The Bay of Plenty Times FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1942 THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF HITLER

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13802, 20 November 1942, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Times FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1942 THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF HITLER

The occupation of French North Africa by American and British troops, which Mr Churchill modestly claimed as the end of the beginning, appears to us as the beginning of the end and that appears to be the opinion of that soldier-statesman, Field Marshal Smuts. The venture which was carried out with great and perfect secrecy, took the Axis by surprise .and has upset the entire strategy of the Axis Powers. Hitler and the German High Command have had to improvise a new strategy and that is always a difficult matter, and it is rendered more difficult because Hitler cannot forecast with any degree of certainty the next move of the Allies. The immediate objective of the Allied strategy is to clear the Mediterranean of all Axis forces, and that should be accomplished soon. The Eighth Army has routed Rommel's Afrika Korps and the remnants are racing to get to Italian Tripolitania. They will m all probability get there, but their sojurn in Italian territory cannot be very long! The Eighth Army is in hot pursuit on the Libyan side and General Anderson is hammering at them in Tunisia, so that the Germans and Italians must be crushed as the two Allied forces move to join hands. It has also been announced that a third Allied force is marching from the Chad district so it would seem that the enemy's chances of escape are very slim. In the meanwhile the Allies are pouring more and more troops into North Africa, and the French forces are co-operating with the Allies. According to the armistice France was allowed to maintain three divisions in North Africa, but another three divisions could easily be raised locally. Arms and equipment are needed and these are being rushed into the country from Britain and the United States. But the Mediterranean will not be clear of the enemy until the Dodecanese has been cleared. This is an Italian naval base off Turkey. The French fleet in Toulon has caused some concern, but according to recent reports this fleet has put to sea, and we may be sure it has not done so to help the Germans but to help the Allies. We may expect the French ships in Alexandria to take similar steps and join the Allies: The greatest menace to the Allies is the U-boat, many of which are swarming in the Atlantic to harass the convoys. But the British are taking a heavy toll of the U-boats, and while it is believed that building capacity of the Axis is about 33 U-boats a month, the problem for the Germans would be manpower. Trained men are recpiired for submarines, and to lose them as fast as they are being lost will constitute a very grave problem for the Axis. The whole scene of the war has changed and for Russia the campaign in North Africa is equivalent to the opening of a second front, for Russia has obtained relief, and is now taking the offensive in many sectors. Now that winter has set in with all its rigours, the Russians may repeat their performance of last year. Itwas on December 7, 1941, that Stalin ordered the offensive which was costly to the Germans. What is to follow? That of course is a secret of the Allied High Command. We will be able to make a'fairly good guess when the Mediterranean is cleaned up. But even now it seems that an invasion of the Italian mainland is in contemplation. At any rate the Italian authorities expect it, and are making strenuous efforts to maintain the morale of the Italian people. This will be found to be a difficult job, for the Italians are not enthusiastic about the war, and that has been shown again and again in Libya. The Allies are landing more and more troops and give all the indications of bigger movements in southern Europe. But this may be a blind, and the main offensive may be launched in another direction. Hitler has had to rush troops to Vichy France and to Italy, and these troops have been withdrawn from other sectors and so weakening them. There are other spots that could be invaded. However, it is a long way to Berlin, and many bloody battles will" have to be fought in the meanwhile. But victory is in sight.