End of a Phase

More than a military campaign ended last week on hilly Cap Bon. Adolf Hitler's "Plan-Sued" (Southern Plan) for an African-Middle Eastern Empire also collapsed, and with it Italy's hopes of empire.

The Italians began this spectacular phase with their conquest of Ethiopia in 1935-36, continued it with their abortive drive from Libya into Egypt in 1940, surrendered the center of the North African stage to the Germans when Rommel arrived with his Afrika Korps in the spring of 1941. Other high points in the record:

>Although the Axis finally lost North Africa, the North African campaign as a whole gained the Germans a great deal. Rommel's performance with the relatively small Afrika Korps (never more than four German divisions) ranks among the brilliant gambles of history. With the Italians, he all but closed the Mediterranean to Allied shipping, forced the costly extension of Allied supply lines, for two critical years pinned down a large proportion of Britain's effective military strength, to that extent delayed any possible invasion of the Continent when Russia was in its direst straits.

>Best estimates of Axis losses in all African campaigns: Germans killed, permanently disabled, taken prisoner, lost in transit--250,000; Italian losses in North and East Africa--39 divisions, 470,000 men. Total Axis losses in North Africa: 600,000 men, 2,000 tanks, 1,500 guns, 5,000 aircraft, 3,000 motor vehicles.

>Best estimate of remaining Italian strength and its disposition: Thirty-five infantry divisions (about 12,000 men in each) in Yugoslavia and Greece; about twelve divisions on the Italian mainland; about eight in Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica; and about six in France; an air force of about 1,400 operational planes (probably half are fighters, very few are heavy bombers).

>Exact figures on Allied losses were not available last week. British killed, wounded and captured since 1940 approximated 150,000. U.S. killed, wounded and missing (up to April 3, before the final stages): 12,000.

Germany and Italy lost many valuable officers. The Germans said last week that Field Marshal Rommel, who trained and commanded the Afrika Korps, left Africa last March for medical treatment, is still in Germany. Latest count last week of captured generals was 27, including Colonel General Juergen von Arnim, who was flown to Britain (see cut), and Italy's Marshal Giovanni Messe.

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