Evening star., 1950-08-18
Headlines Tell Story
WhyU. 5. Failed in
War Preparedness
Bombers Unable to Holt
Red Advance in Korea
Despite Drumutic Job
By DGvid Laurence

~ AAOSAo AAoNC WIN WHY EAAAAC4 IVA
hasn't been better prepared to
fight the war in Korea.
The dramatic story of the mass
flight of B-29s which dropped $50
tons of bombs over a 26-square-
mile area in Korea was immedi-
ately given here the same kind Of
acceptance that has heretofore
caused strategic bombing to DOM
mate the whole American defense
program.
1t reads persuasively now, as it
did to Congress these last four
years. 1t appears now, as it did
then, to many superficial OBJ
servers to be the simple. inexpen-
sive way to defeat an enemy
just drop tons upon tons Of bombs
from miles up. no matter where
they hit and no matter how in
discriminate the operation neces-
sarily must be from high alti-
tudes-and there will not be much
need of a ground army or a navy.
But this actual demonstration
is being conducted at time when
the dispatches mast necessarily
tell what happened the next day.
1t is no disparagement Of the B.
29s or of the decision to send
them on this mission. to point out
that this was a supplementary
and psychological operation and
by no means a primary role for
the heavy bombers.
Judged BY Direct Effects.
The B-29S undoubtedly had a
terroriZing effect and probably
were very much more useful In
striking at army concentrations
than in combing over the rela-
lively few targets for strategic
bombing operations In North Ko-
rea. Yet the mission must be
judged by what its immediate and
direct effects on enemy operations
really were. The next days dis
patches from the United Press
correspondent in the war zone
said:
The strength of the sudden
Communist push from the north
indicated that the North Koreans
may have shifted some Of the
four to six divisions they had
masSed on the west bank Of the
Naktong River northwest Of
Waegwan to the northern sector
before American B-2es dropped
$50 tons Of bombs on the west
bank yesterday.
Reconnaissance planes which
new over the blasted and burning
28-square-mile target area north
west of Waegwan today could find
no sign of the 10000 to $4,000
troops believed there"
Then came from The Associated
Press correspondent in the same
zone a dispatch a little later tell
ing Of a drive by 10000 North
Koreans and adding:
THE Communists poured out OF
the area hit by B-29 bombers west
Of the Naktong River. They
jumped of from an area between
Waegwan and Kunwi."
What this means, Of course, is
that high-level bombing did not
diSorganize the troops of the
enemy or prevent them from re-
aligning their divisions in time
TO make a concentrated attack
the next day.
Never Designed for Job.
Strategic bombers were never
designed to do such a job. What
the United States needed this
week on the central Korean front
was several units of low-level
bombers. the kind that dive close
to the target and really see what
they are aiming at. These units,
often called tactical aviation"
are very scarce nowadays in the
United States Army because most
Of the money and the manpower
has been used to develop a pro-
gram of high-level bombing for
use in Europe. The idea that
planes could fly across oceans and
attack with atom bombs was sold
to the American people as an in
expensive substitute for almost
everything else. though top-level
commanders will deny they in
tended any such thing. Yet a re-
reading now Of the publicity given
strategic bombing these last few
years will confirm the impression
that the three armed services
were not treated as coordinate
branches and each given chance
to build up what 1t needed. That
kind of autonomy was lost in the
passion for "unification," which
has turned out to be an alloca-
ton of most of the money to q
single concept of strategy-the
high-fiying bombers Of the United
States Air Force-while the Navy
was largely put aside and the
Army was deprived of men and
equipment, tanks and planes.
The strategic bomberS of the
United States Air Force are vital,
the Army foot soldier is vital, tao
tical aviation is vital, the Marines
are vital, and the Navy Is vital.
The wonder is that anyone in top
command-civilian or military
was ever able to say that navies
were obsolete, carriers should not
be moderniZed because they were
going In mothballs anyway, and
that the Marines-with the only
trained units of tactical aviation
In support Of ground troops
should be deprived of their iden-
tity, and reduced in size, and that
tanks and ground armies were
secondary.
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