Invasions of Denmark, Norway, Baltic coast may be plan of Allies
Speculation touched off by Big Three pledge of attacks on Germany from the north
By W. R. Higginbotham, United Press staff writer
LONDON, England – Military observers said today the Allied Big Three may have planned invasions of southern Norway, Denmark and even the German Baltic coast to speed victory in Europe.
Speculation was touched off by the Big Three’s promise in the Crimean declaration that Allied armies and air forces would strike “new and even more powerful blows… into the heart of Germany” from the east, west, north and south.
The timing and scope of operations from all four directions “have been fully agreed and planned in detail,” President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Premier Stalin said in the declaration.
Will shorten war
The declaration said:
Our combined military plans will be made known only as we execute them, but we believe that the very close-working partnership among the three staffs attained at this conference will result in shortening the war.
The declaration marked the first authoritative Allied word regarding the possibility of offensives against Germany from the north.
A Moscow dispatch said military circles in the Russian capital attached especial importance to the contemplated “blows from the north.” It was assumed, Moscow said, that these would supplement those from the Soviet bridgehead in northern Norway.
May cut off Nazis
The Big Three’s plan may envisage Anglo-American landings on the coasts of South Norway and Denmark aimed at cutting off German troops in northern and central Norway and forcing the Nazi command to disperse further their already limited forces.
Any landings on the Baltic coast of Germany presumably would be made by Soviet amphibious forces, but there remained a remote possibility of an attempt by Anglo-American fleets to force the Skagerrak and Kattegat into the Baltic.
Significantly, Vice Adm. Sir Harold Burrough, supreme naval commander in Western Europe. said at a press conference several weeks ago that other amphibious landings probably would be made under his command.
Drive in Italy hinted
New blows against Germany from the north also raised the possibility that Allied armies in Western Europe would drive into northern Germany to link up with the Russians along the Baltic coast.
Reference to “new blows” also from the south indicated that the long-dormant Italian front may erupt in a new Allied offensive aimed at clearing northern Italy and reaching the Brenner Pass.
Soviet forces in Hungary and Yugoslavia also probably will renew their drive in force along the Danube Valley toward Vienna and southern Germany. The smashing of organized resistance in Budapest, as announced by Moscow last night, may speed this drive.
Staffs to confer
Military observers were enthusiastic over the Big Three’s announcement that a “very close working partnership” had been attained among the American, British and Soviet military staffs. Meetings of the three staffs will be continued in the future whenever the need arises, the declaration said.
There had been widespread criticism in the past few months at what was felt to be a lack of coordination between offensives on the Eastern and Western Fronts.
Once Germany has been defeated, the Big Three announced their intention of assigning separate zones of occupation to each of the three powers and France.
To sit in Berlin
Coordinated administration and control would be provided under the plan by the establishment of a separate control commission in Berlin consisting of the “supreme commanders of the three nations,” plus a French commander.
The reference to the “supreme commanders” was not clear, but it was believed likely that Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of the Western Front, would represent the United States and Marshal Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander, Allied commander in the Mediterranean, would represent Britain.