GENERAL WAVELL’S SUCCESSOR

Southland Times, Issue 24684, 4 March 1942, Page 5

GENERAL WAVELL’S SUCCESSOR

POST MAY BE GIVEN TO GENERAL MACARTHUR AUSTRALIA FAVOURS DEFENDER OF PHILIPPINES (United Press Association —Telegraph Copyright) (Rec. 1 a.m.) NEW YORK, March 3. The Herald-Tribune’s Washington correspondent says that the possibility that General Douglas MacArthur will now be called on to assume command of the united nations in the South-west Pacific has arisen following the surprise announcement in a statement issued from No. 10 Downing Street that General Sir Archibald Wavell has relinquished supreme command of the Allied Forces in the South-west Pacific area and will return to the Indian Command. This possibility is supported by reports from Australia that General MacArthur, whose brilliant resistance at Luzon is the one bright spot in the otherwise gloomy record of Allied defeats in the Far East, might be summoned to take up General Wavell’s post. Reports are quoted from Australian newspapers urging General MacArthur’s appointment on the ground that the United States is now clearly designated the key nation in Australia’s defence scheme. With Singapore gone and Java gravely threatened, Australia is believed to be the next object of attack in the Japanese time schedule. In any case the defence of Australia is obviously of prime importance to the United States. If Australia and New Zealand fall to the Japanese the united nations will lose their last bastion in the South-west Pacific, the last place from which they can launch offensive operations against the enemy. Furthermore, should the Japanese overwhelm Australia and New Zealand they will be free to turn their attention to Hawaii, which is America’s first line of defence in the Pacific against an attack on continental United States. It is recalled in this connection that Mr Walter Nash in his first interview with the Press here called for an American to be named commander in the Pacific area.

The statement issued from No. 10 Downing street said: “The loss of Malaya and the entry of the Japanese into Sumatra has separated Burma from the Netherlands East Indies. In these circumstances it has been decided that the command of the land, sea and air forces of the united nations in the Netherlands East Indies shall pass to the Dutch who will continue to receive all the assistance available by the united nations. “With the approval of his Majesty the King, General Wavell will resume the appointment of Commander-in-Chief in India, which now includes responsibility for the operations in Burma and close co-operation with China. There will be no change in the present arrangements for _ general co-ordination in the strategic policy of the war against Japan.” SUPPORT FOR DUTCH The statement makes it clear that the dissolution of the ABDA headquarters does not mean that the Dutch are being abandoned or that resistance m Java is to be discontinued. Nor does it mean that help in maintaining resistance from outside will cease. It is understood that the British mili-

tary and air commanders are remaining in Java in charge of British naval, army and air force units which are being retained there. They will continue to resist the enemy alongside the Dutch and American forces. REDUCED ABDA AREA It can be assumed that the decision to dissolve the ABDA headquarters arises from the fact that the fall of Singapore, the occupying of most of Sumatra by the Japanese and the return of Burma to the operational control of India very greatly reduce the ABDA area. Only Java, Northern Australia, a small part of the Philippines and of Sumatra and a number of lesser islands now remain in that area. General Wavell, in consultation with Major-General Brett and with the Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies, therefore agreed that the ABDA headquarters should be dissolved. It is not a question of withdrawal Headquarters Command in Java will thus revert to the stage in which it was before the arrival of ABDA headquarters—with the Dutch Governor and Commander-in-Chief in general control and the military command vested in the Dutch commanders as before.