The Wilmington morning star., 1943-03-08
interpreting
The War
By JOHN NJ. HIGHrou

lieo iorces around the world .. A'
new spring approaches bava as
rise to much optimistic e taus given
an early victory, at least il in 'p0a' p
ope. l" Eur.
The natural inclination -
centrate attention on tbo CON-
trend of events, especiallv main
they run to our ADVANTAGE s %Aea
minimize the importance 'oius of ). 70
sensational, and in the prs.ss ny lss
circumstances, unfavorable, p,ssea' dsn.1
opments. oeVey'
There are several DARK sn
the present war picture '0's IN
which has been CLOSED over ,',at oas
bright optimism more thsn With
in recent months is the nroSal GaCs
ment of China. e'e0Iea'
Since the Burma road Wa. =,
by japanese conquest esr,v ar rl0sed );
year, the great and long.suists.!aES last
armies of Generalissimo as chj.n
Kai-shek have been virtuaIlr 'lals
lated from the munitions resHnsI 49,
OF Britain and the United Sta+a. rs'
They have received only r,ss triosi.
OF supplies by air TRANSPORT "iIAle A.
result they have been forcea SS
fight a strictly defensive war w VIZ 70
Japan and to move under tha WIN WI"
slant threat of general Jan,rss' ,oi'
offensive that would TAX then ' w
sistance to the utmost. IT.
Yet China has offered d,rirc .r
these months both the potes4a sI
military power to engage .Tan,r''
land forces on large scale and
also stategic locations which tb.. +.4
military power could convert in'' ,a'
air bases for the bombing ot .' :,
pan. But neither of these desirabl,
objectives can be attained until ~
Chinese get arms in vast amo,nt,
Even the American air forco ~
China must operate within t5a
limits fixed by the available sl,rnlr
Of gasoline, explosives and renlars
ment parts for worn or damagsi
planes.
Air transport from India to Chin,
has served to prevent comple.
isolation of the Chinese, but it hn
been possible to assign to ts
China service only a fraction Of
the planes needed. And there are
some items which planes so far
have been unable to carry-medi-
um tanks, heavy trucks and large
stores of oil and gasoline, for ex-
ample.
The only practical solution is 10
reopen the Burma road which
means reconquering at least the
northern third of Burma from the
Japanese. When the Allied com.
mander in India, British General
Wavell, began his drive on Akya,
early this winter, there was some
hope that by next spring Or sum,
mer quantity deliveries Of mum.
tions would again be going 10
China.
That hope is now gone. Burma;
paralyzing wet season will begin
in six or eight weeks. Even after
the rains end late next sumner
swollen rivers will prevent exten-
sive military operations until about
October /. Thus there is little
prospect that the Japs can be drN
en- from tn Burma road before
next winter.
Barring the possibility Of a Ger
man collapse in Europe and me
; further possibility that Rusal
might then enter the war at nef
back door so that japanese ilous'
trial centers could be bombed from
Siberian bases, the allure to take
advantage of opportunities in ChlHa
) seems to mean that the "af
against Japan this year must COZ
t tinue to be solely an aero'Aa'@
t operation conducted from our It.
mote bases in the central and s0l@
west Pacific. ~ .,.,
Such war probably VIII n~,
japan in only three ways; 1t "a.
wear down her maritime stIen34
} so that she finds it increasingly ar
ficult to develop the riches OF ny, =
lava and the Dutch Indies ana -
: maintain her distant island oas's, ~.
| # can wear down her airpo"eL ~, ~
that she will find it increasln5.
difficult to protect her posseSs.u-. .tr,
and it can deny her various S,s ~.
: tegic outposts necessary TO 'ilS ~
fense of her empire. ,f.o4 nj
Should the cumulative elleus s;cs N
: these three be great enough wind wind
seems unlikely in the short a pe'bs ~
of one summer, it might sls1 to,rs
nossible NJ e for an amphibious tofts .:,
to capture some of the u.s. s'T5,yit. p5iIIp.
chain of bases between the FH,rr NY.
pines and Japan and set up 4S,, gp,
tial blockade of Japan propgll' alor ~ 4,
would indeed be serious O-''
the Japs. 81, oorductns
primarily naval war asa,asr am MO-, O.
pan is that it hits her in me .hs n''. Is
costly cost y manner and where where 'aS f5.,, i,
most able to defend helSI'i, 10 orlg
ly sea campaign would q o9 ottsc. ali
one of two main types ol eeansre %,r
the other would be an ar 151.iar oils''I CO.
from fro China, which with Ross,soi 3aasd p
II oiii oo,,1d he broadeneo "