CONDUCT OF WAR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 23 October 1942, Page 2

CONDUCT OF WAR

RIVALRY AMONG SERVICES VIEWS OF U.S. COMMENTATOR (Rec. 11 a.m.) New York, Oct. 22 “Civilian officials and the lay public cannot confidently extend the conduct of the war to military men,” declares Walter Lippmann writing in the New York “Herald-Tribune.” “Military men are unable to agree among themselves on the most vital tactical and strategical problem and for this reason decisions must be reached by laymen of trained judgment. Rivalry among soldiers, sailors and airmen both in the United States and Britain is perhaps the outstanding obstacle to an effective unity j of command in the war theatres and ’ healthy relations among the Allies. This unresolved struggle for control of operations, allocation of equipment and power of command is the source of our most serious weakness. “The apple of discord is air power. The advent of the aeroplane obliterated the old clear boundary lines between generals and admirals resulting in confusion greater for England and America than for a land power like Germany, Russia or China. Only Japan has the same problem. The skill of the Japanese High Command in combining land, air and naval power is clearly one of the reasons for their spectacular successes. Some

| extreme air power advocates harmed their cause by partisan violence and wild and unsubstantiated promises of a quick and easy way to win the war, but we must not be put off by a bad statement of a good case. The search for ‘the right use of air power in combined operations is crucial in the Anglo-American conduct of the war.”—P.A.