Evening star., 1943-04-04
One War to End
Before the Other
By OUen L. Scott.

is hghtlng two distinctly separate wars
and not two parts of one war. That
point is emphasized by the announced
decision to fight the war against Ger
| many first and then to take up the war
against Japan when the Germans are
defeated.
This does not mean that the Japanese
are to be left entirely alone until the
Germans have surrendered. Events still
to come in 1943 will show the japanese
to be on the receiving end of some very
important blows. Yet, the emphasis will
be upon process of attrition in the
Pacific while the concentrated effort will
be made in the Mediterranean and the
Atlantic.
Decision to block off the war in the
Pacific and to leave it for major atten-
ton after the war in the Atlantic Is won,
carries with 1t some very important
implications.
This decision means that after the
Germans surrender there cannot be a
great peace celebration because there
still will be a big war to fight against
Japan. Yet this war against japan will
be an entirely different sort of war
than the one against Germany. 1t might
be said that the war against the Germans
is the Army's war while the war against
the japanese will be the Navys war In
both cases. however, the Army Air Forces
will play major role.
In the war against Germany the need
is for a very big Army. Decision is to
build an American Army of 100000 men
and officers. The need likewise is for
quantities of armament that go along
with land war. The result is that this
countrys manpoWer is to be drawn on
heavily, even to the extent of calling
some fathers into service. The result
also is that American industry is so busy
turning out an overwhelming supply of
land weapons that civilians are to be
squeezed to a low standard of living
Once the war against Germany is won,
a wholly new situation will confront the
country.
In the war against Japan the need is
for a very big Navy and Air Force The
land Army of nearly 100000 men that
now is being built then will not be needed
in anything like that number 1t would
be an impossible task to transport
force even approaching that size across
10000 miles of the Pacific, together with
the equipment it would need in fighting
Winston Churchill was referring to this
fact when he told the British people that
victory over the Germans might be
followed by partial rehabilitation. 1t
could be followed as we'll by partial
demobilization of the American Army
At that time. however, the job really
would start for the big Navy that this
country is building The Navy is to be
one of 260OOoO men. including Marines
and Naval Air Forces. These are the
men who will have the big job still to
do once the war is won in Europe.
The expectation referred to on occa-
sion by both President Roosevelt and Mr..
Churchill, is that the European war can
be ended sometime in 1914 BY that
time the new American Navy will be
approaching its maximum strength and
will be prepared to get going in full
force to fight the war in the Pacific. That
war probably will take as much as year
to wind up after our forces are set in
position.
The thing that the japanese a re count
ing on to give them an escape from Ge-
feat is simply this: Once TIE European
war ends there can be a great letdoWn.
The British and American Pc 1ple will be
weary of wars, particularly the British,
u-l frl,
years. The Russians readily may decide
to let the British and Americans finish
off the japanese because Russia suffered
SO heavily in the war against Germany.
At the same time, it will be possible to
start demobilizing land armies. The
drafting of men will slow down There
will be large-scale cancellation of war
orders, particularly of the kind that all
for weapons on vast scale for q ,2ass
army. There would be the start of re-
taxation of many restrictions, particu-
larly the ratlonlng restrictions made
necessary by the building of big army
The japanese probably expect that the
start OF rehabilitation of both the army
and of industry that could follow vic
tory in the European war would cause
the American people to want to go the
whole way and wind up the war in Asia
as well. There are two reasons why that
expectation is highly unlikely to be real
lied.
One reason why the japanese cannot
expect to get off easily is that the peo-
pie of this country appear to be far more
deeply concerned about that war than
they are about the European war They
have some defeats to redress.
The second reason why Japan cannot
expect an easy time of it is that the
mass of war materials being built up
prior to the full-scale war against Japan
will be so colossal that it should over
whelm the Japanese even if no more
weapons are built once that war really
gets going. BY that time the British
and American navies, plus the British
and American air forces, once in posi-
ton, would be powerful enough to blast
path across the Pacific regardless of
anything Japan might try to do. If the
Russians helped out even to the extent
OF air and submarine support the result
could be achieved much more quickly
With two wars to fight, however, the
American people must expect many diff
culties and complications in the fighting
of them.
Something to Remember
From the Providence journal: