20 FEBRUARY 1948, Page 5

The American reprint of documents on Russo-German relations 1939-1941 from

the German official archives contains one singularly interesting entry. On April 24th, 1944 the German Naval Attache at Moscow cabled to the Naval High Ccanimand:

" According to the Counsellor of the Italian Embassy, the British Ambassador [Sir Stafford Cripps] predicts June 22nd as the day of

the outbreak of war."

June 22nd, of course, proved to be correct. But how could Sir Stafford divine it two months in advance ? Had even Hitler decided at that time when he would attack ? I have obtained an answer to the first question, and it in effect covers the latter. June 22nd was the date on which Napoleon began his march on Moscow.

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