Show WEEKLY Y NEWS ANAL ANALYSIS SIS By Edward C. C Wayne Merchant Vessel Losses in Atlantic Cause Shortage o of Shipping Crews India Dissatisfied With Cripps' Cripps Plan an Observers Ponder New NevI Jap ap Strategy EDITORS EDITOR'S NOTE NOTE Wen opinions are expressed In these columns the they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of or this newspaper Released by Western Newspaper Union V r vi v T r-T Fi i. i r 7 t t r y s r I Pictured somewhere in Australia Pacific naval chiefs of the united nations discuss mutual war problems Left to right Vice Admiral Herbert F. F Leary in command of allied naval forces Corces In the Anzac area Vice Admiral Sir Guy Royle chief of the naval staff and Commodore Parry chief of or the New Zealand naval staff BATAAN Defense Vigorous Most 1 serious attack against General General Gen Gen- eral Wainwright's Bataan defense had been launched in the form of a aland aland l lland land attack ordered by General whose men had remained remained remained re re- re- re quiescent altogether too long longto longto to to satisfy Tokyo who soon might have ordered another hara kiri kini to be carried out But the Japs found that the men who had served MacArthur so well were the same ame ones working under General Wainwright General Wainwright who proceeded to make a quick shift in his front to get reinforcements to the beleaguered beleaguered be be- spot and to meet the Japs with the bayonet So vigorous was the hand to fighting that Japanese dead had littered littered littered lit lit- the battlefront but the American American American Amer Amer- ican line had held firm and was not reported pierced at any point Wainwright had admitted to the loss of a few advance positions that was all WAR VAR AT SEA Whittling Away The German U-boats U perhaps with some Italians working with them were the only sea sel force of the Axis which was causing any lasting concern to the Allies as the Japanese Japanese Jap Jap- anese fleet was rapidly and constantly constantly con con- being whittled down to American American Amer Amer- ican size while our fleet was growing growing growing grow grow- ing larger by about two warships daily Best news was the navys navy's announcement that a total of 28 Axis submarines have been sunk by U. U S. S military and naval forces up to April 1 The Japanese air fleets were suffering suffering suf suf- fering losses of five to one Pearl Harbor was already twice avenged in ship and plane losses and the general outlook of the battle against the Nipponese was more favorable looking as time went wept on despite the showing map-showing of conquered terri terri- tories The U-boats U were continuing their ratio of along the Atlantic coast for a wide area but some hopes had been expressed that the loss of the port of Saint Nazaire might be a costly blow to the Nazis and that the arrest of a spy ring in Brazil might make it more difficult for the boat U-boat skippers to find tar tar- gets The by boats U-boats still was not exceeding our commissioning of new merchant vessels but it was making it constantly more difficult to get skippers and crews Congress Con gress grass had before it a bill to award sailors hero medals for bravery at sea in of the same type as those awarded to navy heroes While many seamen were brave enough in newspaper interviews it was getting increasingly hard to toman toman toman man ships with survivors of torpe doings and the shortage created by those who had died at sea had to tobe tobe tobe be filled by new trainees for the most part It was one of the worst war bottlenecks bottlenecks bottle bottle- necks and the army and navy were combining in a coastal patrol to which small boats were to be added added add add- ed in an an effort to sweep sweep the subs out of Americas America's shore lanes One plan brought forward was tp haul o oil J and sugar up the East coast by the inland waterway in boats of 80 to tons and andin in shallow draft barges This traffic could be carried out safely and profitably surveys had showed LABOR Both the American Federation of Labor and the CIO had sent m messages messages mes mes- sages to General I MacArthur in complete com com complete support of his command there and this was held in most circles to mean general support for the war effort In the meantime the senate had backed up the thc administrations administration's antagonism antagonism an an- to tampering with the 40 week hour law and it seemed that this effort to take away from labor its Its chief gain since the last war was doomed to defeat JAPANESE Plans Obscure The certainty felt by Germany that the Japs were going to move into India with their major offensive instead of Australia gave rise more and more to a feeling that perhaps the landing of substantial reinforcements reinforcements reinforcements reinforce reinforce- ments in the down under continent continent conti conti- nent may have given the Japs pause at that It was certain that the Japs were having more success in Burma than they were around Australia and the view was held that perhaps the Japanese Japanese Japanese Jap Jap- anese might keep a token force north of Australia and a considerable considerable considerable consider consider- able naval power there to immobilize immobile ize the Americans and At the same time these observers had held the Japs might turn their attention to India and profiting by bythe bythe bythe the difficult efforts Britain had had to line up the Hindus on their side in the forthcoming battle sweep in with their military and win their wa way to the Persian gulf gull Chief drawback dra to this view was the fact that the Japs were said to have only half hall a million soldiers inthe in inthe inthe the entire Southwest Pacific perhaps perhaps perhaps per per- haps enough to attempt an invasion of scarce population-scarce Australia Australla but surely not enough to spread out through a country populated with people Unless the Hindus were more than passively