Greymouth Evening Star. MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1944. ALLIES’ OFFENSIVES

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 January 1944, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1944. ALLIES’ OFFENSIVES

RESPITE official comments to the contrary, the operations in Italy have not progressed according to Allies’ expectations, the Fifth and Eighth Armies being able to make but . slow and costly advances. The Germans have the advantage of the terrain, and they have also proved determined to fight, and as a consequence the capture of Rome, which was hoped for before Christmas, began to look as if it were postponed until Easter, or beyond. No useful purpose is served by pretending that Italy is not a source of disappointment, and this without any reflection on the Allied troops, or their leaders, who are doing- heroic work deserving of greater success. Miscalculation appears to have been made of the strength of the Germans, the aid to be expected from the Italians, and the difficulties of warfare in the hilly regions, with weather as a further handicap.

News comes to-day, that the Allies have made a fresh landing in force at the rear of the German Gustav-Adolf Hitler lines, a move that had long been expected. Unlike at Salerno, the enemy was surprised and the Allies were able to establish wide bridgeheads with little opposition, and, consequently, few casualties. It would be too much to hope that this easy progress will be continuous but enough has been achieved to bring pressure to bear on the Germans on two fronts. Great results should be possible and the Allied occupation of Rome be hastened. Further developments will be awaited with considerable interest. The Eighth Army may also be expected to advance. Little has been heard from this Front, of late. The Canadians must have suffered severely in their recent reverse, to require “regrouping,” usually an ominous intimation. The offensive that has obtained most publicity is that of the Russian drives in the North, in which the Red Army has won considerable ground. Leningrad’s relief is practically complete, and one of the weak links in the Russian chain has been considerably strengthened. The weather during the next few weeks may limit the developments but there would appear to be no possibility of any German comeback

in this area. Tn the centre and south, the Russian advance has been slowed, and the enemy has shown some initiative. There may be a comparative lull in this area, due mainly to Winter, but welcome to both sides as giving opportunities for massing men and supplies for the next major encounters. Meanwhile, there has been no decisive move in the Balkan lands, and Turkey remains non-belliger-ent. Both these factors suggest that the German position in Southern Russia is not so desperate as some correspondents declare.

The coming major invasion by the Allies casts its paragraphs before, but the

only information of importance is connected with the non-stop attacks by Allied airmen on German centres, and bases in occupied territory. It must be assumed that these mass bombings and conflicts with German fighters are as effective as estimated, but the successes are costing the Allies many planes and airmen, a toll that demonstrates that the Luftwaffe is not yet a spent force. In the Pacific, the process of wearing down the Japanese continues, preparing for the day when something more spectacular and decisive will be possible. On the seas, the U-boats i continue to be held, but remain a menace which cannot be despised. Summed up,: the Allied peoples have cause for gratifi-i cation that the fortunes of war have' turned in their favour in all areas, but the rate of progress is not so speedy as hoped, and ffbthing has yet happened to justify any of the United Nations taking it easy.