A YEAR OF ALLIED VICTORIES ON ALL FRONTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25084, 23 December 1944, Page 2

A YEAR OF ALLIED VICTORIES ON ALL FRONTS

THE past year is almost surfeited with events. It began with the expectation of the invasion of western Europe. For six months the world waited breathlessly for the vast undertaking. Then came the weeks of hard fighting before the armies of Britain and the United States swept through the Germans and in blitzkrieg advances freed France and Belgium and reached 'the borders of Germany. Expectation was high that the war in Europe would be over this 3'ear. Now we have seen the Germans recover themselves—indeed launch a vigorous counter-offensive — and so the war in Europe cannot be won until the summer of next year. Such in broad outline is the form in which 1944 will live in the memory of most New Zealanders. Although we are a Pacific people events in this great ocean do not seem so vivid as those in Europe. The average New Zealander, Tin like perhaps the average American or Australian, regards Germany as the chief enemy. He finds somewhat incongruous the constant emphasis on Pacific affairs by the American press and radio. But this has not made us unmindful of the magnificent achievements of the "United States forces against Japan, whose homeland is now threatened by the capture of Saipan and the landings in the Philippines. Signs of War-weariness Four years of total war make a long period. Even in New Zealand there are signs of war-weariness, but it is the people of Britain who had the most reason to hope that this Christmas would have seen the end of Hitler. Instead so many of them have to endure the horrors of the rocket bombs, "but they remain imperturbable. They viewed with superb confidence the out-

I come of the invasion of France. The man in the street did not seem to share the fears expressed by many of the commentators as invasion day obviously drew near. There is something very inspiring in this optimism and calmness of our kinsfolk. The idea of defeat after Dunkirk seemed to them as childish as the thought of failure after the landings in Normandy. The average British citizen does not seem to take his experts very seriously. Confident in the ability of Air Churchill and Field Marshal Montgomery he awaited the issue of the battles in France, never wondering because the dogged courage and skill of the Second Army before Caen made the springboard for the Allied leap to Germany. Eisenhower's Genius The hope of Allied victory this year vanished with the failure of the airborne attack in September at Arnhem. Had that glorious venture met the success it di erved Genera] Dempsey's armies would have crossed the Lek and reached the comparatively lightly-forti-fied area of Northern Germany. The weather played us a scurvy trick, and cheated Allied hopes. Indeed, 1944 has been remarkable for the vileness of the weather. Heavy rains held us up at Anzio and before Cassino. The worst storms in the Channel for fifty years very nearly ruined the invasion, and slowed down the Normandy campaign. Finally at Arnhem it nullified Field Marshal Montgomery's prophecy of the defeat of Hitler this year. The genius and personality of General Eisenhower stand out in any survey of events in Europe. Before the invasion the name of Montgomery was already secure of a lasting place in English history. But Eisenhower's part in the victories in North Africa and Italy was known mainly to experts. Americans. indeed, regarded him as almost too self-effacing before the British. The decision on the invasion of France marked his greatness. The authorities on the weather had told him that if he did not choose the fifth

or sixtli of June he would have to wait another fortnight. In spite ot continued bad weather lie choso June 6 for the most mighty of all amphibious operations. Had FlO waited another fortnight a groat storm would have made invasion a disaster. Eisenhower has not the appeal ot Foch. But we have the word of Mr Churchill that the American general has the supreme art of handling men of diverse nationalities. Hitler cannotboast with Napoleon that he has the easy task of defeating quarrelsome coalitions. Eisenhower has given the lie to that. Hitler, like Napoleon, has suffered under the blows of the Russians. The Soviet has proclaimed with the roar of guns in the Kremlin the liberation of the Crimea, of the Baltic States, and the capitulation of Rumania, Finland, and Bulgaria. The Russian armies stand at the gates of Warsaw and Budapest. They have penetrated the ramparts of Czechoslovakia. Vienna itself is threatened. Yet it is true that the Russians have been unable to penetrate East Prussia. The past twelve months have unfortunately proved that the Germans know how to light a losing battle. The sur-' renders at Stalingrad and Tunisia, especially the latter, had encouraged many to believe that the enemy would snap in 1944 as lie had in 1918. It was not to be. Hitler has had control of Germany too long. He lias produced Nazi youths who fight like wild beasts —so great a problem that Field Marshal Montgomery can see no solution to the German question but to kill them. Skill in Retreat The older men fight on, partly because they fear the results of defeat and partly because the ruthless ferocity of the Gestapo makes surrender hazardous. The attempt at the > assassination of Hitler has merely riveted the control of Germany by Himmler and his cut-throats. Nor can the skill of the Germans in retreat be denied. They suffered badly in Normandy, but they appear to have extricated much of their armour. Their operations in Alsace, Lorraine, the Saar and the Ruhr may be open to certain criticism on the score of costly counter-attacks, but they have a consistency which has cost us many casualties and preserved Germany's approaches. The Siegfried Line has not been substantially breached and the Rhine remains a formidable barrier.

