The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-02-28

long stationed.
Java now is the intended vic.
tim Of the japanese war machine
Japan's war methods are mark.
ed by extreme simplicity. The
high command always chooses the
most logical, but not always the
most obvious route, to a definite
objective. II never chooses an
objective which II is not con-
WINGED II can attain.
In China. the Japanese
drove straight To their main
objectives. In both China and
Malaga the Japanese army
with the aid Of n smooth in
telligence service, always
knew exactly when 10 attack.
even through terrain which
the defenders considered In
vulnerable.
This was shown when the jap
anese first started TO isolate Hong
Kong in 1888 by landing at Bias
bay up the coast with the idea Of
taking Canton. The British We're
sure the Japanese would move up
the Pearl river because Of the
difficult terrain on both sides.
But the Japanese landed at what
proved the most logical place and
moved by land on Canton. In nine
days they had captured Canton.
FIFTH COLUMNISTS AID
Silver bullets - money for
fifth column activities-aided
them as IL did later In Malaga.
Foreign under-estimstion of the
capabilities of the Japanese army
has always been one of Japan's
strongest weapons.
Last Dec. 5 Air Chief Marshal
Sir Robert Broke-Popham, then
British commander-in-chi in the
Far East. said at an off-the-
record press conference that war
would not come to Malaga and
he ridiculed reports OF the pres
ence Of 500 Japanese planes in
French Indo-China. Three days
later the Japanese attacked
Malaya.
The month before Sir Shenton
Thomas, governor of Singapore,
said he was not worried and never
had been.
PART OF JAP PLANS
Giving the higher-ups such COM
placent impressions is part OF
Japans methods.
The military methods are SIM
ple-to employ minimum OF
equipment. patterned for the pc
culiar conditions to be faced. with
a maximum of ammunition for the
lightest and most effective
weapons.
British soldiers found their
own fear unwieldly In the
Malayan jungle hut the Jap
anese, wearing nothing hut n
singlet, shorts and an am
munition bandolier, and able
TO live off the land, were able
to move swiftly.
Japanese invasion tactics 30 far
have been routinely patterned.
The prelude In nm aerial
bombardment. combined at the
proper moment with n diver
sion In which q picked force
goes through the motions of =
najor landing. usually In the
opposite direction from that
of the main attack.
In Malaga. the prelude WAS al
airplane bombing on Singapore
and 4 landing diversion on the
/ kelantan coast ON the northeastern
/ side of the peninsula. The British
repealed the first attack. Tit
Japanese flung in reinforcement
regardless OF losses, IN order Il
compel the chief defenders to Civ,
their fun attention to the area.
INFu.TRATlON LAUNCHED
Meanwhile the strongest Jap
/ anese forces crossed the Thsiland
Malaga border and infiltrste'
down the peninsula to key point
on the west side which wer'
actually under attack from tn
rear while the British empir
forces were juhisntly reporting
the repulse of the east coast at
tack.
Then the japanese moved swift
IL down the peninsula while thei
airplanes made concentrated light
ming attacks ON all sirdromes.