The Wanganui Chronicle TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1944. A WAR OF MOVEMENT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 88, Issue 200, 22 August 1944, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1944. A WAR OF MOVEMENT

'J'TIE battle of France—for the fighting now has broaded out to become one large-scale engagement—is a battle of movement. The action is being carried on so speedily that the enemy is suffering from severe breakdowns in his lines of communication and supply. It is first necessary for him to disengage as many troops as possible and to retire them to a line of his own choosing where those forces can be regrouped, and again offer a strong front to their attackers. This implies that the High Command can give instructions to the various units that have become isolated. It is necessary, therefore, for the High Command to know all that he can learn about the Allied advance. The nature of the attack merits study. It is not new in its technique. It is the same method as was employed in North Africa: it consists of cutting across the sinews of the hand. When the tendons and sinews have been severed the fingers are powerless. Every penetration of ths enemy’s front must be exploited to the full: first the break-through made by the artillery and fully opened by the infantry and then the surging forward of the tanks and mobile guns. But whore shall they go once they have passed through the gap in the enemy’s front? That depends upon many local factors and the grand strategy of the Allied commander. It is impossible to lay down a pattern other than in general terms, and the commanders of these mobile units must be prepared to meet emergencies as they arise. A hold-up at one point may be either liquidated or by-passed, but it is important that the commander of the garrison staging the hold-up shall not communicate with his superior officer if the Allies are to exploit their advantages to the full. It is equally important that the frustrated work of the German officer commanding shall not be done for him by any Allied agency. Captured prisoners who are in a position to know state that the best means of ascertaining Allied intentions in the present fluid state of the battle is by listening to speculation broadcast by United Nations radio stations. Prior to the invasion of France the military authorities specifically requested the newspapers not to speculate upon the point at, which the Allied Command would decide to land. It does not serve any good purpose to assist the enemy in his thinking. It follows that as soon as the military authorities request a shut-down on comment and on news indulgence in those activities will assist the enemy. The military authorities have every right to ask for this eo-operation and they are entitled to get it.