The Wanganui Chronicle. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1943. THE RECAPTURE OF ROSTOV

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 39, 17 February 1943, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1943. THE RECAPTURE OF ROSTOV

'J'UIE recapture of Kostov by the Russians emphasises the advances that have been made in their technique of attack. It was inevitable that they should eliminate this important strongpoint, for by doing so they compelled the Germans in the Caucasus to make their way out of the “sack” by way of the Kerch Peninsula. The passing of the German armies over the Kerch Strait is a very difficult task and the casualites which are being suffered in this operation can only be imagined at the moment. They must be enormous. The Russian strategists, however, have laid their plan on the widest of lines, so wide in fact that their width escapes other than expert comprehension. They have a wider object than eliminating the Rostov garrison, or even the Tanganrog garrison, for that matter. But the point of interest concerning Rostov is the speed with which the keytown to the Caucasus was retaken by the Russians. It is conceivable that within a few days the town of Kharkov will have returned to Russian hands. This means not that an important hedgehog has been eliminated, but that another wide sweeping movement has been successfully carried out. In consequence of these operations the German High Command has no alternative to accepting this accomplishment. It is conforming to the Russian dominance of the situation in the only way open to it, and that is to bring back as many troops and as much material as it is possible to do in the hope that, they will be able to withstand the assault on a shorter line. This is sound strategy, but whether it will prove to be successful is quite another matter. It may, but it probably will not. Time is important to both contestants. If the Germans can reform the line and hold on until the spring, when their lubrication and fuel problems are less difficult, they may prove to be a barrier to the Russian advance. If the Russians can keep up the pressure while the winter conditions prevail, there is the probability that the German barrier on the shortened line will prove to be of insufficient strength to hold back the Slav deluge.