Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 December 1942 — Page 22

Writer Warns That Just Because Hitler and Hirohito’ Are on Defensive Does Not Mean " That They Are Licked.

By LELAND STOWE ; Copyright, 1942, by The Indianapelis Times and The Chicago Daily News, Inc.

For nearly two months now and in every theater of the world-wide war united nations forces have been taking and “holding the offensive while the axis powers,” for the first time in their experience, have been thrown on the defensive. ‘Since late October the entire war picture has changed in-| credibly. The only unfortunate element about all this good! news is that many people are already embracing the idea;

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that the war already is as good as won. The facts are quite the contrary. In reality the United States, the British common-

wealth, China, Soviet. Russia and

the other united nations are only

just taking -over positions from

which they can deliver crippling punches. The Americans and the British, in particular, are just beginning to land § blows. Not: only is the war not yet won, but we need to .remind ourselves now of one important item. We — especially we Americans — have still got all the real fighting

Mr. Stowe Nasi Germ any nor Japan can be defeated until we, both our armed forces and our people on the home front, have done much more fighting and much more sacrificing than we've ever known in all our lives.

‘Victory Assured, If—’

After reporting from every major front (except France) from Norway to China, and coming home after another 16 months of war coverage, this seems to me about the most important thing that I can say. As recently as September and October the possibility of an allied defeat in this war was still a real peril. Today victory is assured—providing

“only we clench our teeth, redouble

our efforts, submerge our internal political disagreements and dedicate every effort to fighting through to the finish. The fact that both Hitler and Hirchito are on the defensive for the moment does not mean that they are licked. It merely means that the Nazis and the Japanese alike will become more desperate, that they will surely do anything to attempt to slash the noose slowly tightening around them. The Russians know their enemy well by this time. For that reason they will never relax; they will keep slashing and attacking wherever it's humanly possible, regardless of blizzards, arctic temperatures and impossible transport conditions. The Americans and British can afford to do no less than the Russians. Doesn’t Expect Revolt

In the two weeks that I've been home I've been asked one question more than any other: “Don’t you think there will be a collapse or a

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: . { “won't the German people revolt soon?” To me there seems to be| a good deal of understandable wish- | ful thinking behind this type of question. It would be very agreeable for all of us if there should be an internal collapse in Germany, but that’s the last thing we should count upon. My conversations with German prisoners last June and| again on the Rzhev front in early| October remain as a clear warning’ in my mind. . Can anyone cite a case in history when the German people have re-! volted against the German army? It is not in ‘the character of the German people to do that. As for a revolt inside the German army—, well, that army today consists overwhelmingly of youth, 30 or under," who have been thoroughly indoé-| trinated with nazlism and the fuehrer concept. :

| Sudden Nazi Collapse? |

I do believe that the collapse of the Nazi regime will strike with’ terrific and startling suddenness, when it does come. But I am, strongly convinced that the only, way to bring about a‘collapse inside; Germany is to defeat the German army on the field of battle. Un-| precedented bombing of German! cities alone will not be sufficient.! When Hitler’s army is smashed and! a chaotic wreck, then a revolt inside Germany is quite likely to follow. Nor will the scales be struck from the eyes of Germany’s misguided, miseducated youth in any other! fashion. The only thing they will! ever comprehend is ruthless, physical defeat. If Americans accept this conception as a first condition to their thinking about the possible duration! of the war, we can easily perceive!

that our real task has scarcely be-|

gun. To illustrate, where, outside | of Soviet Russia, have as few as 10 German divisions yet been de-| stroyed in the field? Where have the Americans or the British yet routed six or eight Nazi divisions? The answer is —nowhere, up to now. But the fact remains that) Hitler still has about 300 divisions, | or more, in Europe and Russia—| and alongside that total even an: allied clean-up in Tunisia would constitute a relatively minor engagement.

Task Lies Ahead

In other words, the Anglo-Ameri-can expeditionary forces will not: have really come to grips with Ger-| many’s armies until our troops have opened up a second front on European soil. Only then, by the test of battles fought and leadership demonstrated on our side, shall we! be able to gauge in any accurate manner the size of the task which still lies ahead. In 1918 Gen. Pershing stood stanchly for “on to Berlin.” If his advice had been heeded Adolf Hitler’s greatest rabble-rousing argument—*“our German armies were never defeated in the field”—could never have been used; and that fact alone might have spared the world irom the torture and torment of Hitler and Hitlerism. It would be wise to plan now in every way possible for a post-war world, but by all means let us remember that the main job of winning this war still lies ahead. When! the war may end is entirely secondary. The axis powers, thrown back on every front are beginning; to see the hand writing on the wall! —and their armed ranks are - just beginning to crack. i

Possible End in 43

It may be that Germany. will be defeated toward the end of 1943. It seems possible that the allies may crush naziism within from 12 to 18 months—if" we bend every effort to the task that should now be possible, and it might even happen sooner than we have any right to] expect. But we shall still face the job of bringing Japan to her knees. To knock out the islands of Japan might require another six months or a year after the defeat of Germany. -The business of cleaning out the Japanese occupied islands of the Pacific, Malaya, Thailand, Indo-China and China (not to mention Manchukuo and Korea) must inevitably be a rather protracted process. Therefore, if we! steel ourselves now into regarding the winning of the war as a two-and-one-half to three-year propo-|

sition we shall not be courting disillusionment. : :

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