Cross-Channel assault hinted by Big Three pledge
Gen. Marshall may direct invasion of Europe this winter
By Reuel S. Moore, United Press staff writer
Washington –
Military observers today interpreted the Tehran “victory conference” pledge to smash Germany from east, west and south as an omen of early land invasion of Western Europe.
Gen. George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, is expected to lead that attack to be launched this winter or in early spring.
The Roosevelt-Churchill-Stalin declaration seemed to remove almost all doubts that may have existed as to whether the Allies would venture the attack from the west for which they have steadily been assembling powerful forces.
The announced decision of the American, British and Russian leaders, is to undertake a three-way attack on Germany by air, sea and land – from the east, west and south.
The unofficial Army and Navy Register suggested Saturday that decisions in Tehran might make an invasion of Western Europe unnecessary. But most military circles discounted that view. In the light of the Tehran Declaration, they believed the “Big Three” have even decided the time when the squeeze will be applied.
May attack in winter
The winter months or late spring would be the logical time to undertake the difficult western phase of the grand assault on Germany’s so-called Fortress Europe.
The advantages of a winter campaign include frozen highways which could support heavy equipment; fog or low-visibility conditions in the English Channel and North sea which could help protect invasion forces; and long nights which would permit more sustained aerial blows on vital German targets.
Has disadvantages
But winter would also have its disadvantages – rough seas that would increase difficulties of amphibious operations and the vagaries of the weather. In late spring, the roads would be sufficiently dried out and weather conditions would be more stable.
Military experts here believe that when the invasion comes, Allied forces will strike at numerous points along a front extending from northern Norway to northwestern France.
At the same time, observers here said, new invasions may be attempted from the south. For instance, the reborn French Army of Liberation could provide the Allies with a great psychological advantage if it landed in southern France. A drive across the Adriatic into the Balkans and an invasion of Greece from the Eastern Mediterranean are other possibilities.
Meanwhile, the Russians are expected to contribute a powerful new offensive in the east.