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Show I I I -l.'l I ..rii.liM. :HI'II..I." FORWARD MARCH By H. S. Sims, Jr. i.hmmIi,j.,ii1.:.uiiIij, IhIiiI I"mIJ l" GERMANY AND JAPAN DEFINITELY ON DEFENSIVE AS UNITED NATIONS GATHER DECISIVE FORCE The outstanding development of the wars against Germany and Japan Is that the United Nations have managed to survive the enemy's ene-my's bid for victory and that the potential resources of the Allies are upsetting the Axis superiority that made possible successful aggression ag-gression by Germany, Italy and Japan. The "battle of time" has been won. The immense resources of the United States have been mobilized for effective attack upon the enemy ene-my everywhere. No longer is there grat danger of a break through, either by Germany or Japan, and their strength is being confined by the slowly rising power of the condition con-dition aainst them. We Begin To Slug It Out . . . Anybody who reflects upon the critical situation that existed when the Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor must realize real-ize how tremendous the difference Is today. From a desperate defensive defen-sive fight, against great odds, the United Nations, in the Pacific and In Europe, have acquired the Initiative and are exerting steady pressure that increases daily. Our strategy is not now concerned con-cerned with gathering sufficient forces to stop the Axis at threatened threat-ened points. It is devised to drive back the enemy, inflict losses and break down the will to continue warfare. It is a change from "holding on" to "slugging it out!" Supply-Starvation Beating Japs . . . In the Pacific the Japanese have given several evidences of their inability to hold what they have seized. Basically, our advances in the Aleutians and the southwest Pacific have been due to the intelligent intel-ligent and successful operation of our air-sea team. Gradually, the waters of areas evacuated by the Japanese have been closed to Jap supplies and the inevitable withdrawal with-drawal followed. The present situation of our offensive of-fensive against the Orientals involves in-volves the likely promise of more important action designed to repeat, re-peat, on a large scale, our maneuvers ma-neuvers against Kolombangara, where the Japanese were ousted by supply-starvation. The sea lanes will become more dangerous to Japanese shipping and, eventually, the garrisons scattered throughout home, or war moves abroad. The United Nations must be unrelenting, unrelent-ing, taking advantage of every opportunity to smash enemy positions. posi-tions. The harder they are hit the quicker their outer ring of defenses de-fenses will collapse and when they fall, the war will be coming to an end. the south seas will wither In "splendid isolation." Increasing Pressure On Germany . . . The campaign in Europe is being be-ing conducted with far more intelligence in-telligence than most of us suspect. sus-pect. The Russian army, despite Soviet demands for a second front has been immensely assisted by the aerial offensive and the invasion inva-sion of Italy. The threat to the Balkans has helped. Together these activities of Anglo-American forces have compelled com-pelled the Nazis to get out of much Russian territory and will force the eventual evacuation of all Russian Rus-sian soil. In Italy the Anglo-American campaign moves forward, with every indication that our commanders com-manders are following the same careful strategy that was successfully success-fully adopted in North Africa and Sicily. The progress forward is slow but the Nazis are fighting upon up-on ground that is valuable and every mile lost brings the invasion of Germany that much closer. Nazis May Risk Offensive Gamble ... The possibility of a German drive against our men in Italy must not be overlooked. Much depends de-pends upon the race to secure adequate ade-quate transportation facilities with the Germans utilizing the rail lines through northern Italy and the United Nations depending upon up-on the sea routes through the Mediterranean. The man power problem of Germany Ger-many is tight but the Nazis can, undoubtedly, assemble a striking force, if they see an opportunity to inflict a serious defeat upon the armies in Italy. They are held back by two factors, the heavy aerial bombardment and the threat of a direct invasion across the English channel. Vigorous Action Is Likely . . . The present outlook is for more vigorous action, at sea, In the Pacific, and a gradual, rather than spectacular, increase of pressure against Germany in Europe. Luckily, Luck-ily, the United Nations, with their great sea-air superiority can step up the campaign against Japan while pressing the advantage against Germany. There is the chance that our enemies are nearer the end. of their resources than most of us suspect. It will take some harder blows to find out. They are on the way. Anyway, what happens in the next few months will give us a better understanding of the job that lies ahead. With the enemy showing signs of distress this is no time to slow up, either in war production at |