PACIFIC COMMANDS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23261, 24 July 1945, Page 5

PACIFIC COMMANDS

Early Reshaping Expected. NEW YORK, July 22. The early reshaping of the commands in the Pacific is expected to give a greatly enlarged sphere of operations in rhe South-west Pacific to the British, including all General MacArthur's original assignment made in 1942. as far east as Guadalcanal and northwards to, but not including, the Philippines. This is reported by the correspondent of the Associated Press of America in Washington, who adds to the report. tFie assumption that the British, Dutch, Australian and Portuguese possessions which are still largely held by the enemy will, be switched to Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten's Command. Whether there will be more specific delineations of General MacArthur’s and Admiral Nimitz’s Commands remains to be seen. General MacArthur has charge of all the United States Army forces in the Pacific and Admiral Nimitz has charge of the Navy I'erves. while General Carl Spaat.z has command of an assignment of equal rank for the strategic air forces assaulting Japan. These assignments, planned by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been the subject of some “under-cover” criticism because it meant that the principle of the unified command, used so successfully by General Eisenhower, has been abandoned. Nevertheless the triple command system is reported to be working fairly efficiently.