While the reactions of the Press of the "different countries of the world to Hitler's speech vary in accordance to national, "political tendencies some surprise must "naturally be felt over the opinion ex-by the newspaper "really tha: is žwel
industrial centres in the Ukraine have been, widespread. they do not cripple the Russian war effort, for the simple reason that Russia has long been preparing other factories and plants hundreds of miles to the east where the production of war material can continue without danger of interruption, and travellers Who have come out of Russia speak admiring-"ly of the great work which is being done.
But, is it true that the Germans have been gaining great victories? That they have gaized large tracts of Russian territory cannot be denied. Yet they claim that that is not their objective, alleging that their immediate aim is the destruction of the Red Armies. They have done that on paper, and over the radio, but not in fact. That the Russian losses have been severe they themselves admit and the Director of the Soviet Information Bureau in an article admits that the Russians have lost 1,128,000 men, killed, wounded, and prisoners, about 7,000 tanks, 8,900 guns and 5,316 aeroplanes. Those are formidable. totals, but, when the enormous reserves of Russian man-power with two years training are taken into account, the damage which the Germans have inflicted on ihe Russians from the latters' point of view certainly does not justify the belief that they have been reduced to such a state that they are unable to continue to fight. Indeed the reports which come to hand of the severe fighting which is still proceeding, and the Manner in which the Russians are holding up the Germans, clearly proves Russian ability to carry on.
Hitler, while making fantastic claims of the losses inflicted upon the Russians, carefully refrained from saying anything about German casualties. The conclusion to be drawn is that he simply dared not do so. The reason is given by the writer of the article mentioned above. According to him German casualties amounted to over three million, killed, wounded or prisoners, approximately as many as the Germans lost on all fronts during two years of the last war. If the ratio between casualties and the loss of war material is in any relation to that of the Russians, then it would seem that the Germans have suffered extensively in this respect as well, though it needs to be borne in mind that an advancing army is not likely to lose so heavily in this respect as one which has been continually fighting a rearguard action. Yet the Soviet Information Bureau claims that the Germans during the first three months of the campaign lost 11,000 tanks, 13,000 guns and 9,000 aeroplanes. Had the Russian ratio been maintained the losses in materiel would have been. much greater, and the moderation of the Soviet claims in this connection tend to confirm belief in their accuracy.
There is in the fact that Hitler made no reference whatever to German losses, considerable support for viewing the Russian claims as correct. Master of the theatrical as Hitler undoubtedly is, if he possibly could have produced figures to show that the German losses were indeed small, it is not to be believed that he would have hesitated for one moment to do so. But too many people in the German services know the facts, and Hitler refrained from many a statement which would have been too widely known for the lie it would be. It has been already claimed that. in the present gigantic offensive which the Germans have launched, almost their Jast reserves have been thrown into the struggle. The reign of terror, which has been instituted in the occupied countries, is an attempt to maintain order by fear. and thus liberate more of the occupying forces for service at the front. The use of Italian, Hungarian and Rumanian forces all points to the same fact and the only possible conclusion to be drawn concerning Hitlers silence in this connection is that there is one lie that is too big for him, and that is that the German losses are small.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.