Evening star., 1942-04-10

the war last De- A
cember, the David Lawrence.
Nazis thought they would succeed in
transferring Americas energies
from the Atlantic to the Pacific
But that strategem has failed.
Coincident with the word that
the brave men on Bataan Peninsula
are being defeated comes word of
the arrival in Britain of Gen. Mar
shall, United States Army Chief of
Staff. The United States means evi-
IDENTIFY to carry on. along with her
Allies, a spring offensive aimed at
Hitler.
The Pacific hereafter will be a
naval and aerial theater, with some
large bodies of troops. But the
chief land operations in which the
bulk of the American Army will
be utilized doubtless will be on some
continental European battlefront in
this war, as in the last.
Hard Decision to Make.
Hitler would have liked the United
States to stop sending supplies to
Russia and Britain and to have
concentrated everything on winning
back the Philippines. The Japanese
may indeed have had a part in the
strategy in by-passing the Philip
pines in the hope that national
pride would cause America to con-
centrate on the Pacific war.
1t was a hard choice for the
President to make, and there is no
information as to what took place
in the conferences held here last
December with Prime Minister
Churchill. But it will be recalled
that Secretary Knox took a severe
beating IN the press for saying that
Hitler was still public enemy No. l..
The Dutch and Australians didn't
like it and the Chinese were dis
turbed. But since that time Gen.
Macarthur has gone to Australia
and reinforcements of a substan-
tial nature have been sent to the
Southwest Pacific. Also, the Ameri-
can Fleet has been engaging in some
very effective raids in the Far East.
But the spring is almost here, and
the might Of America has not been
diverted from the Atlantic. Aid
has been flowing to Russia and Brit
ain in ever-increasing quantities.
Our forces are manning important
bases for air patrol, and our naval
vessels are engaged in important
convoy work everywhere. In due
time patrol of blimps and airplanes
and subchasers along our coasts will
cut down the heavy Nazi submarine
raids. The losses we have suffered
thus far were inevitable because, as
the President recently said, we could
not spread our forces out too thin
and be everywhere at once. Some
losses had to be taken in order to
carry out the major objectives.
Decisive Year F0reseen.
The year 1912 has been looked
upon in Central Europe as possibly
the decisive one of the war. Rus
sia must pe aided to the utmost and
preparations must be made to with
stand German advances in North
Africa. Hitler would have been
pleased If the American and British
fleets had gone to the Indian Ocean
and the Pacific to hunt down the
Japanese.
But the American purpose, as
gradually unfolded by current hap
penings, Is plainly to send substan-
tial forces to the Pacific bases to
hold them defensively while seek
ing to deliver really offensive blows
in Europe and in the Atlantic the
ater of the war.
The theory here is that when Hit
Ter is beaten and Germany COL
lapses, japanese domination of the
areas she has taken will break up
overnight. The combined American
and British fleets of surface vessels
and aerial craft would take care
Of Japan once the European front
h won.
German Morale Impaired.
The enormous losses suffered by
Hitler on the Russian front have
impaired the morale of the German
people. Another year of such losses
will make the Nazi hold on the
people tenuous-this is the object
OF the emphasis now to be placed
OH the opening up Of a new front
N Europe. Once air superiority is
achieved over the English Channel,
once American and British naval
vessels combine to protect landing
forces, Hitler will be hard put to it
to bring his air forces and tanks
from the Russian front, not to men
ton man power. The Allies, on the
other hand, have an almost lirnitless
supply of tanks and airplanes COM
ing and they will have the benefit
of a friendly population when the
time for invasion arrives.
1t is hard to lose Bataan but,
psychologically, as the Philippines
are for the moment written off, the
attention of the Nation can be fixed
on the all-important European front
in the coming months of decisive
warfare. It's a needed transfer of
emphasis.