The Waikato Times THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1941 GERMAN COMMITMENT IN RUSSIA

Waikato Times, Volume 129, Issue 21583, 20 November 1941, Page 4

The Waikato Times THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1941 GERMAN COMMITMENT IN RUSSIA

Five months of 1941 have brought an answer to questions which all the Allied peoples have been asking themselves anxiously: Can Germany defeat the Russians before winter sets in ? Will winter, when it comes, freeze the German offensive and allow the Russians to remain a strong fighting force for the spring campaign ? Upon the answer to those questions depended probably more than many people realised. Though nothing is certain in war, it is reasonably safe to assume that the Nazis cannot now achieve victory in Russia this winter, and that is a fact of tremendous importance to the Allied cause. The obvious course now is for every Allied nation to strive with might and main to take advantage of conditions as they are. From the Arctic to the south of Moscow the Germans have been held for weeks, but further south, particularly in the Crimean Peninsula the enemy is still making progress. Possibly Hitler will divert all available reinforcements to this front in an endeavour to gain a foothold in the Caucasus. He claims to have gained control of the whole of Eastern Crimea in the region of Kerch, leaving only the narrow channel to cross to bring him into the Caucasus. Winter comes later in these southern areas and is less severe than in the north, although it is severe enough to impose a heavy handicap on campaigning. Germany boasts that the Kerch Channel is an inconsiderable obstacle to the Nazis, but that remains to be proved. Russia is mining the channel and guarding it with bombers. The oustanding fact is, however, that Germany will remain deeply involved on the Russian front at least for some months, giving the Allies an opportunity to prepare elsewhere. Those who have doubted whether time is on the side of the Allies have only to look back over the dangerous months and years through which Britain has passed. After the retreat from Dunkirk Britain was practically disarmed. Time was essential for the process of rearmament, and the necessary time has almost miraculously been granted. The result is that Britain and her Allies are now incomparably better equipped to meet the enemy than they were a year ago. Then their arms were hopelessly inadequate; now there is good reason for confidence. Time has been, and still is, on the side of the Allied forces.

British and American opinion has consistently held that the Allies will reach their full fighting strength in 1942 and 1943. What of Germany ? There is ground for the belief that the Nazi war machine reached the peak of its strength at about the time when the invasion of Russia was begun five months ago. It is calculated that a great nation requires about four years to reach its peak of war preparedness. Germany has been preparing for a longer period than that. She has added the resources of the conquered countries to her reserves, but she needs a respite to mobilise the full effectiveness of those resources. The business of the Allies is to see that no such respite is given. Even if Germany is chained to the Russian front through the winter she must be given no rest. In the air, on the sea and wherever possible on the land the process of attrition must be accelerated. Germany will still be a menace when the sun returns to the Northern Hemisphere.