Show Il t It I If f How Much Can Russia Stand I TWO TWO WO months of Hitler's good fighting i If weather in Russia is gone But little mo more more e than a month of such weather remains before Ii fall rains begin to turn Russia's lowland dust into mud and ice and snow snow- in 1 higher altitudes and in the north begin to slow slowdown lj down mechanized operations I F For r almost two months now the Russians have been taking everything Hitler could I hurl at them They have stood up under the thes s 1 mighty onslaught well but they have suffered suf- suf heavily heavily in in lost territory lost industrial industrial industrial indus- indus trial and agricultural land in blasted equipment equipment equip- equip i ment and shattered men How much can Russia stand There is the question upon which possibly the outcome of this war and and the of war certainly hope a comparatively comparatively com com- early victory for the united nations 1 depends If Russia can hold the line of the i Volga retain control of the Caspian sea and k 1 keep the nazis north of the Caucasus until i rain and snow come to their aid then this great nazi offensive of the summer of 1942 j 1 7 for all its gains can be said to have failed r I For with these areas still in their hands j Russia will retain the famed Baku oil fields t and transportation routes through the Cast Caspian Cas- Cas t f pian pian perhaps up the Volga and over two I 1 rail rail lines from the north end of the Caspian t Over ver these she should be able to get oil to toi i her armies in Russia proper 1 But the present question is how much can Russia stand She has suffered grievous j I l losses not just in man power but ut in the even more important factors of modern warfare warfare- j transportation facilities industrial capacity 11 l raw materials and food supplies T The e Russian armies are still largely intact They are arc still big enough not only to hold ba back backi k f i the Germans but to launch a strong offensive offensive offensive offen- offen sive i if the opportunity is offered But what about the support back of that army With 1 railroad line after railroad line cut is the Russian transportation system in danger of collapsing Will big Russian armies be helpless helpless helpless help help- less because trains fail to br bring ng up shells for their guns What about war production With plant after plant and mine after mine h fallen to the nazis can Russia's remaining in industrial industrial industrial in- in power supply enough guns and planes and and tanks to keep the Russian army fighting fighting fight fight- ing What about food supply With the rich grain fi fields of the Ukraine the Don Dpn basin t and the north Caucasus in nazi hands along f with ith other important food producing ng areas inthe in inI inthe I the north can Russia raise the food needed to k keep epher her army fighting and her workers producing pro pro- J clueing 1 That is the grave danger in Russia today J It seems a good bet now that the nazis have I not th the power to destroy the tle Russian armies r r ft But have their constant pounding and their continued gains so weakened the complex mechanism of a nation at war that somewhere L i in in transportation in industry in agriculture ture ture will will come a fatal atal collapse I Nobody outside of Russia probably knows the full answer to that question We can only hope that Russia was better prepared than anyone thought for just such a costly retreating retreating re re- re- re tr treating war as she has fought fought and and that she t will he bp able to stand far more in the way of off f punishment and loss than it was ever believed any nation could stand and live |