THE GERMAN POSITION TODAY
SEELY, Lt. Comdr. C. S.
The German Position Today By LT. COMDR. C. S. SEELY WHEN all of the many factors involved in the Eastern Front situation, including the season of the year, the Nazi supply and defense lines, and...
...The Nazi supply lines also are shorter than they were, while Russian supply lines, especially on the southern end of the front, are now so extended that a long sustained heavy attack by the Red Army will be almost impossible within the immediate future...
...The opinions and assertions expressed above are the private ones of the writer and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Navy Department or the naval service at large...
...Should the Nazis soon be forced to abandon Hungary, Yugoslavia, East Prussia, and all of Poland east of Lodz, their position in the East would not necessarily become immediately hopeless...
...In fact the southern half of this line probably could be held by as few as 25 divisions...
...If Hitler falls back to this line, he probably will be able to double his forces now facing the Russians on the northeast front...
...The Nazis, no doubt, have greatly strengthened all their inner defense lines in the East since August...
...They could then make a stand on their Danzig-Lodz-Vienna-North Italy line, which except in Poland and at Vienna is a very formidable barrier of mountains, behind which defenders have a tremendous advantage...
...Certainly if Germany is so weak that she is about to crack up, as so many seem to believe, the Nazi stand in Italy is—and will remain—one of history's major military blunders...
...This would release 20 or so divisions for use in more critical areas...
...C. S. SEELY WHEN all of the many factors involved in the Eastern Front situation, including the season of the year, the Nazi supply and defense lines, and the Russian supply lines, are fully considered, it becomes apparent, if not certainly true, that the Nazi over-all military position there is no worse than it was a few months ago...
...Considering the whole European military situation it is not reasonable to believe that the Nazis consider their cause lost...
...And since they apparently have some 28 divisions in Italy, a country which now is of little or no value to them, it seems clear that they do not even consider their position desperate...
...The Italy-Austria passes probably could be held with six or eight divisions...
...These lines are now much shorter, and therefore much easier to defend, than they were...
...If they did they could, and almost certainly would, retreat to the Austrian border, and make a stand there...
Vol. 8 • December 1944 • No. 50
