WHERE WILL NEXT ALLIED BLOW FALL?

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 109, 10 May 1943, Page 3

WHERE WILL NEXT ALLIED BLOW FALL?

EUROPEAN ASSAULT Italy And Balkans Logical Landing-Places N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. noon. LONDON, May 9. Speculation as to where the Allies will strike next has replaced the jubilant announcements in the Press of the Allied victory in Tunisia. The United States Press agrees that an assault on the Continent will come soon. Most observers believe the Allies will launch several blows simultaneously, masking the real one until the Axis forces are thinly strung out. The New York Times Washington correspondent says informed circles assume that the decisions about an Allied landing in Europe have already been taken, but where and when is a carefully-guarded However, Italy and the Balkans are regarded as the most logical places. The possibility of a desperate German surprise attack against the Allies via Spain or the Balkans is not overlooked, but, so far, no signs have been reported of attempted Operations in these directions. Joseph Harsch, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, says the Allied victory in Tunisia is packed with meaning for the future. It revealed superior power, employed with skill, determination and superb co-ordination, not only of all war arms, but also of the three separate Allied armies—which are the most difficult of all forms of co-ordination. The result shows new power and new momentum in the Allied cause, which has taken a most significant forward step. Collapse of Axis Plans The -Moscow newspaper Pravda says the capture of Bizerta and Tunis testify to the complete collapse of Hitler's and Mussolini's plans to dominate the Mediterranean, deprive the Allies of the most important strategic positions and to cut the communications to the East. The Allies, by dealing a .decisive blow against the forces of Italy and Germany in Tunisia, have achieved most important strategic advantages for the development of further military operations against the Axis.