The New Zealand Herald AUCKLAND, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 1945 JAPAN'S ACHILLES HEEL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25214, 29 May 1945, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald AUCKLAND, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 1945 JAPAN'S ACHILLES HEEL

Now that Burma has been liberated and the Americans are nearing the coast of China, any operations the Chinese may conduct against the Japanese will be useful. They will be more valuable if they strike through Japanese weakness at the vulnerable portions of the long land corridor from North China to IndoChina. Nanning comes within this category. It lies at the junction of the railway from Hanoi in IndoChina and the road which provides a connection with the railway now under construction from Liuchow, where union is made with China's principal railway systems. Reports of the capture of Nanning by Marshal Chiang Kai-shek's forces are accompanied by suggestions of doubt concerning their capacity to retain possession. In their present state the Chinese would be wise in avoiding pitched battles of the type they have attempted to fight in the past. In view of the superiority of Japanese training and equipment (hey would do better in a more elastic form of warfare. Thus the Chinese might compel the enemy to disperse his forces to an even greater extent than hitherto. By breaking his communications at points thinly held, they will he just as effective as if they stormed strongholds. It is the communications which matter to Japan ; a few thousand soldiers and their equipment are of little moment. If. without being callous, it may be said that manpower is the least of China's worries, this cannot be said of equipment at the present time. The time is approaching when China's Allies will be seeking entry to the continent. Against that happy day, China should husband her combatant strength. Well co-ordinated guerilla in the enemy rear at that period, especially on the lines of communication. would be a substantial contribution to winning the war. These lines of communication through Central to South China and thence by land and sea to Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies now have for Japan a greater military significance than economic. She needs them for troop and air rnove-

ments in the campaigns to delay the Allied march to Japan. It is highly probable, nay certain, that Japan is still drawing on the resources of the southern conquered territories and will continue to do so as long as she can. But in the three years she has held them, Japan must have accumulated enormous stockpiles of raw materials necessary for war —oil, rubber, tin, iron ores and fibres. It can also be taken for granted that the goods will be well dispersed through the Japanese homeland, but still easily accessible to the five principal industrial areas of TokyoYokohama, Nagova, Osaka-Kyoto,

Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In addition to these wartime acquisitions, Japan has in the homeland five oil fields and six coal-bearing districts. So far, Tokyo and Nagoya have been the principal recipients of the attentions of the American bombers. To

be fully effective, however, the raids must be continuous and of the saturation type in which destruction exceeds the facilities for repair. Many more and larger air bases will be necessary before Japan can be thus treated. Even then she has. beyond the industrial areas named, a number of large engineering and armament works as yet unvisited by the bombers.

Much as the Japanese have developed the war potential of their own country, their Achilles heel is the mainland, particularly Korea. From Korea alone, the Economist has pointed out, Japan gets over six million tons of coal a year, a million tons of pig iron, half its tungsten, all its mica and graphite, most of its molybdenum, as well as steel, gold, zinc, lead and magnesite. Korea has been developed as a vital zone in Japan's defence citadel. It has a network of railways running from south to north and across the peninsula and these have been supplemented by a. road system. Close to the port of Masan in

the south-east the new naval base of Chinkai has been built. Another has been established at Bashin, not

far from Vladivostok. Industrial belts have been created near the sources of supply and Koreans have been trained for every type of work on modern machines. These developments have been duplicated to a lesser extent in North China and Manchuria, but each country is making worthwhile contributions to the enemy's war effort. Add to these synthetic oil and rubber production to take the place of the natural supplies hitherto drawn from the East

Indies, and the pum tells of seemingly adequate Japanese preparation for a long war. Authorities differ concerning the capacity of the Japanese to stand up to bombing as they do on her capacity to feed herself. They agree, however, that with the pick of the enemy army still in North China, and Manchuria and with her great resources, Japan in her northern citadel will be a formidable foe to break.

TITO'S WILD WORDS Marshal Tito spoke with two voices at Ljubljana in upholding Yugoslav claims in the Austrian province of Carinthia. At one moment he took his stand on the Atlantic Charter, but for the most part his speech seemed designed to inflame the passions of the "enormous crowd" he addressed. The AngloAmerican Allies will be well content to have the issue in Trieste as well as Carinthia. settled in accordance with the principles laid down in the Charter. Its first three articles pro-

vide for: (1) No aggrandisement, territorial or otherwise ; (2) no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned ; and (3) the right of all peoples to choose the form of Government under which they will live. If Marshal Tito accepts the Charter in fact as well as in theory, then there can be no dispute. For the Eighth Army has occupied Carinthia and part of Trieste and Istria to keep the ring and ensure that those very principles are applied. Unfortunately, Marshal Tito does not stop there.