opposed to the British unless unless un un- less Jess they were willing to welcome the Jap invaders with open arms it would be a hopeless task to attempt occupation of the whole subcontinent subcontinent nent any more than the Japs had been able to do anything in China with far more troops Therefore many took still a third view that neither Australia nor India India India In In- dia was the prime objective of the Japs but Siberia to open a new front against the Russians in the first place and simply to hold and attempt attempt at at- tempt to develop the East Indian resources of oil and rubber while doing their real fighting back of If either of these objectives however however how how- ever were carried out instead of the occupation of Australia it was pointed out that it would play into the hands of Australians and Americans Amer whose ultimate objective was an offensive against the Japs not Japs-not not merely holding their own INDIA D Dissatisfaction is sat is fact ion Whether India was finally to accede accede ac ac- ac cede to Britain's wishes or not it still had been evident that the rank and file of the Indian people had been V vastly disappointed with the mission of Sir Stafford Cripps and the message he brought them Virtually they pointed out it was the same as that offered them back at the beginning of the war with the sole difference that Britain was committing herself hersel to the giving of India of some form of dominion status while heretofore Britain had merely said she would talk it over after the war It wasn't apparently so much that the Hindus wanted their freedom now but it was that they didn't want to be put into the position of having to fight for their freedom under the direction of the British and as ns a vass vassal J state The Indian leaders wanted Britain to give them the right to organize finance and carry out their own defense with the aid nid of Britain and the other Allied nations To this Sir Stafford Cripps had indicated he had no p power to accede Gandhi and Nehru both being quoted as lS saying they hoped for a settlement and other leaders joining joining join join- ing them in this hope Back of it all was the Hindu desire desire de de- de sire to carry out a passive resistance resistance resist resist- ance to the Japs figuring on their own enormous numbers and their dark and devious ways of doing things to beat the Japs rather than to attempt the seemingly hopeless task of country militarily militarily militarily mili mili- for a battle batlle with planes Umu tarns and guns 0 OF OFFEn OFFENSIVE Ef S Vt VC Expect Dl Drive i c cJ J I In n Two D Directions London's listening posts on the European continent apparently had been able to confirm that Germanys Germany's spring sprin offensive was as ns had been thought to be directed against Russia Russia Russia Rus Rus- sia with new divisions many of ot them from conquered or an countries At the same time the clamor had been renewed in England for a n spring offensive on the part of ol Britain that would include a major land land offensive as well as the air blitz bUtz which already had got under way A new front In Europe had been urged right along in many quarters and now Lord Beaverbrook himself had broken with Churchill at least to that extent and from Miami Fla had joined the ranks of those who believed the time had come for Britain's large land army to break breakout breakout breakout out of the islands and go across to some occupied country and start for Berlin Victor Victory in 1942 was the slogan of those who believed the time was ripe to strike ashore as well as in the theair theair theair air and they pointed out that Russia Russia Russia Rus Rus- sia had fighting men on the eastern front against Hitler's even with the new divisions and that a new front on the west would spell ruin rum to Adolf Adoll Even the traditional blood relatives and friends of the Russians had been forced to contribute contribute contribute con con- tribute men to the new German German German Ger Ger- man armies the reports had it Italy instead of sending a million million mil mil- lion men as lS had been demanded by Berlin had sent half hall this number and had tried to get out of that it had been reported The Italian losses on the east front last winter had been frightful The direction of the probable offensive offensive of of- was seen as two-fold two one major series of drives to be headed toward the Crimea and the territory territory territory terri terri- tory south of the Donets basin The other major objective was to tobe tobe tobe be the far north the port of Mur Mur- mansk mansi through which most of the American and British lend lease-lend aid had been going BURMA BURl Air Power Power- Gone GOlle Once again the British according to their own reports had found themselves themselves themselves them them- selves on a fairly major battlefront with no air support at all The Japs the British wired to New Delhi have complete control in the air The Chinese under General Stillwell Stillwell Stillwell Still- Still well an American and the British 4 S' S s ss s Ai 4 N a Y GENERAL STILLWELL F Fighting a divided front and Indian forces had divided the Burmese front between them and were fighting a brave though apparently apparently apparently ap ap- ap- ap losing battle against combined combined combined com com- Japs and Burmese the latter latter latter lat lat- lat lat- ter having gone over to the Nipponese Nipponese Nip Nip- I p ponese nese soon after the invasion started The British themselves unable to arm the Indians to defend their homeland had found the Japs in no such difficulty when it came to givIng giving guy guy- ing tog arms to natives willing to join their fighting forces Thus the defenders were finding themselves battling as they did in Malaya with a force well equipped with native guides and native fighters fight fight- fighters ers in the Ule anomalous position of defending Burma from the Burmese as well as the Japs |