HITLER CANONISES A NOBLE ROMAN

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 63, 11 September 1943, Page 6

HITLER CANONISES A NOBLE ROMAN

After a long silence that was construed as a self-accusation, Hitler felt compelled to speak. In a broadcast to! the German people he has told them to calmly cut their losses, to accept the territorial surrenders incidental to i an "elastic defence," and to rely on the military^rowess of Germany alone. Strictly speaking, there is no longer an "Axis" in Europe, because one end of it (Italy) has broken down; it ceased to have any "axial" meaning when the author of the term "Axis,", Mussolini, dived into that oblivion from which Hitler now tries, in vain, to rescue him. Churchill recently assessed the power of Italy as being one-tenth of the power of the whole European Axis. This was not an exaggerated valuation, but to Hitler (now!) the value of Italy of course is even less—small enough to enable him to tell the Germans that Italy's surrender has "little military importance." Then an amazing Hitlerian selfcontradiction follows. Mussolini, the man who brought Italy into her war of loot, and under whose rule she deteriorated to the point of ceasing to be of military importance, is acclaimed by Hitler as being the greatest Italian since the days of ancient Rome. From this it appears that to lose a war is to be the greatest man for many centuries! This is the lot of Mussolini today, of Hitler tomorrow.

Besides throwing the mantle of fame over Mussolini,^ Hitler is said to have placed a protective ring of German bayonets round the Vatican, as part of his military measures to take over Rome. Germany claims to have disarmed Italian troops in southern France, and to have forced the capitulation of Italian divisions in northern Italy "after a short and very bitter struggle," but does not mention Milan and Turin. On the Adriatic Sea Germany claims to have secured the northern coasts and key towns both on the Italian side and the Croatian side, and to be in occupation of the Balkan part of the Adriatic area right down to Durazzo and Valona, at the gateway of the Adriatic Sea. Against them in this locality come the advancing Allied forces bent on seizing the heel of Italy; the Italian naval base of Taranto is already occupied -by the Allies, who clearly aim to secure the Italian side of the entrance to the Adriatic, as a stepping-stone to the western side of the Balkan peninsula. In that peninsula, according to German reports, many Italian soldiers have surrendered to Germany but some have not. While the race on land for key positions that fall from the' hands of Italy is being energetically pursued by the Allies and by Germany, there is another race to secure shipping. While the Germans claim "to have taken over Italian ships in the Aegean and Adriatic," Algiers reports that "the greater part of the Italian fleet and merchant marine" succeeded in putting to sea to elude the Germans.

When the new front defines itself, the strategic meaning of Italy's collapse will be clearer. Hitler cannot yet compute its effect on his "satellite" allies.