| Show Winter Gestapo Grip New Weapons Spell Extension of War to Spring Editors Editor's note note note-In In the tho follow follow- In t article Richard INS war correspondent Just returned re- re returned re re- turned from Aachen German Germany tells U how wintry weather the theIron theIron theIron Iron grip which Hitler's leaders have Imposed on incipient revolutionaries rev rev- and the promise o of new v fj secret ret weapons have hare tended to prolong tho the war By Richard Bichard NEW V YORK Nov 13 INS INS INS- In the ruined city of ot Aach Aachen n a week ago as as in prosperous New NewYork York today I have havo found one question of predominant interest That is When Is it going to bever be bo boever over ever ver To a weary war-weary public to the tired dogged G Is I's In the tho of G Germany it would be comforting comfortIng comforting comfort comfort- ing if there could be a fixed oracular oracular oracular ular utterance about such a mat mat- ter There are arc so many unknowns in such a prediction that the topflight top top- flight political angels have feared to to tread positively including Roosevelt Rooe and Churchill 1 But there are arc certain well known factors in calculating the duration of the struggle struggle factors factors which can give us at lea least t an impression that the war against Germany probably will keep on at least several several sev- sev eral ral months Into the winter Weather Fact Factor r Those factors are first the winter Inter weather of ot the Rhineland which makes our kind o of warfare painfully slow Second the iron grip which the Hitler boys bos have been able to impose impose im im- pose on In incipient revolutionaries in Germany Third the nazi promise of new secret weapons of war a war a promise which has given the German soldiers soldiers sol sole diers fight against our superior arms men and materiel It all adds up to a n rather gloomy total spelling out ont the prediction that the tho war against Germany may still be raging when hen spring comes The only comfort Is that such sucha a prediction like an umbrella carried carried carried car car- ried as insurance to keep the rain away may stave of off the bad news ws There may still be a sudden overnight overnight overnight over over- night development in German internal Internal in internal In- In politics which may lead to unexpected peace Favors ors Nazis But the odds be it said are arc against such a development and there arc certain unpleasant truths about the winter fighting which arc are unavoidable whatever the possibilities possibilities pos pos- of sudden revolution in Germany First and foremost of these facts is that tho winter weather is I definitely against us definitely in favor lavor of the nazis Our greatest military advantages our our tanks and artillery artillery are are are to a large degree diminished by winter The crux the hinge of our great armed strength is of course our supremacy In the air and air and that is almost negated by winter When skies arc are overcast and rainy our powerful fighter bomb er arm which strikes at every enemy enemy en en- emy movement behind his lines Is inoperative Swift Thunderbolts and Light Light- which have inflicted such heavy damage on enemy tank columns columns col col- and bivouac areas cant can't discover discover discover dis dis- dis- dis cover their targets and worse they have difficulty ty finding their way back to their airports This correspondent recently made one flight with a Lightning Lightning Lightning Light ning group during the last tour of duty with the troops on the western front and realized that weather In this section of ot the world Is as great grent an enemy as the enemy The day was considered clear and by comparison on with the usual winter of ot the Rhineland it was as cloudless as a sky by Maxfield ParrIsh Still it took good navigating navigating navi nay gating to find our target and better better bet bet- ter navigating still to find our way back to the Iceberg fields of clouds which obscured everything in the vicinity of ot our landing field When I left Germany there thero were days on end when fighter-bombers fighter could not move from tho the ground for the cold raw dank days of winter already have begun over there New York seems tropical by contrast Besides grounding our very Important important important im Im- im- im fighter-bombers fighter the al already already already al- al ready commencing winter weather er has had another bad effect on the tho application of our air strength Because of heavy rains and overcast overcast overcast over over- cast skies even the slow low low- flying lying tin of ot tho the air the artillery spotting planes have been unable to fly y Artillery E Eyes es That means that our heavy advantage ad vantage in artillery is being minimized minimized min mn- for over tho the flat terrain of the Rhineland and Holland where there are arc few natural observation observation observation ob ob- ob- ob posts it is essential to have someone in the sky shy to give corrections to our batteries to place their firo fire directly on the target Artillery can oft often fire and fire fairly effectively without air observation ob ob- But the effect Is nothIng nothing nothing noth noth- ing like that of the cub cub artillery team in the summer months when every en enemy em movement was watched and promptly punished with shattering barrages Enemy artillery batteries were very chary of firing because the flashes lashes of their guns were easily detected and because we had air supremacy with covering fighter protection the enemy did not dare to use spotting planes himself But now with the coming of winter it is growing Increasingly difficult for the cubs to operate And nd there is another bad effect of winter from our point of view That Is mud With the arrival of heavy rains and snow the progress of or our armored armored ar ar- ar mored columns through Germany Is bound to be slowed up Tanks Bog Down Doun I havo have already seen that in the attack on Aachen when the tank I columns which were supposed to seal off the city bogged down in ground made slushy by rain I In this case tanks had to be abandoned and t their crews fought as foot soldiers In the advance to to the high ground north of Aachen The same proved to be the case farther to the north when a morass morass morass mo mo- I rass of mud gummed the tho treads of of tanks moving from and toward Geilenkirchen Yes the coming of winter is definitely definitely definitely def def- a up slow Influence In the battle for Germany Winter handicaps handicaps handicaps han han- the powerful air artillery and tank arms which have made our summer Bummer progress possible It can reduce warfare despite great allied superiority in strength to the tho Infantry against Infantry type of fighting which the Germans Germans Ger Ger- mans call positional warfare And unfortunately the winter in northern Germany and Holland already has begun |
