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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne Japanese Follow Axis War Strategy Of Attack on American Possessions While Diplomatic Envoys Talk Peace; Nation Unites in Ail-Out War Effort (EDITOR'S NOTE When opinions are expressed In these columns they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) , (Released by Western newspaper Union.) C I A HARBOR CHINA .(""""ft t,, r , r Jr".W HAWAIIAN IS. 1 y '-t m;. to UNITED SHAWHAI I f .oV -I STATES J 2392 Wiles HO iBH WAKE ISLAND Islwds Vn &S w GUAM. .CCEBTCHE. INBItS V AUSTTtAUA : 1 With the opening of the Japanese blitz on the United States the spotlight of news swung to this section of the world. Above are shown the battle stations of the Pacific. First blow, a bombing attack, was aimed at the chief naval base of Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. Several points in the Philippines were bombed. Guam was attacked by planes. The British port of Singapore was bombed and Japanese troops made a landing on the Malay peninsula north of Singapore. against Japan, Great Britain would join in the fight "within the hour." As the Japanese began their long contemplated but currently unexpected unex-pected drive Russia was expected to come with its forces on the side of the United States. ' ARMY AND NAVY: Strength "On any comparable basis, the U. S. navy is second to none," declared de-clared Navy Secretary Knox only a day before the attack made on U. S. possessions by Japanese bombers. Compared to the status when the U. S. entered the First World war in 1917, both the army and the navy are on a larger scale. The army WAR: Sudden Attack When war came to the United States it came with a sudden fury that startled the entire nation. First news of Japan's attack on the great U. S. air and naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, came from the White House in Washington. Later Lat-er reports told of the attacks on the Philippines and on the island outpost out-post of Guam. Though the nation was startled it was suddenly united. From former "isolationist" leaders and newspapers newspa-pers came pledges of support to the government in dealing with an unprovoked un-provoked attack upon the United States. - Invoking the Nazi blitzkrieg tactic tac-tic of striking with great surprise, Japanese bombers swooped over the city of Honolulu, the stronghold at Pearl Harbor and on the army's nearby flying base, Hickman field, even as the Japanese envoys in the United States were talking "peace" to state department officials in Washington. ; Though the immediate attack had .approximately 1,600,000 in uniform uni-form the fatal Sunday when the bombs were let loose in Hawaii. In 1917, there were but 200,000 men. While the character of naval vessels ves-sels has changed in the capital ships group, so that comparison is not easy, it is significant to note the increase in destroyers and submarines. subma-rines. We have 170 destroyers today to-day compared with 52 in 1917, and 113 submarines compared with 44. The available number of U. S. combat planes on the outbreak of hostilities was estimated at 7,500. As of November 1, 1941, the navy had in commission 17 battleships, 7 aircraft carriers, 37 cruisers, 170 destroyers, and 113 submarines. SUB-ZERO: Moscow Defends Once again the weather man, having hav-ing dished out weather much too warm for Russian comfort, turned again to aid the Red defense of Moscow, and Pravda was reporting the Soviet legions falling on the attackers at-tackers in a temperature 17 below zero, and shoving them back all along the line. came without warning the strong defense de-fense forces in Pearl Harbor went into quick action and heavy antiaircraft anti-aircraft fire shook the Pearl Harbor sector as the battle got under way. After news of the attacks had reached Washington, radio listening outposts picked up word that Japan had declared war on the United States and Great Britain. By this time President Roosevelt had ordered or-dered U. S. army and naval forces in the Far East to execute "all previously prepared" orders. This order was carried out by U. S. aviators taking to the air and the fleet steaming out of Pearl Harbor to battle the enemy. President Roosevelt called an immediate im-mediate conference with cabinet Described battle lines on the southern, or Rostov front moved back beyond the Mius river, some 60 miles west of the "spigot city of Caucasian oil," and a score of miles west of Taganrog. Russian reports described attacks upon fleeing Germans from the waters wa-ters of the Sea of Azov, the fleet's guns hammering the Nazis and preventing pre-venting them from reforming their lines along the coastal road. The Reds also claimed having crossed the Mius, and trapping German Ger-man forces attempting to make it! back to Mariupol, currently General j Von Kleist's headquarters. members and legislative leaders to prepare plans for leading the nation na-tion through the crisis. As this conference con-ference was being held a report came in from Lieut. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, U. S. army commander command-er in the Far East, telling of the several attacks on U. S. bases in the Philippines. Planes participating in the bombing bomb-ing of Pearl Harbor were believed to be operating from an aircraft carrier somewhere in the region. A report by way of the Panama Canal Ca-nal Zone told of the sinking of a . Japanese aircraft carrier in the Hawaiian Ha-waiian area. Immediate Allies Support to the United States was immediately forthcoming from other oth-er nations. On the same day as the Japanese blitz got under way the government of the Netherland Indies In-dies declared war on Japan. In the Western hemisphere, Canada drew up its declaration of war, as did the Central American republic of Costa Rica. Australia joined the ranks of Nippon's foes. Even before congress could get into session, Great Bnitain's parliament parlia-ment had been summoned to draw up its declaration. Winston Churchill, Church-ill, British prime minister, had previously pre-viously pledged that should the United States be forced to go to war I From the Moscow front came dispatches dis-patches claiming a big Red victory in the Mozhaisk-Volokolamsk sector, directly west of the city, halting and hurling back a German drive which Berlin claimed had brought them within 16 miles of the city. Rome reports said that ."a million mil-lion and a half men and 8,000 tanks were driving on Moscow" but the Russians said the pressure was less, and that with the weather more favorable fa-vorable (the Reds seemed to pick up speed under sub-zero temperatures), tempera-tures), the defense of the capital seemed more hopeful. As to the Mius river crossing in I the south, the Russians said they had executed a maneuver which trapped many Nazi regiments. FINNISH: Ships Seized The British declaration of war on Finland, Hungary and Rumania had not been unexpected, but had been followed swiftly in the United States by the seizure of all Finnish vessels ves-sels in American ports. That was carrying out the formula of this country in "taking into protective pro-tective custody" vessels of Axis-friendly' Axis-friendly' countries, or those dominated domi-nated by Axis powers on the theory that if permitted ;to leave they would be scuttled or captured. Coast guardsmen in half a dozen port cities swooped aboard Finnish ships, and the expectation was that they would soon follow the fate of the Danish, French, German and Italian ships in going into the American Amer-ican merchant service. In the case of the Danish vessels, many of the crew men, (some of them under fictitious fic-titious names) were retained. The navy department evidently had been preparing for this seizure for several days, for some of the Finnish ships were all loaded and ready to depart, and permits for clearance had been held up. MISCELLANY: Baltimore: Commendation went to Private Colas, selectee who was set to watch traffic at a street intersection inter-section while 12,000 troops passed through. He was to be picked up by a truck, which missed him. He remained on duty in the rain for 28 hours until M.P.'s picked him up. His commanding officer told him, "You understand that an order is truly an order."" Nashville: TV A areas to be covered cov-ered by water required the destruction destruc-tion of bridges and other flooded structures. Army engineers were called in to test new explosives by blowing up the actual bridges rare opportunity. Danville, 111.: Ren Fritman died at 97, having spent most of his life trying vainly to establish his true identity. He was lost from his parents par-ents during a parade in New York in 1852 and never saw them again. The name under which he died was given him by a New York orphanage. orphan-age. t -sa. |