| Show Iii Heart of Southwest Pacific Fight I Islands There Assume Strategic Role i J JN II I I N Sr tip p LANAI er o CP s ti t to 1 r oos tia a d rS t 1 pool IS area a re 7 l n avian a r I t Ma S ea il G l P AMItE la c ab 4 id 0 a t DL t o a d s G fa ewa on tit tt s 06 Oti S Q c cz 9 r- r C Q iH H G pAw c L L 1 1111 AIR Un BRIE u. u S. S R. R ALl P gyp t FEN DE-FEN IE LINE NE B PERTH al' al PROPOSED Nl ERST I Lan Lands s of Allies in 11 Flung Far War Zone As the Yanks Dutch and British colonial troops battle fiercely with the Japs in the Pacific area any news coming out from those various zones is eagerly awaited and read As n a result maps atlases and almanacs having information information I mation matlon on this Pacific war I I area especially the southwest Pacific are being well thumbed today The names and the locations of many of the places mentioned bothIn both bothin bothin in the newspapers and radio dispatches dispatches dis dis- patches are unfamiliar If not vague to millions of Americans Many of the hot spots in the southwest Pacific are almost hidden on the I maps They were formerly peaceful peaceful peaceful peace peace- ful slow clow moving little 8 sections of th the world where the weather was always always always al al- al- al ways warm and not to hard work Even radio commentators and ace newsmen in the United States have been keeping their maps and reference books on the fi fighting area in the Pacific handy For formerly formerly for for- merly such names as the Sulu Archipelago Archipelago Archipelago Ar Ar- the Shan Shun States Sarawak Banda Danda and Celebes seas Marshall and Caroline islands islands were names and seemingly nothing else to them too Almost everyone knows something some tiling thing about one or two of the more well known important war centers down there in the fighting zone Such ones being Singapore Manila Darwin and Batavia Bata But to get a aI I comprehensive understanding or oras oras as humanly possible workable idra idea ida of the Ule location of the Allies while thrusting and thrust counter I ing log with their enem enemy those Interested interested interested inter Inter- ested in the southwest Pacific news reports are attempting to know I more about the important centers of war activity nod and their location to other allier centers I first Jint in Importance To U. U S. S war news readers first firstin firstin in importance are arc the Philippines These islands not one or two big bigI ones as some suppose are over I in number The Philippines were ceded to the Ule United States after the I war of 1898 WI with l Spain U It was Remember the Maine then as it itis itis is now Remember Pearl Han Har i bar bor I The The- importance of the Philippines in the war of the Ule western and southwestern southwestern south south- western Pacific is seen sen in that the I east ast coast of ot China is but a mere flying in distance of only miles J But Dut Japan proper is northeast of I these islands 1600 miles To the sou southwest is Borneo and Sarawak Directly south of the Philippines is Celebes And New Guinea is to the southeast These places are an outlined outlined out out- lined lInd on the map You can see Ste then why wh the Ule Japanese Japanese Jap Jap- anese will have almost full tull control of at that sector if the Ule strategic Philip Philippines pines is theirs Sugar hemp minerals minerals minerals min min- are the important exports from these Ulese islands Mindanao and Luzon the the- two largest supply the most South bf the Philippines is the Celebes sea now full of prowling subs ships of war war with crews alert and transports of both the Allies and the Japanese Here in the Celebes sea zone are arc also thousands of islands as in the Philippines On the west edge of the sea is the largest island of the group It contains Borneo North Borneo and Sarawak Notice on the map how the western-most western tip Up of Borneo is on a direct west east-west line with Singapore The same sea sell that touches the western islands of the Philippines the Sulu sea touches the northern shores of North Bor Dol neo Important Historic Strait A short time ago you read about the blasting the Dutch and the Americans gave the Japanese fleet when it moved southward through the Strait of ot This strait Is the one which separates the eastern eastern east enst- ern coast of Borneo from the Celebes Celebes Cele Cele- bes ties Islands Island's west coast It is through this comparative very narrow neck of water that is afforded the most direct route from the Philippines In the north to the Java sea Dutch possessions in the south It is the connecting link between the Celebes and the Java sea Years ago the shrewd Dutch Netherlanders Netherlander controlled trade between be be- tween the Orient and Europe for over a century and a half hal by dominating dominating domi domi- noting shipping through the Macas Macas- sar strait When the British took Malaya which is tipped at its southern southern south south- ern era end by Singapore this domination domination domination domina domina- tion by the Dutch was ended Toda Today Today To To- da day both of these nations are fighting fightIng fighting fight fight- ing side by side to stop the domination domination domination domi domi- nation of another empire The Celebes That's an nn island which you see on the map located between Borneo and New Guinea An interesting fact about this Celebes Celebes Celebes Cele Cele- bes island is that it is bounded by four different seas On its north is the Ule Celebes sea sea on the sou south 1 is the Flores on on the west is the llie Java sea sea and on the east the Like its companion islands down there the exports from here ore are ale petroleum um copra