguing had it disclosed the subject matter of the lectures and what actually was said and whether Hitler's summary of the military situation bore any similarity to that of Field Marshal Smuts. It is permissible to presume that the Nazi heads assembled to consider the present bleak out-: look and to concoct one or more schemes in an endeavour to break the web which is now being woven around their country. Their gathering was certainly more- than that of a mutual admiration society. They are alarmed at the outlook and are trying to devise ways and means of escaping the fate which is drawing daily closer. The Aljied leaders must see to it that all avenues of escape are closed to them. The Nazis must be made to reap the consequences of the ap-< palling plight into which they have thrown the nations of Europe. Anything else would be a shock to world opinion.