Amid perverted facts an avestie truths that constitute the main body of Hitlers speech on Friday, there is one statement which is 100 per cent. true, writes the military com-mediator "Annelist."
It is the more surprising seeing that it not only supplies the key to what he himself describes as the most difficult decision of his life, but were on false promises. This inferentially admits that his plans
remarkable confession was as follows: "We were only surprised about one thing. We had no idea bow gigantic the preparations of the enemy were and how huge was the danger."
One can almost read at the back of Hitler's mind the thought that if he had known these things, either he would have struck much earlier or not at all.
Humiliation for Hitler He had already declared how painful and humiliating it had been to send his ministers to Moscow. It is fair to assume that he would have maintained his pretence of friendship. which it is now known was yielding him very much larger supplies of raw materials than figured in the trade agreements with Russia. Soviet Russia did not want war and was paving handsomely to keep out of it, but, completely deceived as to Russia's "real and war potential Hitler hoped for a quick and complete victory that would give him everything and enable to as the champion of c t effete and incompetent Bol-his resentment at his own mis-he unwittingly revealed motives which prompted attack, but also the failure of his agents and fifth? columnists in Soviet Russia. In France, Holland, Belgium, Norway. Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland, German agents prepared the ground for lightning attack that presently fell with unerring skill on the weakest defences of the countries marked down for invasion.
Staked on Certainties Hitler knew the dispositions of his opponents, their strength and resources. He was staking oh certainties. In Russia he appears to have leen led completely astray not only esta the degree of strength of Russian resources but as to the temper, resistance and admirable unity of the whole people in national defence.
His revelation is as creditable to the Russians as it is humiliating and self-condemning for the Nazi regime.
As to the fighting, the last 24 hours brought no noteworthy development. and the great offensive of which Hitler spoke on Friday does not seem to have made any impression in spite of the lapse of another 48 hours.
It is probable that he was refer-ting to the drive against the Crimea. but there are indications that Marshal Budenny is successfully turning the tables on the German flank. Both at Odessa and Leningrad the situation is virtually unchanged—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.