RISE OF RUSSIA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 40, 18 February 1943, Page 5

RISE OF RUSSIA

GREAT WORLD POWER “BOLSTERING UP THE WEST” (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) New York, Feb. 16. B< hind-the-scenes Washington and London strategists credit high reports of German casualties. They believe that Hitler has lost over 4,000,000 killed, wounded or captuied, says Joseph Harsch, writing in the Christian Science Monitor. Furthermore, the loss of Stalingrad is interpreted to mean that German air transport is so weakened that it can no longer serve the function for which it was developed. Confidential reports from inside Germany indicate that the excessive drain on petrol supplies has forced the contraction of air training, precluding the Luftwaffe obtaining an adequate replacement of pilots. Moreover, German rail and water transportation is so overstrained that purchases of Swedish steel are drastically curtailed, not because of Swedish resistance but because they are unable to move it. Military circles in Washington see the possibility that Hitler has been building up a reserve air force for one big powerful kick, either a new attempt to reach the Caucasus oil or a drive to Gibraltar, or an invasion of Britain. Harsch concludes that neither Mr. Roosevelt nor Mr. Churchill expects Germany to crack soon, but is confident that Hitler's military machine is badly corroding while the Allied machine is getting bigger and stronger daily. The New York Times suggests .the possibility that the Germans will remain on the defensive on the eastern front and will take the offensive in the west, and adds:—“The Axis thrust in Tunisia is a warning that the Germans are net preparing to quit Africa, where the Allies are facing big casualties.” “The biggest fact discernible from the victories in the Ukraine is the rise of Russia as a great world power,” comments the New York Herald Tribune. “It is idle to think longer in terms of bolstering up Russia until a mortal blow can be delivered from the west. It is the Russians who are now bolstering up the west “From the military viewpoint the Allies must exploit the Russian success by the mightiest possible blows. From the diplomatic viewpoint united action is also imperative. Russia indicated that she was ready to work with the democracies after the war provided they are strong and resolute, and also indicated that if left to win the war alone she would then take care of herself in her own way. It is foliy not to recognise that the shape of the world is changing and refuse to co-operate with it.”