Greymouth Evening Star. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1944. SITUATION IN ITALY.

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 February 1944, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1944. SITUATION IN ITALY.

will be felt, at Mr. Churchill’s announcement that Generals Wilson and Alexander report their confidence that the battle for Rome will be won, but there is no doubt that the present situation in Italy provides cause for real anxiety. The “soft belly” has proved more difficult to overcome than was expected, and the developments in the last few months have emphasised the folly of those who predicted the early collapse of the German resistance. So little real news is given about the operations in Italy that comment must be mainly conjecture, but with President Roosevelt describing the beach-head situation as “very tense,” and the Canadian Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King) speaking of the possibility of “terrible reverses,” it required something from Mr. Churchill in the shape of a cheer-up message.

It is to be hoped that news will come soon of an Allied triumph, to restore public confidence in the efficiency of leadership and strategy connected with the war in Italy. No useful purpose is served by claiming all is well, when little or no progress is recorded week after week. The Anglo-U.S.A. troops are fighting with great courage and endurance, and. the cas-

ualty list must be heavy. Experts, with adequate knowledge of the facts, must be left to judge the military aspects of the campaign, and, so far, little has been published of adverse comment on the Allied Generals. The Allied peoples’ disappointment is due partly to the high expectations they were encouraged to have when the Salerno and Nettuno landings were made. The initial, statements in both eases, official and otherwise, were optimistic in the extreme. The Germans were said to have been surprised aud outwitted, and generally their outlook was desperate. Within a few days, however, it was the Germans who seized the initiative, and almost secured victory.

The Allies are said to have the advantage in numbers and equipment, and to have acquired superiority in the air and control of the sea. The enemy has natural defences to help him, and may not be so handicapped by adverse weather, but. when a. review of the whole situation is made, it is difficult to find adequate explanation, in the news released, of the German sustained resistance. The German supply lines have been reported to have been disastrously bombed, and the effect of this should have been serious. The reverses in Russia do not appear to have had much effect on German morale in Italy. The Balkan satellite countries are not yet sufficiently impressed by Allied progress Io desert their German overlords, and although reports are of Jugoslav successes, these do not appear to be sufficiently permanent or numerous.

The main lesson to be derived from the developments in Italy is the need for sustained war effort by all Allied peoples. A German collapse this year, so freely predicted, may come, but there is no sign of it yet, not even in Russia, where the Germans have been hard hit. The bombings of Berlin and other main enemy production bases will have ultimate effects, but

at present, these are not so decisive as sometimes inferred. The success against the U-boats is being maintained, but that special menace is not yet nullified. With the end of February, the invasion of Europe fpom Britain may be expected, any day, but latest comments about the prospects are less assuring. Happenings in Italy demonstrate the difficulties of invasion of well-defended territory. Doubtless, General Eisenhower and his staff are profiting from the Allies’ experiences.