DISCUSSIONS ON STRATEGY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25302, 12 August 1943, Page 5

DISCUSSIONS ON STRATEGY

MILITARY AND POLITICAL (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, Aug. 11. “ In this conference we are planning the total defeat of the Axis Powers,” stated a high official in Quebec. ‘‘Here we have the instruments for victory, and as a result of this conference success in Europe may come soon—sooner than anyone realises. But the Japanese are not left out of our offensive strategy.” “Although it is taken for granted that the Churchill-Roosevelt conference will be mainly concerned with military problems they will also discuss political strategy of the highest order,” says a Canadian press representative in Quebec. “There are indications that the United Nations are beginning to be confronted with a political crisis of vast dimensions. It is possible that the Balkans, particularly Bulgaria, will be the scene of the next political upheaval, and the Allies may wish to discuss in advance all the related aspects in order to be able to act quickly and in unison, which was found impossible in the case of the sudden transfer of power from Mussolini to Badoglio. Furthermore, observers consider that in view of the Russian advance, and successful bombings of Italy and Germany, and the Sicilian conquest, the Allies require a new blueprint for a concerted campaign in Europe proper, where the Germans are attempting to strengthen their inner fortress, perhaps expecting that they can in time gain a negotiated peace. All these developments call for a review of Allied strategy, involving such a profound question as whether Europe will be invaded via the Balkans or across the Channel.”

The Quebec correspondent of the New York Times says: “As far as the evidence goes, and the rules are that one must stick to the evidence, this is a war-making, not a peace-making conference, and the Chinese and Russians are apparently only remotely concerned with what the other United Nations decide.”