The Waikato Times. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1944. BATTLE OF GERMANY

Waikato Times, Volume 195, Issue 22514, 24 November 1944, Page 2

The Waikato Times. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1944. BATTLE OF GERMANY

In General Eisenhower’s opinion the battle of Germany will be fought west of the Rhine. But he points out that if the Germans put a great army across the Rhine to defend the frontier and then attempted to draw back again they would be risking disaster. The Allies have overwhelming air superiority and could blast the bridges and at least prevent the enemy withdrawing much heavy equipment. In the northern and middle sections of the great offensive line, it appears, the Germans have no intention yet of retreating. Probably the greater part of their offensive equipment is west of the Rhine. The crossing of the river General Eisenhower describes as “practically a naval operation.” With heavy Allied pressure constantly applied the Germans have to choose between an all-out defensive battle and a disengaging movement for the retreat across the river which might well be disastrous. Retreat in such circumstances would be as costly, or more so, as a heavy defensive battle, but Germany will eventually find it necessary to save what she can in another retreat. If the main battle of Germany is to be fought west of the Rhine it has already been won at the southern end of the line, where the French Army has reached the river and is spreading northward. In this sector at least the Germans must take up the burden again on the eastern bank. An Allied bridgehead here would be a breach in Germany’s final defence. The same will apply to the northern reaches of the river, so that even if Germany’s doom is sealed by defeat on all territory west of the Rhine she must still defend the eastern bank or the floodgates into the Reich will be burst wide open. It should not be expected that victory west of the Rhine will end the war immediately. For the moment the attention of the German people is riveted on the western front but the opinion of military experts is that the Nazis will soon be facing an equally terrifying menace from the east. While winter has spread its rains and snows along the long Russian front the country is not yet frozen. Russia is believed to be waiting for the great “freeze” which will allow her mechanised forces to again get under way. Germany is due at any moment for a paralysing attack of claustrophobia. The walls have already been pressed in to the boundaries of the Reich and behind them the great weight of Allied offensive power is damming up. Germany has' called on her last reserves, the Home Guard, to plug the leaks and hold back the flood, but even this is causing a weakening of the home production front. Now is the time for that great effort for which General Eisenhower and other leaders have called. The call for an ever-increasing stream of supplies has never been more urgent.