The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-05-13
Interpret ing
The War
Nv KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press News Analyst

BY KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press News Analyst
AyastIy augmented aerial attack
apparently faces Japan at a, time
when there are pronounced signs OF
the collapse of her ability to meet
even the present scale American
bombing forays in critical areas.
This becomes evident on the
heels of a statement by high
American air officers in Europe
predicting the early arrival in Jap
tanese skies of Allied bombers by
the thousand, instead OF by the
hundreds.
Nowhere, except in virtually fu.
tile suicide assaults on shipping of
Okinawa is the Japanese air force
giving effective opposition, not ev.
en- over Japan itself.
The mass raid on Japanese home
oil storage installations, estimated
to have involved up to 400 super
fortresses, was made without loss
or indicated damage to single
ship by Granny action. In the HUI
nan theatar in China, most critical
for Japanese hopes of retaining the
China-Indo China communications
corridor, American observers al
the 18th Air Force base, Chihyiang,
supporting ground troops routed by
Chinese counter attack closely
coordinated with General Chen.
nault's airmen.
Farther south, American press
observers in Calcutta note that
in recaptured Burma, in French
Indo China and even on the Malay
Peninsula the campaign of Admiral
Lord Louis Mountbatten to oper
the western approaches to the Chi.
ma Sea is taking shape with little
Japanese air interference. It is es.
timated by the Allies not more
than 400 enemy combat planes are
available for duty in all that vast
stretch of territory in process Of
redemption from enemy hands
Japanese air power ceased months
ago to be a factor in the fightins
in the Philippines. 1t has so far of.
fereo no substantial opposition I'd
the steady air blasting of Formosa
Nipponese China Sea Gibraltar.
So far as current field reports
from any sector of the war in the
Pacific 60, it would seem that ia
pan is facing the terrible ordeal
Of mass air bombardment virtually
undefended from above as Alice
power shifts from Europe for that
purpose. On her home islands al
we'll as her remaining island OF
mainland outposts, she is all but
roofless under the brewing storm
The absence of Japanese air ele.
ments in any substantial force from
| the battle in Human is particularly
significant. Chinese accounts with
apparent American confirmation
say that the enemy threw up to
80, 900 men into the futile attempt
to reach and stamp out General
Chennault's Chihyiang base. In the
face of American planes that was
plain murder. It lends credibility
to Chinese reports of wholesale
slaughter of enemy troops in adj
dition to those penned up for an.
Inhalation west of Paoching.
Given sufficient air. power to
back up that resurgent Chinese
force, American high officials ir
China say that with or without the
help of amphibious operations or
the China Coast itself the japanese
hold on Central China could be
broken. Their reported elation al
the success of joint American Chi
nese air-ground cooperation in de-
tense of Chihyiang which has turn
ed into potential major counter
attack threatening the enemy
China-Indo China corridor is mark.
ed. 1t can hardly be doubted that
it rises in part from the knowl.
edge that the air power to turn
the trick, despite Chinese inferior.
ity in battle equipment on h G
ground, is.due to reach them soon
from Europe. That does not les.
sen the fact, however, that devel-
opments in Western Human syn.
chronizing with victory week, com.
plete and final in Europe, are the
most encouraging to come in Chi.
ma in months. There is real pos.
sibility there that Japanese armies
in China can be split apart at the
Human waistline leaving those in
the north and south to be mopped
up separately.
American observers in India go
so far as to say that with enemy
resistance crushed in Burma, the
whole southern end of the Malay
peninsula could be cut off by
Mountbatten's troops and Singa.
pore and Sumatra be freed of the
foe with relative ease. While wet
monsoon weather is close at hand
in the Bay Of Bengal theater, there
is evidence in those censor passed
dispatches that major operations to
exploit the Burma victory to the
full may be impending without de.