Wairarapa Times-Age FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1943. ITALY AND OPPORTUNITIES.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 September 1943, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1943. ITALY AND OPPORTUNITIES.

- * WHILE tlie surrender of Italy is in itself a momentous event, brought about by the valiant efforts of great Allied forces amom-st whom those of this Dominion have played their pait honourably and well, it is of importance J °ve a inilestone on the road to much greater achievements bo lai as Italy is concerned the Allied victory is complete, llus is made final y clear in General Eisenhower’s announcement that the Italian Government has surrendered its armed forces unconditiona ly Thu armistice signed is a strictly military agreement anc political, financial and economic terms to be imposed on Italy remain to be determined by the Allies. To what extent Nazi Germany will be able to continue the war in Italy or in areas the Italians have occupied is not yet clear but the position reached is of good promise as it bears upon’ the continuation of the war against the remaining enemy in Europe and is not without promise as it bears on the uai in the Pacific The balance of naval strength m the war and the total position with regard to sea transport is m process of beiim altered tremendously in favour of the Allies. The Italian surrender creates opportunities of which the United Nations evidently will be bound to make the most. . Within a brief period the situation brought about, not only in Italv itself but over extensive areas of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans and elsewhere should be defined very nine i more clearly than it is at the moment. Strategically all these areas are of commanding importance to Germany, not only as outposts shielding her home territories from attack, but m some instances, notably that of Rumania, as vital sources of supply. On the other hand it seems unlikely that Germany’s military resources, bearing in mind the weight of attack to which she is now being subjected and the reasonable assurance that before loim it will be intensified heavily, will enable her seriously to attempt a defence of much, at least, of the territory she has held hitherto in conjunction with Italy. Only those intimately acquainted with the higher direction of the war in its details can determine . with exactitude the possibilities thus raised. Even the onlooking layman may peiceive however, that Germany, irrespective of whatever efforts she may now make to withstand the Allies in Italy, the Balkans and Aegean and Mediterranean islands, is exposed to new and damaging attacks in many quarters. There is news at time of writing of Allied landings in a number of areas, including the Naples region, far to the north of the Calabrian Peninsula in which the°Eighth Army is reported to be engaged in heavy fighting with German troops. There are fair prospects of a speedy and successful Allied occupation of at least a considerable part of Italy, including airfields within easy bombing lange of Central Europe. Even in northern Italy, with the Brenner Pass route wrecked behind them, the Germans will not be too happily placed. Other wide possibilities are opened, however. At time of. writing no mention is made, for instance, of Albania, but this is a vital Balkan area to which the Allies conceivably may obtain comparatively easy access. If they do they will be in a fair wav to outflank the Germans in the southern Balkans and in island strongholds and will take an important step towards an attack on Rumania, the country from which Germany obtains a third of her oil and great supplies of wheat. Many factors in the Balkan situation await determination. It may be believed very reasonably, however, that the Italian surrender will make Germany’s disillusioned and anxious satellites more than ever anxious to find a way of escape from entanglement in her toils. In spite of a measure of vagueness and uncertainty in regard to many details, the broad picture presented is one of enlarged and expanding opportunity for the energetic and enterprising extension of offensive action in which the Allies are engaged and which they evidently have every intention of carrying to its limits. Much hard fighting remains in prospect, but a definite stage towards ultimate and decisive victory has been covered.'