Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-03-13
Japan Won
East Before
War Started
Faulty Planning Costly
10 British, Dutch
BY PAUL MiLLON

az AafAH'A s'N*Ahf' 80 ~ 800 - a'NfNN-
that campaign up as the
fcchlcSt-wittcd Of all-including
Norway and Greece.
The British lost their entire
Malayan army at Singapore (the
laps say it numbered $4,000 on
surrender day
The Dutch, British and our
own navy seem 20 have lost
much Of the Far Eastern fleet.
The Dutch are supposed 10 have
surrendered one army IN Java
numbering $4,000, although only
untruStworthy Jap figures again
are available.
Noting this evidence, current
popular reasoning seems running
along the line that General
WavclrS defensive strategy was
stupid and that of the Dutch
nearly rs bad
"TOo little, too late" they say
"If these scattered 171,O0O
troops had been put together
with all the scattered naval
forces for "A drive against the
China coast, the results might
have been different" they say.
if if if.
You can get nearly any better
result than the one that hap
pcncd by reShufflinG strategy
and forces on paper now. but all
tins discussion ovcrlookS the
basic reason why the Far East
is gone.
The original error was the
fatal one, the all inclusive one
which never could be redeemed.
1t was simply that the British
and Dutch were sitting out
there for years upon the richest
portion of the earth and failed
10 take modern precautions for
its protection.
SPECIFICALLY, they had no
~ air force worthy of the
name. They had not even built
air fields enough 10 house an
air force if one came. If every
Allied plane in the world had
been shipped out there last
December Z. few could have
gotten off the ground because
no air fields for them had been
built.
The British and Dutch had
not provided sufficient anti-air-
craft guns to defend any vital
point. Their troops were not
trained TO the type of warfare
they would encounter, while the
JapS had spent years preparing
for this special mission of con-
quest. They sim ply, madly
underestimate VIII { they
needed and what the JapS had.
These are fundamental mis-
takes which date back long
before the fighting began. They
could not be corrected in a few
weeks or a few months. After
them, nothing effective could
have been done.
DiSmaycd British and Dutch
statesmen are inclined, like the
public now, 10 analyze events Of
the last three fighting months
in search of the answer for
their troubles, rather than these
Older and more important truths.
1t can be seen now the Japs
won the Far East before the
war began when they took
lndo-Chlna, with the placid
acquieScence of Nichy. Without
il their campaign would not
have been possible,
The British depended on Thai
land to fight, and particularly
10 offer air fields. but this error,
too, proved disastrous. The JapS
were halfway down the Malay
peninsula before the British
even knew where they would
have to fight or how.
TIIE Far Eastern correspond
entS talked of reinforce
mentS,' and the Dutch and
British echoed this call but
every one can now see reinforce
mcntS within the necessary 30
10 90 days was wholly impoS-
siblc from the start From San
Francisco 10 Batavia is Sc days
by convoy.
\ iam-up occurred in our Pa
citic ports. due largely 10 a
shortage Of ships available on
the spot, after the war began.
but even If sufficient non
existent ships. planes. tanks.
trained personnel had been wait
ing IN port 10 20 AT the out
break of war. they could not
have altered the result IN view
OF the original prcwar mistakes.
What could have broken the
back Of the Jap offensive Is
naval blows at the Jap lines of
communications, establishment
of a beach head on the China
coast, maintenance here OF a
force of dive bumberS 10 prey
on Jap shipping. After Pearl
Harbor we did not have the
navy 10 do il.
These facts have been OBJ
scured by the deceptive and
childish modes of Allied pub
licity and censorship -- such
things as the Singapore censor
suppress sing CHS correspondent
Cecil Brown for limiting that
Singapore RaS in a bad way only
week on so before II fell.
They constantly held ont hope
10 the public that Malaga or
Java could be defended If only