The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-12-23
BlUNDER5 OF WAR WITH JAPAN ARE
 MADE IN REPORT
Notable Victories of First Two Years ReCOunted-
 AIeutidns Campaign
By ROBERT M. HARRINGTON

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23.-Costly blunders of the first two years of the war against Japan are recount ed with notable victories of the last two years in detailed summary released by the Navy over the weekend.
 The volume, The Campaigns of the Pacific War" is based on "ul- tra-secret" Japanese battle plans and other captured documents as well as American combat records. The report traces campaign by campaign the long sea road from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. It includes a frank recital of U S. stumblings and slip-up at Midway, the Aleutians and Guadal- canal, from which the Navy pain fully learned how to use air power
 Skillful Japanese planning for the 1 Pearl Harbor attack and for the great conquests of the East Indies is acknowledged by the U. s. Navy writers.
 The success of these plans, how ever, blinded the Japanese ever after to believe that --nal victory was just "one crushing blow" be- yond their fingertips.
 Highlights of the more important battles and campaigns follow: Pearl Harbor Planning started in January, 1941. December g was picked for the at tack, but this was later moved up to Dec. 2 because of possible ad- vanrages from Sunday attack" !" ! If discovered before Dec 5, the Japanese carrier had orders to turn back.
 No follow up of the raid was made since it's only purpose was to destroy the capital ship strength of the United States, and the Japa- nese accurately estimated the dam age done.
 The success oi the Japanese ex- pansion, plus the American raid on Tokyo, were both reasons for seiz- ing additional defense bases such as Midway, the Japanese said.
 Later they considered this Iurtner grab fundamental error" Amer ican naval officers said Midway was perhaps the decisive battle of the war"
 An American mistake, and a bloody air lesson, was the sending out of unprotected torpedo squad rons.
 [ AleutianS
 The Japanese landings were made right after the Midway defeat, but U s. search planes did not learn Kiska and Attu were being occu- pied until four days after the start of the landings. After IA months hof U. s. bombing a disappointing total' of less than seven percent of the Japanese garrison had been kill ed by the air raids.
 The Japanese evacuated 5,l00 troops from Kiska in 45 minutes one afternoon following the Ameri- can seizure of Attu. Some 25 days later 34,000 American and Canad- ian troops attacked the deserted island after weeks of air and sur i face bombardment.
 ] A dark chapter in the United States air effort" was failure to attack Japanese cruisers and des- troyers that heavily damaged two American warships in a daylight battle. The bombers were delayed several hours" changing their bomb loads for an attack. The U. s. defense of the Aleutians and Alaska "as entrusted to 78 planes because the task force com mander (not identifieO was order ed to operate cautiously" He hid his destroyers around Dutch Harbor and kept his principal sur face ship strength south of Kodiak, almost certainly out of reach of the Japanese but equally beyond range 1 of any promising u,larry."