No Birthday Present

Moscow was patient, with the patience of a child awaiting Christmas. For more than a month the people had scanned communiques that were optimistic but vague. There was the daily assurance of gains on all fronts, but localities and specific actions were not mentioned. There was the terse Pravda estimate of Adolf Hitler's staggering losses on the eastern front: 300,000 dead between Dec. 6 and Jan. 15, 6,000,000 casualties in the first five months of war. There was the heartening report of the Red Navy: 81 Axis warships and 276 auxiliary vessels sunk in seven months. But the real news, it became clear, would come on Red Army Day, probably as a special communique detailing vast and startling Russian recapture of German-occupied territory.

The Well-Wishers. Joseph Stalin and his Red Army received congratulations from ranking Allied powers of the world. Douglas MacArthur sent his compliments from beleaguered Bataan: "The hopes of civilization rest on the worthy banners of the courageous Russian Army." From China's Chiang Kai-shek came a fine blend of commendation and suggestion: "I strongly believe the spiritual affinity between our two armies is bound to become practical collaboration in action."

The Report. The announcement of great new gains did not come. Instead a communique announced a full-scale attack on the central front, a push by tank squadrons and massed infantry, sharp aerial fighting. In the first day, the communique said, the Russian spearhead had reached to within 50 miles of the German winter headquarters at Smolensk.

At the same time Joseph Stalin broadcast a special "order of the day" to the Red Army and the world. His words were confident, but his was the promise of vic tory, not the report of victories gained: "We shall throw the enemy from the gates of Leningrad and liberate White Russia, the Ukraine and the Crimea. The Red Banner will fly everywhere it has flown before." He conceded gravely that victory is still expensively distant: "He [the enemy] is not yet beaten and a stern struggle is ahead of us. New units must be sent to the front to forge victory. Industry must work with redoubled energy. . . ."

He invited the German people to cast out Adolf Hitler: "It is probable that this war will bring about the end of Hitler's clique. We would welcome this solution. But it would be ridiculous to identify Hitler's clique with the German people and the German State. History teaches that Hitlers come and go, but the German people and the German State remain." He referred pointedly to Russia's aloneness in battle: "Germany has allies fighting with her. So far we have not been in that position, yet we have succeeded in holding our own."

The Fear. As the message of a leader to his Army and people, the speech was inspiring. As a report to the world, it raised questions, left much unsaid. Why has Joseph Stalin turned from condemnation of "Fascist beasts" to condemnation of "Hitler's clique," with implied praise for the German people and State?

The New York Times Military Expert Hanson Baldwin suggested an even more immediate question: "The Nazis are clinging tenaciously to the important strong points. And the weeks of winter are now numbered."

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