WAR REVIEW

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 September 1944, Page 5

WAR REVIEW

PRESS COMMENTATORS OPERATIONS DESCRIBED (Recd. 9.40 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 25. Germany’s general position has become worse during last week, despite the holding operations at Warsaw and Arnhem. The encirclement of the Reich has taken new shape from the complete linking of the armies-on the. Eastern Front where there, is an enemy collapse on the Baltic, and from the arrival of Mediterranean forces on the right of the Allied line in the west, with a link at Epinal. Commentators here consider movements towards North Italy and Hungary coupled with Tito’s domination of Jugoslavia may enable the southern front to turn the German position from Austria to East Prussia. The whole Western position also may be turned in the north through Holland. Military commentators devote the week-end summings-up to the Arnhem airborne landings, the reasons for which the “Sunday Times” commentator “Scrutator” interprets as follows: “The most formidable barrier to invading Germany is ; the Rhine. Surmount any of the hill obstacles from the Ardennes to the Vosges, and surmount the Siegfried Line, yet the Rhine remains. On the one side of the Netherlands there is no hill obstacle, and almost no Siegfried Line—the enemy has solely relied on water barriers.'At first sight, these, look most formidable. There is the Maas, which is swollen by the Meuse and Waal and Lek, which are two branches of the swollen Rhine, and there are many smaller waterchannels between them, besides scope for inundations. The Allied plan was to open the road across all three by landing airborne forces to secure the bridges, while simultaneously General Dempsey's army made the heaviest, swiftest push that could be organised. The three chief bridges were at Grave over the Maas, Nijmegen over the Waal and Arnhem over the Lek. At Grave, the bridge was seized. At Nijmegen, it was not, and at Arnhem, it is not clear what happened. In the sequel what occurred was this. Our armour breaking through and pushing forward from one front in the neighbourhood of the MeuseEscaut Canal dashed into Holland, by-passed Eindhoven, crossed the Maas and arrive at Nijmegen. Here the Germans planned to stop it before the broad Waal, reckoning if they did so they would cut off and annihilate the airborne forces at Arnhem. But they delayed blowing up the great road-bridge until some of their own troops should cross it, and British armour, by wonderful good fortune captured the bridge intact. The immediate sequel, however, was dis-, appointing for the British armour was not able to continue the dash between the Waal and Lek, but has been slowed up by strong resistance.” RUSSIAN FRONTS “The Yorkshire Post’s” military correspondent, discussing the Russian advance throughout the week points out that Soviet strategy achieved a remarkable success by forcing the Germans to mass in the centre ot the Eastern Front while their flanks were being turned. He sums up the position as follows: Firstly, Hungary is about to be entered from the east on a fortv-mile front, or several fronts, and the air attack has begun. Secondly the Carpathians are passing into 'the hands of Russia, and her Allies. Thirdly, Tito and Tolbukhin are entering Greece. Fourthly, land, sea and air attacks are developing on the Baltic flank. Fifthly, the Russians are on the west bank of the Vistula to outflank Warsaw. Sixthly, of the German armies opposing the Russians, twelve have been destroyed or rendered ineffective before the advance into Grmany begins.