WAR STRATEGY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24837, 10 February 1942, Page 5

WAR STRATEGY

CONTROL SYSTEM EXTENSION ADVOCATED J VOICE FOR ALL ALLIES (Rec. 7 p.m.) NEW YORK, Feb. 8. The military expert of the HeraldTribune, Major George Fielding Elliot, asserts that the British and Americans cannot expect full military co-opera-tion from their Allies until they establish a Supreme Allied War Council in which all the principal Allies participate on an equal footing. “The establishment of the British and American Joint Staff is a step in the right direction, but it is only a beginning,” Major Elliot writes. “This is not a British-American war against the Axis. It is a war of a great worldwide coalition against the Axis and a coalition, including not only the United States and the British Commonwealth, but also Russia, China, and the Netherlands East Indies. Obviously we cannot expect full cooperation from these Allies unless they ate granted full participation in the making of decisions and the formulating of policy. “ Nothing could be more unfortunate than to give the impression at Chungking, Moscow, and Batavia that the war is being run as a British and American enterprise, with the others graciously permitted to spill their blood as directed and called in to endorse decisions already taken.” MR ROOSEVELT’S ROLE RECOGNISED AS LEADER President Roosevelt is now recognised as the war leader of the Allied nations, reports the New York correspondent of, the Sydney Sun. The President’s leadership, he says, was first publicly announced when 'Mr Roosevelt conferred bn January 29 with British and American Chiefs of Staff and other high officers, including Fieldmarshal Sir John Dill. It is widely interpreted as meaning that the President intends fully to exercise the function of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He will lay down the main outlines of strategy after close collaboration by radio with Mr Churchill and other Allied leaders. \ The Washington correspondent of the New York Times says that United States Army and Navy leaders, after apparent hesitation, seem to have adopted the theory of a global war, and are now regulating the flow of men and materials to the various fronts. Arthur Krock,.New. York Times correspondent, says it is impossible at present to direct this flow to the Philippines to relieve General Mac Arthur because the Japanese have thrown up a naval and aerial barrier, including Wake Island, Guam, Celebes, and Borneo. Some aid, however, can be sent by way of Australia so- long as Singapore is intact. “Apart from the Japanese barrier, the task of effectively reinforcing General Mac Arthur exceeds the nation’s present shipping facilities,” adds Mr Krock.