PACIFIC STRATEGY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21633, 9 February 1945, Page 3

PACIFIC STRATEGY

ISLE-HOPPING ENDED ATTRITION vVAR NOW THRUSTS TOWARD CHINA (10 a.m.) NEW YORK, Feb. 8. The New York Times, in an editorial, says that General MacArlhur lias matched his famous “I shall return” motto with “On to Tokio.” Nobody has done more than General MacArthur toward achieving that goal,” says the paper. “Certainly there will be a continuing need of his great abilities as we go forward. “The fall of Manila ends one great phase of the Pacific struggle, but it is doubtful if the next phase can begin until victory in Europe releases the necessary forces and shipping supplies. The mere task of securing our communication lines against large bodies of by-passed Japanese who refuse to wither on the vine is bound to drain the limited Allied man-power in the East. Nevertheless the liberation of Luzon marks the end of island hopping. We can now wage a war of at- j trition to cut oil Japan from her resources southward. Such a campaign, however, only is preliminary to continental warfare for bases in China which, iii turn, is preliminary to the invasion of Japan itself. Invasion of Japan

“Admiral Nimitz seems to agree with the Army ground generals that the invasion of Japan may have to be on a larger scale than the invasion of Normandy and must be launched from nearby continental bases for which reason Japan must be cleared from large areas in China and perhaps, Korea and Manchuria. That is the measure of the real distance between Manila and Tokio.”

Vice-Admiral Fitch, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air, who recently returned from an inspection of Pacific air bases, told the press that he was particularly impressed by the speed with which the Americans were rolling up the enemy’s rear bases and also the success of the strategy of bypassing islands where bases arc not needed for keeping the enemy garrisons isolated largely by air power. Two hundred thousand Japanese were already isolated and might remain in “prisons” for years because they were able to live off the land. Although the mopping-up task had been taken over largely by the Anzacs, the Army, Navy and Marine airmen were contributing effectively to keeping the islands isolated.