The Dominion WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1943. A BRIGHTENING WAR SITUATION

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 98, 20 January 1943, Page 4

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1943. A BRIGHTENING WAR SITUATION

In one of his recent speeches, Mr Churchill depicted the then state of the war situation in poetic phrase that concluded with the words, “But westward, look, the land is bright.” Events since then have justified that hopeful utterance, for there can be little doubt that, from the Allies’ point of view, the war situation has become definitely brighter, both in achievement and in future promise. The light is spreading, dispelling some of the murk of uncertainty that has darkened the horizon for so long, and revealing more clearly the trend of the march of events. This trend, on the whole, is at present favourable. On all fronts, with the possible exception of the war at sea, where we appear to be little more than holding our own against the U-boats, there has developed a change for the better. In the South-west Pacific the immediate danger to New Zealand and Australia has been stalled off by the check imposed upon the enemy in the outer island defence ring. Although it cannot yet be said that the Allies in this area have definitely passed to the offensive, the gradual clearing of the enemy from New Guinea and Guadalcanal, the organization of these places as bases for future Allied operations, the steadily mounting resources in war material, and the clear evidence of air superiority, are preparing the way for it, and making progressively less probable a recurrence of the menace of attack on the two British Dominions. . Linked up with this situation are the campaigns of General Chiang Kai-shek in China and of Sir Archibald Wavell in Burma. There have been set-backs as well as successes in China, but on balance the situation there indicates prospects of a definite improvement if progress in the Burma campaign produces results that will facilitate the tiansit of supplies to the Chinese armies. The Japanese programme is not going according to plan. The enemy’s losses in ships and aircraft have been heavy, and if these continue the task of holding the territories won so easily in the beginning will become increasingly difficult. But for the Allies in this theatre there is, nevertheless, a hard struggle, and it may be a long struggle, ahead. , . It is in the European war zone, and North Africa, that the situation has most perceptibly changed for the better. 1 here can be no uncei tainty about the successes so far gained by the Russians in their series of offensive operations all along the 2000-mile battle fiont in Eastern Europe. These winter operations are on a much greater scale than those that stemmed the German onset toward Moscow last year. The advances made in various directions are important, and it is worthy of special note that on several sectors. large quantities of war material have been abandoned by the retreating Germans instead of being wrested from them in battle. That in itself is significant in the suggestion conveyed that the enemy’s morale has been loweied. This situation, at present so adverse to the Germans and their allies, must be imposing increasing strain on the enemy’s resources for meeting threats of danger on other fronts, and also for building up plans foi the coming summer campaigns. r> i It is this strain which apparently has made it impossible tor Rommel to make any kind of stand so far against the advancing Eighth Army in Tripolitania. These operations are now spreading out westward, and the meeting of General Montgomery with the commander of the Fighting French Forces from Chad may betoken an early linking, up of the two forces, ultimately joining with General Anderson’s First Army, thus encircling the enemy in the lunis area. Ihe political complications, which at one stage threatened to be a disturbing handicap to the development of the military operations in Tunisia, now seem to be in a fair way to being cleared up.