BAD GENERALSHIP

Waikato Times, Volume 194, Issue 22354, 22 May 1944, Page 3

BAD GENERALSHIP

KESSELRING’S ERROR LONDON, May 20 Bad generalship on the port of Keselring, the German commander, contributed to the collapse of the German forces south of the Liri Valley, writes a Naples correspondent. His intelligence staff was obviously guessing as to theA llies* indentions, as an order of the day to German troops, taken from a prisoner, says: “An enemy offensive will start. We are prepared. From May 24 at midnight be on the alert to right.” The selection of Empire Day for the commencement of the offensive was obviously pure guesswork and 13 days too late. It was also evident that Kesselring failed entirely to appreciate the strength of the forces opposing him. Looking at the battle in retrospect, the generalship of General Alexander was vastly superior. His method throughout was to pin the enemy and destroy him. Furthering this plan, Eighth Army forces north of Casino, who were not directly involved in the battle, played a large part in preventing the withdrawal of German forces to support the main battle. The Allied forces at the Anzio beachhead contributed to the pinning down of several German divisions facing them. The correspondent adds that German propaganda is busy trying to persuade the world that there is no such thing as the Hitler Line, and prisoners say it has been renamed by the High Command the Dora Line. The correspondent says that the name Adolf Hitler has apparently been transferred to some other line still to be discovered farther north, thus evading a serious loss of prestige. Obviously the name can be used continuously until the line coincides with the Unler den Linden. It is an established fact that the Hitler Line was first observed in December with a group of camouflaged positions across the Liri Valley between Fiedmonte and Por.tecorvo. Since then it has been extended.