ALLIED NATIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25068, 9 November 1942, Page 3

ALLIED NATIONS

SOLIDARITY AFFIRMED SPEECH BY M. STALIN (Rec. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 6. The extent to which the German time table has been upset by the Russian resistance this year was disclosed by M. Stalin in a speech at a special session of the Moscow Soviet in celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Soviet revolution. The German time table, said M. Stalin, was as follows;—Borisoglyebsk was to be captured by July 10, Stalingrad by July 25, Saratov by August 10, Kuibyshev by August 15, and Baku by August 25. lie said the German main intention was to capture Moscow in the course of this year and finish the war with Russia.

M. Stalin’s speech has been followed with close interest here, and particularly welcome is his reference to the solidarity of the Anglo-Russian-United States alliance. “ There are some people,” he said, “ who assert that the alliance had one organic fault—the difference of ideologies. This assertion is ridiculous. Of course, we have diffent ideas, but in the fight against slavery it is possible to have a common programme.” Need for Second Front

“The main reason for the German success this year is the absence of a second front in Europe,” declared M. Stalin. “If there had been a second front drawing off 60 German divisions, as during the first World War, the position of the German Army would indeed have been bad, and we would be witnessing the end of the German armies, because our troops would be in Pskov, and Minsk. “This year, however,” he added, “of the 256 German divisions, 179 were fighting on our front. To this can be added 23 Rumanian, 14 Finnish, 10 Italian. 13 Hungarian, 1 Spanish, and another unspecified division, totalling over 3.000,000 men, compared with 85 divisions ranged against Russia in the last war.

“ The Red Army not only has strong cards, but is able to hold out and smash the Germans,” M. Stalin said. “ It also showed that Germany has weaknesses. In the hunt for oil and for Moscow the German strategists have got into difficulties. Their summer plans appear to have failed. Yet the Germans managed to take the initiative in 1942, because they were able to mobilise all their reserves and create a large concentration in one sector. The Russians are not only enduring, but overcoming, this trial. “There will be a second front, sooner or later, because it is no less essential for our Allies,” said M. Stalin. “Our Allies must understand that the absence of a second front can be catastrophic for them. German morale and political reserves in Europe are becoming exhausted. Our morale and political reserves are growing, but this is not enough for victory. This advantage must be mobilised and used well. Destruction of Hitlerism “ How shall we define our tasks? ” he asked. “We do not aim to destroy Germany—that is as impossible as destroying Russia—but to destroy Hitlerism is both possible and essential. Our first task is to destroy the Hitlerite State and its instigators. Wo do not aim to destroy Germany’s entire military force—no sane man would set himself that task—but we will destroy the Hitlerite power, the Hitlerite army, and the Hitlerite blackguards. They have converted the whole of Europe into a slave camp, which they call the New Order.

“ Our first task is to conquer the constructors of this New Order,” he added. “We are fighting a war of liberation with our Allies. Long live the victory of the Anglo-American and Anglo-Soviet coalitions! Long live the freedom and independence of our country!" ' The gathering, amid tremendous and prolonged applause, passed a resolution pledging renewed efforts in the prosecution of the war and complete loyalty to the regime.