The Washington times., 1938-06-27
The Myth of Invincibility


Iva great and powerful nation suffer of the most
poignant tragedies than to any nation.
Since the year 1853-ony yesterday historys long
caendar-Japan has changed itself from Oriental
hermit kingdom to Western-stye industrial military and
naval power Up to July 1887, it had conquered all the
enemies that came within its sight, though to be sure
those enemies only China, Czarst Russia and the
Germans in Shantung all of whom pushovers at the
time of their tangles with Japan
These triumphs built up legend that Japan could not
be beaten that the japanese were nvncbe race of
people The Japanese believed this legend and in
little alarm and concern, did lot of other people.
For nation to believe itself invincble is excellent
tonic for the morale of its fighting forces both by land
and by sea also for it's civilian population nations be-
lief in its nvncbiy is correspondngy bad medicine for
any nation it fights. And the hardest single blow that
be dealt supposedly nvincble nations morale is loss of
belief in it's invincbility.
Correspondents sending home from non
censorship ports such Hongkong, stories which go
show that the legend of Japans invincbliy is being
. blown to pieces on the muddy plains
COLtuPSe W IHe and in the mountain ravnes of
.1o D: North China and Shantung
O"F'~OO JapanS forces described as
founderng the quicksands sinking deeper and deeper
with every effort pull The Chinese smashed some
Yellow River dikes and trapped destroyed of
and material Chinese sharpshooers machine gum
pick off Japanese infantry from rock nests overlook
mountain passes Chinese soldiers disguised peasants
filter back into territory conquered by Japan and when
enough of them thus assembled there is orgy of
shooting knifng garrotng and other less famous Oren-
tai kinds of murder.
There is consolation for Japan in all this though
pretty chilly onenamey that many another nation in
its prime has believed itself invncble and has had to
o.1 " suffer the tragedy of seeing that
O'''0'0 AA"O0 belief blown into cooked hat.
Eo1t Tbut Wu,, The ancient Spartans thought
Persians in good King Xerxes tme so did the Romans of
the earlier Empire Attla the Hun couldn't be beaten u-
til he was; neither could the Spaniards the Swedes the
French under Napoleon the Confederate States of
lea under Davis and Lee the Germans under Wilhelm IL
The British from time to time have considered them
selves nvncibe and have kept pretty straight record
since Drake scattered the Armada in 1885, but the signs
indicate that the British feeling anything invincible
today Most of us Americans still think invncibe
thank heaven but aren't If China icks the Japs the
Chinese will probay believe themselves invincible-for
while.
No nation is invncble. That is the plain moral of all
the national ups and downs of history.
Ability to win depends on war machines trained
mechanics to operate those
ILUO Ships chnes and superior organization.
The machines and the mechanics
For ONe to run them become more vital as
inventions multiply.
Neither the machines the mechanics be i'm
provsed to meet emergency Machines can't be built
overnight it takes long time train first-cass fighting
National sefconfidencea national myth of invnci-
btywl not produce those things. 1t only stimulate
the to their best efforts If the aren't trained and
the machines aren't available in sufficient quantity the other
side will win.
More than before, need to build and maintain
the most powerful Navy in the world.
From