ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER ITALIAN SETBACK. The mountains and narrow gorges of southern Albania are rough going in peacetime, let alone for armies in the middle of a war. Yet still the Greeks advance, and still the Italians retreat. And surrender, too -- this morning’s radio news says another 5,000 ascist soldiers have given up to Greek mountain troops, as the center of the Italian defense line appears to have collapsed. C.L. Sulzberger writes in Monday’s New York Times on the Greek Army’s seizure of Pogradetz and a new Greek advance toward the sea. Pogradetz is well inside western Albania, near the border with Yugoslavia, and its conquest would seem to open the way for Greece’s military to march on Elbasani, which is only twenty miles south of the Albanian capital, Tirana. But the route goes through numerous snow-covered mountains and won’t be traveled quickly, even if Italian resistance continues to crumble.
The Associated Press carries conflicting reports on whether Italian counter-attacks have had any success at stopping the Greek advance, but the Greeks don’t seem worried. And the A.P. has a galling story about Italian propaganda -- the Fascists, who in Greece have been as callous as the Nazis and Soviets at using air power to terror-bomb civilians, have denounced Greek soldiers’ use of bayonets as "a barbarous form of warfare which shows a nation is uncivilized." That Mussolini, he’s such a card.
HITLER’S HAPPY WITH ITALY’S MISERY. A usually reliable reporter offers a startling explanation of just why Germany hasn't sent troops, tanks, and planes to rescue Mussolini from his Greek debacle -- the Germans are secretly happy about it! It seems that Mussolini’s humiliation is viewed as helping to accomplish Nazi political goals elsewhere. Sounds like a big load of sour grapes to me, but Sigrid Schultz of the Chicago Tribune is one of the few genuine news correspondents still writing from Berlin, and she has lots of sources inside the Reich government. So, it’s plausible that Nazi officials really believe this. For what it’s worth here’s the explanation, as relayed by Miss Schultz in Monday’s editions --
"This news [of Greek victories] is received with evidence of satisfaction by quite a number of Germans, who assert that Premier Mussolini started the Greek campaign without Adolf Hitler’s approval. Il Duce felt, these Germans say, that in axis negotiations with Marshal Petain and Vice Premier Pierre Laval of France, the Germans had not insisted energetically enough on big spoils for Italy. Therefore, Mussolini set out to take the points he wanted in Greece. The difficulties he is experiencing, the Germans believe, will make him more ready to accept the German suggestions about the future peace treaty with France. Diplomats understand the draft for this treaty is finished, and Laval and his friends, it is said, hope to be able to induce Marshal Petain to accept the German terms for a ‘definite peace’ between the two countries."
IS JAPAN SEEKING PEACE? Writing from Tokio, Joseph Newman passes along in Monday’s New York Herald Tribune a new round of Japanese claims that they aren’t looking for war with the U.S. -- "Informed naval circles said today the Japanese navy will not disturb the present situation in the Orient unless there occurs an unforeseen incident....[This view] conforms with the government’s mild foreign policy which slowly and cautiously is being disclosed through the apparently challenging attitude of Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka during his first few days in office....Occasional outbursts against America or Britain in the press by government officials are not to be over-emphasized."
On the surface that sounds hopeful, along with the appointment last week of the accommodationist Admiral Nomura as new Japanese ambassador to Washington. But Hugh Byas writes in Sunday’s New York Times that, while Nomura’s appointment may have "relieved the immediate danger" of a U.S.-Japanese showdown, it’s questionable whether Nomura, or any specific Matsuoka-inspired moves toward compromise, can settle the Far East crisis in the face of Japan’s implacably pro-Axis military leadership --
"There is no question that American friendship would be far more acceptable to the majority of the Japanese people than German friendship. Until the alliance with Germany was actually made some important elements here believed that a way out of the China war should be sought in some compromise America could facilitate. Foreign Minister Matsuoka finds himself compelled to play a game requiring superhuman dexterity. Can he revive the idea of a moderate peace with China to which America could contribute? Can he rewrite the Greater East Asia program into one in which Japan will build her prosperity in that sphere without invasion or menaces? In view of what has been happening in the last ten years, including the dissolution of political parties and the organization of the nation on a footing of perpetual mobilization, it is difficult to see what any Foreign Minister can do except play for time."
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