The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-07-13
By RALPH HEINZEN United Press War AnalySt)

Air-power alone is not going to defeat Japan; we will have to in wade.
 That striking conclusion by Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher, boss of Task Force 58 on his way to Wash ington, today, ought to settle de- finitely the question: Can air pow CT alone defeat Japan?"
 Ever since Field MarShals von Rundstedt and Kesselring said that the air bombing of German war factories and communications was the chief cause of Germany's col- lapse, there have been many wishful thinkers who believe that by stead- fly checking of one Japanese city after another, wiped out from the air, you arrive eventually at the day when there will be no more Jap anese cities. A simple problem of supply and demand.
 Three-Fold Purpose
 When an admiral as experienced as Pete" Mitscher, fresh from the carrier pack, says that bombing alone will not do the job, there can remain little doubt that all the jockeying now going on from Sum- atra to Honshu is for three-fold purpose:
 l. To invade the Japanese main homeland by the "Okinawa method but only after all the necessary preliminary softening process has been completed.
 2. To engage the Japanese armies on the Asiatic mainland in as many places as possible to pre- vent any strengthening of the home defense forces, and to cut the life line" across China to the rich stolen empire to the south.
 3. To squeeze he Japanese forces now by-passed and virtually isolated in the vast triangle Singa- re-Burma-Hon Kong after cut ting the last land and sea communi- cations.
 There was more than passing sig nificance today in operations by air and sea against the Nicobar Island group northwest of Sumatra. It is a key to the western defenses of the Malay Peninsula, and in any squeeze of the triangle the two lev CTS could easily be Nicobar to the west and Brunei Bay, on the Borneo westcoaSt, to the east.
 Despite her 9-to-7 air-losses and the terrible tonnage toll of military and merchant sinking which leave her with sadly unbalanced air and naval strength, Japan is no worse off than Germany war prior to D. Day in June, 1944-and Germany stood up for year to the worst bat tering any military machine ever took in history.
 It was evident from early 1943 on- ward that air power alone would not defeat Germany. It took an invasion and then 12 months to do it.
 Nazis Recovered
 Interned in Germany all through 1943 and into 1944, was on the receiving end of 127 American and British air-raids. I saw Germany reel but recover, time after time, from the terrific air beating she took. I saw a 4-track mainline rail- way cut in Il places at noon, and heard the first train go through on repaired rails 10 minutes before midnight the same night.
 In this war we have seen three distinct types of invasion:
 l. The North African or long, range type which depends upon the surprise element.
 2. The Normandy or closeup type which operates from nearby land bases and with land-basel airplanes profuse support.
 3. The Okinawa or all-seaborne type which is wholly amphibious with only carrier. planes and big naval guns in support.
 An invasion of the Japanese main islands may well produce a fourth type, combining some of the prin- cipleS of all three.
 Japan will be fanatically defend- ed in the Bushido tradition. There will be fortified beaches, just as the