Some of his accusations against the occupying authority in Carinthia, the Eighth Army, have a close resemblance to the charges once hurled by Hitler at the Czechs and Poles—charges of victimisation and persecution against the Slovene minority in the Carinthian frontier region. Worse than all else, he says : "Our thoughts have not abandoned Carinthia, which today must still tremble and suffer under Gestapo terror, which is clad in another uniform." Surely that means the uniform of the soldier heroes of the Eighth Army. Verbal offence could hardly be carried further. These wild words have been uttered at a moment when the Moscow press has begun to publish sympathetic references to Yugoslavia's claims. The affair has taken a most unpleasant and dangerous turn, but it can still be hoped that Marshal Tito's real voice is the one invoking the Atlantic Charter.

AUCKLAND GOES SHORT Why should Aucklanders, and Aucklanders alone, be subjected to repeated gas shortages due to lack of coal I If it is possible—and apparently it is possible—to keep every other city and town going, why is Auckland singled out for short supply? These public questions have been whetted to a cutting edge by the winter's gale. On this occasion even North Shore residents have taken off their superior smile. The Mayor has done well to take up'the matter with the acting-Prime Minister. In drawing attention to the hardship inflicted, Mr Allum has noted the added exasperation felt at the apparent discrimination against the Auckland people, restaurants and industries. They will not be satisfied with the wornout excuse of war exigencies. If it does not hold anywhere else, it, cannot be accepted here. Clearly Auckland's dearth is due to faulty distribution and the fault falls on the Government, which has made itself responsible for distribution. Recurring crises did not arise before the Government took control of coal supplies. In the past consumers such as the Gas Company held reserves of coal and were not dependent on the vagaries of bar harbours. In that way emergencies such as the present were averted. The Mayor is °n sound ground in requesting that reasonable reserves be built up for the future, not only at the gasworks, but also for household supply. It is well that he should speak for Auckland because, out of a round dozen of M.P.'s, the metropolitan area seems to have no voice to represent its needs in Wellington. Mr Nash should reflect, that the recurring coal shortage is the worst advertisement for his planning programme. If the State cannot plan the even and regular distribution of a simple, primary commodity like coal, no confidence can be felt in its ability to order almost every detail of our economic life.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOE Pacific War Veterans Sir, —Can some light be thrown on the question of the Third Division veterans? My husband is only one of many who had done two years nine months active service in the Pacific before going to the Italian front last year with the 14th Reinforcements. These hoys endured the worst possible conditions in the Pacific. Now they are only part of a replacement scheme to relieve long-service men from the Middle East. Actually they have served well over three years themselves if Pacific service is taken into account. Or has the Government forgotten this? Worried.

• A Slogan lor Nationalists Sir, —I think that we of the Nation- ' alist persuasion might well adopt Mr ' Winston Churchill's famous dictum for - our slogan and keep it ever in the forefront of our minds. He said: "We must beware of trying to build a society in 'which nobody counts for anything, ex- " cept a politician or an 'official, a society where enterprise gains no reward and ; thrift no privileges." Our present Government obviously finds these sentiments unappetising and in direct opposition to their wildcat plans for our future happiness and welfare. Graham Htde. Keriken. . Animal Travail . Sir,— M any hearts will be grateful to your correspondent "A Farmer" for drawing attention to the appalling coriditions under which animals often travel by train. Travellers on our railways frequently remark on the pitiful sights witnessed en route. Particularly during the hot weather, when trucks are so overcrowded, the poor, panting sheep have not room to change thpir position during the long, dreary hours on slow trains. There is Another matter which someone in authority should endeavour to rectify, namely, the cruelty of the stpel-trap method of taking rabbits and opossums. In the rase of opossums traps are, by law, supposed to be visited i every 24 hours. Often these little; creatures are left in their agony for two or more days. Nocturnal creatures suffer a second terror with the arrival of a daylight from which they cannot escape. Worse still, they are frequently torn from thp traps by passing dogs. Could not poison alone be used in the case of rabbits and opossums be taken by means of snares or the cyanide method? And will not someone who has the power to do so obey the scriptural | injunction: "Open thy mouth for the dumb." Florence Birrs. A Plan for V-J Day Sir, —I was very disappointed with the celebrations in this city. I could not get near enough to the Town Hall to hear the .Mayor, so I joined the crowd just milling about. For the rest of the day there was nothing to do but make a, noise and drink beer. The even tons of broken bottles swept up from the streets are nothing to be proud of. I suggest that something better should be planned for V-J Day, and right now our Mayor should advise the "political juveniles" in Wellington that Auckland will abide by the arrangements prepared beforehand and will not be subject to the bungling that upset us on Tuesday. The first, day could be given to celebration with the hotels open, the second day to thanksgiving with the hotels closed. A salvo of guns should be fired, with the Navy and Air Force assisting. The public should be invited to contribute floats and decorated vehicles to a huge procession, with plenty of music. The fire hrigades could lend a torchlight procession at night, followed by a fireworks display. The community lights should all he switched on, coloured lights hung across the streets and main buildings. The Town Hall could be thrown open for community singing and dancing. Liquor should be served over the counter only and not in bottles. On the second day a full military parade to the thanksgiving services, with a special invitation to the returned soldiers, so that we can give them the welcome and ovation we are still waiting to give. ,W.E.S t