FAR FROM FINISHED

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIV, Issue 22777, 29 December 1943, Page 3

FAR FROM FINISHED

Might Of Nazi Armies MELBOURNE, December 19. Unless a sudden crack occurs in Germany. I believe that, no later than the spring, the world will sec fighting more ferocious and bloody than anything in the war so far, says Mr Trevor Smith, London correspondent of the “Melbourne Herald.” Allied plans for the great assault on Europe were worked out in detail at the Teheran conference, and not a single Allied leader has the slightest illusion about what is ahead. Germany is not anywhere near finished. Australians visiting Britain to see the European war at first hand, have been told in forthright language what to expect, and this is more trustworthy than the often deliberately concocted gloom from Germany via neutral channels. Nobody on the Allied side doubts that victory will be ours, and it is believed it will come in 1944, but storming Europe will involve fearful slaughter. It is also thought that either before or at the same time as the Allied assault, the German Army will launch a ferocious attack, perhaps aimed primarily at dislocating communications in Britain, which may well lead to bitter fighting on British soil. Many recall that Germany introduced rationing before the war; that the German Army took every foreseeable step to ensure the continuity of all supplies, and to neutralise blockade; that German crops have been good; that the flow of supplies has continued from all occupied countries; and that the Germans do not care who starves so long as they themselves are well supplied. Bombing is admitted to have done enormous damage, but, except by a few. it is not seen in itself as a complete war winner, and victory cannot be gained without a military landing. This star picture, concludes Mr Smith, has been given partly in reply to questions about a wave of optimism in the Allied world. But it is also given to illustrate why Germany remains very formidable and why the German forces on every front fight with the utmost skill, ferocity, and ruthlessness. A sudden crack in Gorman morale can always occur, but until that moment, the Germans are determined to bring as much as possible of the world down with them. Anyone thinking the war Is virtually over lives in a