Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1943. RUSSIA’S DRIVE TO VICTORY.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 February 1943, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1943. RUSSIA’S DRIVE TO VICTORY.

TO a prediction by the Czech President, Dr Benes, that the Germans in Russia will soon be back on a line running ‘ through the western borderlands of the Soviet Union and, probably will suffer ultimate defeat on that line, there is now added, according to Stockholm reports, an order by M. Stalin that not a single German ,soldier must remain on Russian soil, after the coming summer. The Russian General Staff, the same reports add, is preparing plans for a gigantic summer offensive which is due to start four to six weeks after the winter campaign ends. These may be bold aspirations, but in light of what is now happening in Southern Russia and of the prospects raised of powerful supporting action by the Western Allies in Africa and in Europe they cannot be called extravagant. Much as it has already exceeded expectations, and indeed-partly for that reason, the Soviet winter offensive in itself holds an excellent promise of still better things to come. What has been accomplished to date is wonderfully impress sive and encouraging, not only in the tremendous losses of men. and material inflicted on the enemy and in. the redemption, of the enormous areas of rich industrial and agricultural territory occupied by the Germans in their offensive last summer, but as an overwhelming exposure of Nazi miscalculation, blundering and standards of generalship hopelessly inferior to those of their Russian adversaries. Nothing is better established than that the Nazis planned and hoped to hold the -whole of the valuable Ukrainian and Caucasian territories from which the last remnants of their occupying forces are now making a difficult and costly retreat.

Little more than four months ago Hitler declared that Stalingrad would be taken. Much more recently, in the middle of December, the Berlin, radio’s military commentator, Lieu-tenant-General Dietniar, fold his German hearers that the gigantic losses of flic Russian infantry during preceding weeks had definitely broken the Red Army’s ability to wage major operations and that the Russian offensive at Stalingrad and further to the north had lost its impetus without having gained at any point an “operationally usable” success. With the false hopes thus raised wrecked, as they have been by the annihilation of an Axis army of 330,000 men at Stalingrad, the losses of many additional divisions and vast masses of material and the smashing of the whole enemy southern front, it would be strange if there were not to be added to the physical effects of the Soviet winter offensive a shattering blow to the morale of the German armies and people.

The position meantime, at all. events, is that, with something like six weeks still available of the winter weather in which they have shown themselves capable of attacking with maximum power and effect, the Russians are sweeping on from victory to victory in an offensive which in its latest development is declared to show no sign of losing momentum. The Germans and their sadly disillusioned satellites have yet to produce the first sign of their ability to check the Russian, onset and in estimating the possibilities of an ultimate stand by the Axis forces account Jias to be taken not only of the tremendous Soviet drive on the southern front, but of highly important developments further north. With Velikiye Luki in their hands, the Russians have penetrated deeply into the enemy defensive system far to the west of Moscow, and south of Leningrad also they have made more than tentative beginnings in another offensive thrust. The total position in Russia has to be considered in conjunction with the firm assurances given by Mr Churchill and President Roosevelt that the time is near at hand when the Western Allies -will do their full part towards enclosing Germany in a ring of steel, and fire.