The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES" GISBORNE, MONDAY, JULY 19, 1943. A RUSSIAN TRIUMPH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21150, 19 July 1943, Page 2

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES" GISBORNE, MONDAY, JULY 19, 1943. A RUSSIAN TRIUMPH

The week-end has brought another : pate of good news. On every front where there is active fighting the Allies have gained further successes, some of them of a most striking character and alt of them holding out. promise of further discomfort for tin enemy. In Sicily. Ihe Allies have: made gains in every direction. The capture of Agrigc-nto by the Americans is one of the most signal successes m date, while the steady advance of the Eighth Army towards Catania opens lip :r most hopeful prospect. Some of the most optimistic forecasts as to' the possible development of fiio campaign should, perhaps, be discounted, since it is not improbable that the Axis is reserving its major defence for a later stage; Jn the meantime, however, it is being more and more handicapped by the continued pounding of its communications from sea and air. In the Pacific, the Allied air forces have scored another notable victory against Japanese shipping arid aircraft. In the past few weeks the enemy losses of ships and planes have assumed substantial proportions and the latest operations serve once again to show how vulnerable the Japanese are to concentrated Allied attacks' in Ibis area. The results must also have the effect of weakening the Japanese generally and handicapping their aetivi•ics in other parts of the Pacific. Probably the most important news of the week-end, however, is that ol the amazing Russian success on the central front. In the welter of more spectacular news from other theatres, there may be a tendency to overlook the supreme importance of the Russian front. So far as land fighting is concerned, the German army is still the major factor in this war and one of the principal objectives must be its complete and utter defeat. This is nol yet in sight, but there can be no question that the Russians are delivering blows from which the Wehrmacht might find it. difficult to recover. On Ibis front, too. however, it must be borne in mind that the campaign is only in its early stages and while there can be solid satisfaction at what has already been achieved it must not. be forgotten that the Germans still possess great strength. Perhaps the most impressive feature of the past few days is the evidence that on this particular sector the Russians have more than out-matched the enemy. Whatever the real objective of the German offensive, it is apparent that tire Russians were ready for it. They were compelled, it is true, to give a certain amount of ground in the early stages, but that has been the usual Russian tactics, and now they have recovered all the ground that war; previously lost.

The one thing that stands out more than anything else is that this year, [or the first time since the Germans turned on the Russians, they have been unable to launch a really effective offensive, even on a limited front. They made an enormous concentration of mechanised force in the Kursk region which, had past experience been repeated, would have resulted in a substantial break-through. Last year, by way of contrast, they were at the gates of Vorone.i within eight days of the' attack being launched. This lime, alter nearly eight, day's, they arc' back where they started and. even more important, further north, the Russians have launched an offensive of their own which is now reported to be actually threatening Orel. Just what this effort has' cost 'the Germans has been revealed by 1 'the Soviet communiques. It is they.' rather than the Russians,- who have suffered heavy losses and the German lines that have been broken, whereas those of the Hussions have, even in their earlier 'withdrawal, been kept intact. The net result of the developments of the oast few weeks appears to be that the Russians, for the first time since the war started, have been able to launch a summer offensive which at the moment is most threatening to the oneiyiy.

The present position surely justifies the assumption that the balance of power in the east has shifted to the Russians. They 'have proved able' to hold the German onslaughts and then immediately to turn the tables and launch another of those counterattacks of which they have proved past masters. To retrieve this situation the Germans would require to rush all the forces they could provide to the eastern front. They are prevented from doing this because of the threat from the west created by the successful invasion of Sicily. Already there is evidence that the resources of the Axis; are strained. They have been able to make only feeble efforts to counter the Allied air attacks in the Mediterranean theatre and the diversion of air strength appears to have given the Russians air superiority on their front. There is satisfactory evidence, 100. that the Russians are now able to make fuller use of the equipment which Britain and America have been pouring in' to assist Her. It is Suggested that these supplies are a not inconsiderable factor in the Russian;;' successes. In this respect, therefore, as well as in the actual operations, the Allies are a united force working in the closest collaboration on ali fronts. It is this great unity of purpose and design which carries assurance of an Allied victory and the defeat of the common enemy.