By L. K. MUNRO

The battles of next summer will bo fierce and the prospect of the Germans having new and formidable weapons has to be faced. The destruction wrought by the rocket bomb is a salutary warning to those who underestimate German scientific skill. Indeed, only new weapons of undreamt of power can avert German defeat. It seems highly unlikely that the Nazis can produce these, but they can certainly do enough to make final victory costly in blood and treasure. Not even the great events in France can make Italy appear a secondary theatre for New Zealanders. Our men are still there and have marched from the extreme south to beyond the Arno. Italy has become a testing place for Allied politics. The result has been a compromise. The King has gone but the Crown Prince remains. Diplomatic Field The co-operation of Britain, tinUnited States and Russia has been far from perfect. We were astounded because the Soviet gave diplomatic" recognition to the Badoglio regime without reference to Britain and the United States. The Americans were annoyed and administered us a public rebuff because without referring to them we disapproved of the entry of Count Sforza into the Italian Cabinet. Great as the military successes of the United Nations have been, _ their progress in the diplomatic field in 1944 has been far less inspiring. This has been so in spite of the, constant efforts of Mr Churchill and Mr Eden. As the Prime Minister said of the failure to effect a settlement between the Poles and the Russians, both he and Mr Eden "have spared no travail, no risk, no political rebuff" in their efforts to bring about an understanding. Mr Churchill, who dominates the Allied world, cannot be expected to overcome the defects of Presidential diplomacy and the mysterious ways of the Kremlin. The United States has disapproved but has not always acted. The Soviet has acted only too firmly and quickly where it conceives, as in Poland, that its vital interests have been conserved. The recommendations of Dumbarton Oaks to establish a world

organisation have to be read in the iighi of disagreements over Poland and Greece. The year is ending with the return of France to the ranks of the Great Powers. All her friends will rejoice at the rebirth of French greatness. Thu weaknesses and the treacheries in France that contributed to the fall in 1.940 are regarded by us now with a more tolerant eye when we consider that Britain without the Channel and with all her moral strength would have found it hard to withstand the German armies. The future under de Gaulle is unfathomable. Probably only the intervention of the British and American armies has saved France from civil war. We need a strong France, now fortunately buttressed by an alliance with Russia. The Far East and the Pacific in 1944 have witnessed a series of shattering Japanese defeats. The British, it is too often forgotten, in addition to bearing the enormous burden of armaments in Europe and on every ocean, have a power!ill force in Burma, fighting a cruel and cunning foe in malariainfested jungles. \"o tribute to Britain's war effort would be complete without reference to the exploits of the forces under the command of Lord Mountbatten. Situation in China It is a thousand pities that the picture is marred by the constant retre.at of the Chinese in the east and south, and the threat today even to Chungking itself. Marshal Chiang Kai-shek's Government must face up to the demands of Chinese unity and reach terms with the Communists. It is the story of American exploits in the Pacific which rounds off a year of splendid Allied victory. The conquest of the Marshalls, the seizure of Saipan, the landing at Leyte and now at Mindoro, the naval victories off the Philippines—these are, glorious episodes. The Americans appear to have perfected the art of amphibious operations. Now they are to be joined by a great British fleet. So New Zealand at the end of 1944 rests secure through victories in every part of the world by the Mother Country and her Allies, victories in which New Zealand's sons can proudly claim a share.