Evening star., 1943-11-18
Supplies to Macarthur
Held His Fair Share
By Maj. George FIELDING Eliot.

DAN rIthNSAONO, Vail, NUF, To-
Here on the West Coast statement by
a spokesman at Gen. MacArthurs head
quarters is receiving considerable public
notice. Col. Lagrande Diller of Gen.
MacArthur's public relations stan has
said that the Pacific theater is receiving
something less than per cent OF
Americas total military resources and
something less than 10 per cent of what
We are shipping overseas.
He qualities this statement, however,
to point out that he is referring to
ground forces and their various sup
= porting elements only and not to air
forces or naval forces.
These percentages look rather small.
In fact, they are not small when COM
sidered against the background OF the
general strategy which all our opera
tions are intended to implement. That
strategy has been fixed in character by
the decision to smash Germany first and
Japan afterward. Having two enemies,
widely separated in geographical loca-
ton. and lacking sufdcicnt strength to
bring overwhelming, decisive force
against both of them simultaneously,
it was necessary to make choice. Hav-
ing made the choice, 1t was then neces-
sary to assign minimum forces to 'con-
tain" the one, while assigning every
ounce Of effort that could possibly be
spared to destroy the other as quickly
and completely as possible. The sooner
Germany is smashed the sooner the
United Nations will be able to turn the
whole of their resources to the smashing
of Japan.
1t Is quite natural that the ofYicers and
men engaged In the Japanese theater of
war should feel that they ought to have
more men. more equipment, more every
thing. To them their Job is more I'M
portant than anything else. Good soldiers
always feel that way. They ought to
feel that way. But it Is little short
sighted for them to make public COM
plant about the percentage Of supplies
and men they are getting. They should
realize that the decision has been taken
Germany hrst-and that every un-
necessary man and gun which il sent
to the Pacific now just increases by that
much the length of time that 1t will
take to break German resistance: there
fore, postpones by that much the real
day OF reckoning against Japan. It does
not seem likely that Japan can bs de-
cisively beaten until the full power Of
America and Britain can be turned to
that task. That moment will not come
until Germany has been disposed of.
Hence those who are anxious to get at
the Japanese in a big way ought to be
foremost IN demanding that everything
be put into the fight against Germany
that can possibly be spared so az to
finish off the Germans without
moments unnecessary delay.
Attention might also be invited to the
fact that Col. Diller is speaking Of
ground forces. Obviously. there is at
present no great call for ground forces in
the South and Southwest Pacific. AS
suming that we have enough In the way
OF Marine and Army troops to deal with
the Japanese island garrisons, 1t would
seem little foolish to go on piling up
additional ground forces in this distant
theater when we are preparing to launch
the greatest land offensive in our history
against the western front of the Euro
pean fortress-an enterprise which will
call for every ounce Of fighting strength,
ground and air, which we can put into
1t, an enterprise in which our opponent
will be not an isolated japanese gar
rison, but the redoubtable German
Wehrmacht fighting on what amounts
to its own familiar home territory.
Air forces Gen. Macarthur does need
and needs them badly. The more he
can get the better he can do his Job.
But here again we must remember not
only that our coming invasion OF
Europe will need vast air support, but
also that air superiority will be one of
our major advantages to offset the Ger
man advantages OF position and shorter
copmunications, and also that we and
the British are currently engaged in
carrying on the greatest long range air
offensive of the war against German
vital centers, an operation which will
reduce the German power of resistance
and pave the way for the decisive blow
when it comes. Any reduction of this
offensive now is an advantage gratu-
ltously presented to the Germans.
Finally as to naval forces: COL DiIler
says he does not refer to these because
the Navy is so fluid that it can be moved
quickly from one area of the Pacific to
another. He does not bring emphasis to
bear on the fact that the vast majority
OF American fighting ships are now
concentrated in the Pacific area. There
Is suggestion that he thinks this ar
rangement inadequate because In case
OF need our naval power can be shifted
out of Gen. MacArthurs area to meet
Japanese naval threat elsewhere
perhaps In the Central or North Pacific.
But this is inescapable in the very nature
OF things. Our arrangements must be
such that we can deal with any move
the enemy may see fit to make.
These are the hard facts Of situation
which can never be wholly satisfactory
to every one, in which choices have to
be made, in which the major choice
already has been made and cannot now
be changed. Germany first and then
Japan. That is the order of business.
The closer we all hew to that line the
sooner both our enemies will be disposed
of.
(copyrsht 1e43, New York Tribune, Ine)
No Exclusive Partnership