The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1943-09-23
Jups Switch Tactics
CBy Volney Hurd, Christian
Science Monitor News Analyst

10y VO111Cy ou1u, I'LL Lot1d3A
Science Monitor News Analyst
When the Japanese refused to
fight to the last man and made
q run for it at Bairoko, 1t
Drought up again the common
conception, fostored by radio
and press writers, that this idea
f retreating is something new
tor the JAPANESE lesson we
forced upon them.
Now, the japanese have been
mdereStimated in many ways
from the first. We undereStima-
ted their strength and even
their treachery. And apparently
we still underestimate their
leadership, as though it was a
fanatical sort of thing. Its &C
tons are made to seem that
way, to be sure, but the progress
Of Japan as a nation in the last
century shows plenty of Shrewd,
careful planning. Japan didn't
come to it's present position by
accident.
The key to this question of the
Japanese fighting to the last
man and the change back to the
usual method of retreats seems
logical in a dictatorship nation
which believes in the human
mind as a hypnotizable device
and builds accordingly. The Ger
mans did it. They fooled their
own people into supporting
them through applied hypno-
tism and then pretty near sue
ceeded in fooling the rest of the
world into believing that their
army was invincible. This was
worth while from their point OF
view.
Convince the enemy YOU
can't be licked and he Is dis |
outraged in trying to beat you.
Unless our memories are very
short, we can recall how effec-
tive this was in Europe. But
finally the Red Army smashed
that legend once and for all.
And since this psychological de-
feat, the military diminution OF
German power has been steady.
The end of invincibility coincl-
ded with Germany being put on
the defensive.
It seems quite certain that the
Japanese fight-to-the- Eastman
idea was the Nipponese version
of German invincibility. Appar-
emily their whole campaign was
based on a treacherous attack
by which they would take in a
vast empire quickly. Once over
extended, they hoped that by
having their men fight to the
bitter end in every case that we
would become discouraged and
figure that it would take so
many years and such a high
price to beat Japan that we
would quit. Like the German ef-
fort, it was a good gamble on
their part. And many people
were affected by this clever bit
Of suggestion.
But the American soldiers,
fighting with conviction instead
uf'through a hypnotic urge, new
e flinched nor accepted this
japanese idea. If the Japanese
wanted to be killed to the last
man, they would oblige, al
though it was certainly miitar-
lily foolish.
The fact is that eve quite re-
cent Japanese history proves
that this Eastman" idea is not
basic. The Japanese had many
serious clashes with the Rus
slams on the Manchukuo-Siber-
ian border in the SOS. These
were major army actions al
though they received little pub
Ncity. The Russians gave the
Japanese a good licking in sew
eral instances and the Japanese
retreated Just as fast rs any
other army when it has been
overwhelmed.
But for US they tried this
Eastman" trick. Now that the
idea has failed to convince us
that the Japanese could make
the war last forever, the En-
1peror's High Command has
quickly changed its tactics.
There was no use expanding
ulanpower for a mental-sugges-
ton program that no longer
worked, SO the Japanese started
retreating. First 1t was kSka,
then approaches to Salamaua,
and now Bairoko. Which means
the war in the Far East, with
Japan on the defensive, has fall
en- into a standard operation,
With the fight-to- the last-man
idea eliminated. Japan will need
all the men who cannot hold a
position to defend the next one.
That's plain horse sense, and
the japanese leadership. we
must again emphasize, may not
be inspired but neither Is 1t STU
Did and fanatical as some people
would like to believe.
Eodge Gross Creek