The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES” GISBORNE, SATURDAY, JULY 17, 1943. ALLIED SUCCESSES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21149, 17 July 1943, Page 2

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES” GISBORNE, SATURDAY, JULY 17, 1943. ALLIED SUCCESSES

News from the various battlefronts accumulates at an almost bewildering pace—and without exception it is good news. The successes in Sicily were followed yesterday by reports of the brilliant Russian counter-attacks in the region of Orel. Following its usual custom, the Soviet High Command delayed an announcement of this engagement until it was reasonably assured of the results. Now it is revealed that the German line has been broken on a front of 25 miles in one area and of 19 miles in another and that the Russians have advanced from 12 to 28 miles and captured more than 100 inhabited localities. These arc striking achievements and justify the confidence that was expressed at the time when the Russians were fighting desperately to stem the German offensive on the same front. Once again the Russians have demonstrated their ability to stage effective counterattacks and the successes that have been achieved in these operations, added to the severe losses previously inliicted on the enemy, may decide the fate ol' the eastern front. The major activities in Europe should not cause sight to be lost of the notable gain that has been made in New Guinea. The capture of Mubo marks an important development of this campaign and is an encouraging augury for the future progress of the Pacific offensive.

In all this welter of news, however, the Allied invasion of Sicily is probably still the most important and most significant. After all, this is the commencement of the invasion of the continent and the opening of the second front in Europe on which such large hopes have been built. In some quarters there is still a tendency to restrain optimism regarding the campaign in Sicily. There might be good reason for this, but nothing can alter the fact that so far the invasion has progressed infinitely better than ever the most optimistic could have reasonably expected. This is indicated by the message which Mr. Churchill and President Roosevelt have caused to be broadcast to the people of Italy. It is a fair assumption that this message would not have been sent had there not been some reason to believe that there were.good prospects of it being effective. The Italians have now learned something of what tho war means to them. The empire has been shattered, some of their cities are already in ruins, ami the fate of tho whole country hangs in the balance. Tho invasion of Sicily is ample proof that Italy itself is vulnerable to attack and that the combined strength' of the Axis is not sufficient to hold the invading armies. In the circumstances, the Italians might well respond to the appeal that has been made to them.

The inability of the Axis, and of Italy, in particular, to resist is demonstrated in other ways. There is some ground for the belief that the Italian opposition, in any ease,- has been spiritless. The lack of air-power, the reliance of obsolete weapons, and the ready surrender of Italian soldiers suggest that the futility of making any real attempt to defend Sicily has been realised. Perhaps most significant of all is the fact that in Sicily, for virtually the first time in this war, there has been no “scorched earth” policy. At the ports of Syracuse and Augusta the facilities had been left intact—all ready for use by the Allies in operations against the mainland of Italy. It is incredible that, if Italy seriously contemplated continuing her opposition to the Allies, these two important bases should not, so far as was possible, have been rendered unusable. This lack of demolition almost conveys the impression that Italy did not intend to remain in the War long enough for the ports to be used against her. It must not be overlooked, however, that airy decision Which the Italian hierarchy might reach will largely be determined by the Nazi overlords. Whether or not the people of Italy will be able to throw off the yoke of their own leaders and of Germany is a question that can only be answered by the event.

The campaign in Sicily, has been marked by the amazing degree of coordination between, the' land, sea, and air forces. There have been combined operations on a scale never before reached and each branch of the service has fully played its part. It is not surprising, perhaps, that the air arm should attract the greatest notice, because it is in this direction that the Allies have displayed the greatest degree of supremacy and achieved such Striking results. The Axis, which had relied on its strength in the air to attack the Allies, now finds that its force is inadequate even for defence purposes in an area where all the odds would, have seem'ed to be in its favour. On the contrary, it has been beaten out- of the skies and many of the aerodromes which the enemy had planned to use are now in Allied hands. There seems' to be little doubt that the Sicilian campaign generally has proved the weakness of the Axis. That does not mean that victory, either in Sicily or elsewhere, will necessarily come readily or easily, but it does, surely, indicate the extent to which the Allies have gained the upper hand and the grave threat which now menaces the Axis everywhere. There may still be need for caution in assessing the future but there is no reason why there should not be jubilation at the progress that has been made.