various arious minerals hemp and spices Now look at the map again Note the Ule island that is east by southeast southeast southeast south south- east from Celebes This elongated east and island is New Guinea Like Borneo Celebes Sumatra Java and the thousands of other smaller islands in this district New Guinea belongs to the Dutch the Dutch the Free Dutch The western hall half of New Guinea belongs to the Ule Dutch but the eastern eastern eastern east east- ern half hall belongs to the hard pressed British Colonial empire Incidentally Incidental Incidental- ly this group of the Dutch West Indies islands also called the Netherlands Indies is the largest inthe in inthe inthe the world Someone has said that there is no doubt that natives living on the le many inaccessible islands still dont know theres there's a war goIng going go go- going ing on en Practically the llie same exports come from this island that tha t come from the others already mentioned N Now ow to move to another island another Dutch possession See on I the Ull map where it notes Dut Dutch h East Indies in heavy y black printing Directly above the word Indies is the tiie island of Java Batavia is the capital Batavia Bata and a further eastern section of Java will go down In to the war history of the southwest Pacific I as Ai being sectors lectors in to the heart and end I heat of the battle Coffee has always al aI- always al- al ways been one of the important exports exports exports ex ex- ports from this island The expression expression expression sion Cup of Java is easily understandable understandable un un- if not already fath fathomed fathomed omed when Javas Java's former export export of excellent coffee bean is Because of the war Americans Americans Amer Amer- leans dont don't expect to have a cup o oreal of real Java Java when the present presen warehouse supply is gone Across a short passage of water to the west of Java another strait strai named Sunda is the embattled island island is island is- is land of the Dutch called Sumatra Tha That's t s the island you see on th the map just below the word Singapore Singapore Singapore Singa pore An Island on the Equator Sumatra Itself itsel is one of those cozy little Islands 1000 miles long lone about miles wide that sits sit sits astride the equator To get an idea of how far south this island would be below the United States one should remember that the equator which runs through Sumatra also pierces Peru Ecuador Colombia and Brazil Brazil Brazil Bra Bra- zil in South America Of course there is a difference in climate in inthe inthe inthe the South American republics because because because be be- cause of prevailing wind conditions and ocean currents In Sumatra the climate is hot and moist Tropical TropIcal Tropical Trop Trop- ical diseases there are prevalent and the eastern lowland is plagued by the often otten fatal malaria which strikes both the natives and Euro Euro- An important fact about the Dutch West Indies concerns the world-wide world hold it has on the quinine market For about 90 DO per cent of the worlds world's quinine quinine obtained obtained from the bark of the cinchona tree tree comes comes from the Islands islands is islands Is- Is lands around the equator When the United States saw trouble brewing inthe in ir Inthe the Pacific quinine was placed orthe on or the nations nation's list of strategic materi- materi als Back in the Seventeenth century a dose of the powdered bark of the llie tree called quina quina-quina b by the natives natives natives na na- tives from whence comes the word wore quinine cured the countess ol of Chinchon wife of the viceroy o of at Peru of the malarial fever Noso Not No so long after that the tree from which the quinine bark was obtained was named the cinchona chin chin- chona tree because an early scientist scientist scientist left out the first h in the word It has been so spelled ever since Northeastward across the Malacca Malac Malac- ca strait on the western side o 01 1 Sumatra is Malaya Reports of war wai r activity in Malaya coming to AmerIca Amer Amer- lea Ica by newspaper and radio have placed this war slashed land in a prominent spot too Singapore is the base that whosoever whosoever whosoever who who- controls it also controls all al movements of ships in the Malacca strait between Malaya and Sumatra Control also grants rants a very watchful e eye e on what goes on in the Dutch West Indies Furthermore it gives give a view of what is going on up ir in inthe inthe the land of India Whoever Has lias Singapore Singapore is at the southern souther tip off the mainland of Malaya Nor North of at Malaya is Thailand now under the protection so called of Japan The nation that fully controls both bothof bothof bothof of these nations also is well able to smash or protect India Another angle which makes th the e control of these two nations important tant tent is that their control means either either ei ei- ther a II protection or destruction o ol 01 Chinas China's Free Chinas China's life lUe line line line- the Burma road Through this article youve you've gone ione over thousands of miles of water and land In fact youve you've gone gon one e over the mot most troubled se section sec tion of the world at the present time Despite Russia's vast battlefields i 11 It t does not equal this in extent but maybe maybe may may- be so In ferocity Troublesome area it is because cause the little Yellow Man Mac Manof n of the Land of the Rising Sun decided decided decided de de- that HE wants to run th the show how in w nis cis neck of the woods What the Yellow Man wants to b be beno e no nothing thin else eke but Japanese with complete and absolute control ij is marked on the map |
