HITLER’S HOPE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 January 1943, Page 3

HITLER’S HOPE

YET ANOTHER OFFENSIVE IN RUSSIA FORMATION OF NEW ‘ ARMY HALF DRAWN FROM SATELLITES. SOME AMERICAN VIEWS. (By Telegraph—Press Association-Copyright) (Received This Day, 11.40 a.m.) LONDON, January 22. 1 According to Swiss reports, Germany will use the last reserves of Axis manpower m Europe to form an army for a spring offensive in Russia. The “Daily Telegraph Berne correspondent estimates the strength of this armv at 250 divisions—about 3,000,000 men. Half of the army will be raised in Germany. Hitler hopes to pull the rest from his satellites. The Fuehrer still hopes to raise twelve divisions from Rumania. Under a new decree, all Rumanians living abroad must return by February 2 for military service. Defiance of this decree is punishable by death and confiscation of all property. Despatches from American correspondents in Russia point out that it would be overoptimistic to imagine that German strength is waning to a point where a further Nazi offensive in Russia next spring would be impossible. The “New York Post’s" Moscow correspondent says Soviet communiques since he beginning of the offensive in November have listed 22 Nazi divisions as trapped before Stalingrad, but these represent only one-twelfth of the Nazi armies. Hitler still has probably 216 German divisions, plus 33 divisions of his allies. Of these five German divisions are occupied in Africa, 150 in Russia and the remainder in reserve. Washington observers understand that the Russians recently have been bringing a certain amount of pressure to beai on England and America, seeking z greater diversion of German strength to other fronts to husband Russian resources of men and material.