THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1942 THREE YEARS AT WAR

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24369, 3 September 1942, Page 2

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1942 THREE YEARS AT WAR

To-day marks the end of the third j year at war for only two of the six Great Powers now engaged—the | British Empire and Germany. The < United States and Japan are still] comparatively fresh in the struggle, being more than three months short of their first anniversary. America is far from developing—let alone exerting—her full power, although she has recently given three satisfying tastes of her quality in the Pacific. Japan entered the war, after more than four years' fighting in China. I with an astonishing burst of speed, j At present it is not certain whether 1 she has shot her bolt or is coiling for j another spring. Because it has been j so fierce and relentless, the ordeal j of Russia appears to have been j longest. Measuring time by the j calendar, however, the Soviet has j been engaged for less than 15; months. Measuring it by intensity, j weight and blood sacrifice, the time [ is stretched to an infinity of human j endurance. Nor has the mighty j Russian effort gone for nothing. The j Wehrmacht has been worn down on j the steppes. In fact, the Soviet con- J tribution to final victory must { already rank with that of Britain, j her time at war having been soj terribly filled and tight-packed with j battle.' As for Italy, she can no longer be rated as a Great Power. Most of her inglorious belligerency j has been spent in hobbling on crutches, made in Germany. j As the war enters upon its fourth vear, it is seen that the of sudden surprises and quick decisions has passed, for the time being at least. No easy victories are to be j expected in the period ahead. That is because the belligerents j are more evenly matched. The! Allies have slowly and painfully j been making up leeway. Now; they are better able to hold ; and, if they continue to gain on; the enemy, may next year be ready j to push. Ft* such a gain they must;, look largely to the development of American power. Britain and Russia j have already reached their peak and j are fully extended. The same applies j to Germany and Japan. Indeed, some authorities argue that both have passed the peak, and that Germany, at least, is dipping into reserves of men and material. At any rate, both have been on a war basis for longer years than three, and have heavily overdrawn their national accounts. Germany's war: effort stretches back to 1933 and j Japan's to 1931. No people can live at top for ever. Hitler must realise that his machine is over-charged and over-strained. That is why, in a desperate bid for relief, he is staking everything he can muster on a frantic "effort to eliminate Russia. He has learned to his cost that the Soviet cannot be knocked out, but he hopes to cripple her, to remove the threat of Russia as an effective offensive force. Bock's offensive in South Russia has gone far toward reaching the modified, but most dangerous, objective. Such an enemy success would set back the whole Allied cause. While it would not arrest the decline of German power from its peak probably reached last year —it would release much of the mighty remainder for other fields and, in the last resort, for defence. Yet the possibility should be faced, when it is seen to be not irreparable. Britain may be totally mobilised, but is still full of running. Her staying-power is famous among her friends and feared by her enemies. Coupled with her is the freshest and mightiest of all the protagonists —richetst in raw materials, glutted with foodstuffs, strongest industrially, commanding the largest untouched reserves of manpower. Size, strength and efficiency combine in the United States with vigour,- freshness and force. America is far from reaching the peak, being only at the beginning. Her entry into the war nine months ago introduced the decisive factor, once it is organised. Her weight is already telling on the Allied side of j the scales, and will weigh it down when all can be thrown in. Even now, the problem is less one of production and more of distribution, of bringing America's weight to bear. The Battle of the Atlantic has been going less badly for two months past, but it has yet to be won. Until it is, the Allies cannot set themI selves firmly on the road to victory. Everything else is now in train, every other difficulty is being overcome, except the legs to carry the Allies to their noble goal—and they must be sea-legs.