Blitzkrieg Methods Cost Nazis Dearly On East Front

Northern Advocate, 7 October 1941, Page 5

Blitzkrieg Methods Cost Nazis Dearly On East Front

(Received 2.30 p.m.) LONDON, October G. \ ZURICH MESSAGE REPORTS THE SWISS NEWSPAPER “DIE NATION” AS SAYING THAT, AFTER A CAREFUL INVESTIGATION BY A MILITARY EXPERT, THE HEAVY GERMAN LOSSES ON THE RUSSIAN FRONT ARE ATTRIBUTED TO THE FACT THAT THE HIGH COMMAND ADOPTED THE BLITZKRIEG METHOD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF FIGHTING AND THREW ITS ENTIRE FIGHTING STRENGTH INTO THE BATTLE. The Germans from that day onwards lost 24,000 men daily. One effect of modern weapons, says the newspaper, is that 17 per cent, of the, casualties are .killed as compared with 10 per cent, in the last war. The German losses at the end of the ninth week totalled 1,400,000. The Luftwaffe, in the opinion of experienced pilots, has had an average daily loss of SO planes, with a total for the first nine weeks of 4100 planes and 10,000 pilots. . (

Plane Production Less < The German army today consists of about 300 divisions in action, but their reduced effective strength has been made up by only 50 per cent. The aircraft production of Germany last May was about 1500 planes a month, but the shortage of raw materials and the destruction of some factories have reduced the figure to 1100 monthly. A message from Berlin received in Zurich states that all leading German newspapers today carry articles warning the public against unjustified optimism. The “Frankfurter Zeitung” says: “Although the Fuehrer said the actual danger on the east front has passed, we must be prepared for many more hard battles.” • Britain Will Thank God This paper argues that Britain will thank God for a German victory when she realises that Russia would be very likely, at the grimmest moment, when British and German troops were fighting, to swoop down and crush both nations. The Munich newspaper “Neueste Nachrichten” says: “The war in the east will not end soon, but will remain the greatest test of nerves and endurance for the German nation. Our utmost hatred must be directed against Britain and America, who forced us to take up arms against Russia.” Alibi Ready A number of papers explain that the occupation of Leningrad is of little im-

portance from a military viewpoint, and say it is only important to encircle the city. This, they add, has been accomplished. The Moscow radio, in a message from Stockholm, reported that a number of German generals demanded that Hitler should forbid Himmler from interfering in, army matters. They added: “Besides this disagreement there are fresh disagreements between the German generals themselves. The German High Command’s original plan did_ not provide for a winter campaign. Against General Staff During the latest conference at Hitler’s headquarters, which considered preparations for a winter campaign, List, another general, pointed out that the German armies’ longer communications in the east, together with guerilla warfare make it risky to launch any further offensive operations by individual formations isolated from the main body of the army. “General Guderian supported this view. The generals foretold the failure of their General Staff’s new plan unless the army consolidated its position in the occupied area. Goering was not present, the official reason being ill-health.”

Malta Hardest Target.—'The Italian newspaper “La Stampa” states that the defences of Malta are even better than those of London. Malta, the newspaper adds, is the most difficult target of the war.