Show Behind the War News J i M By Captain J John H. H Craige INS S War Analyst The confidential report given by General George Georgc C. C Marshall Secretary of War Henry Stimson Stimson Stimson son and other top military au- au to members 2 of congress congress congress con con- gress on the progress of the i iwar war in which the listeners were cautioned against undue optimism optimism optimism is long overdue An appalling number of American American American Amer Amer- ican citizens seem blithely sure that the war is as good as won that Hitler will fold up by the end of the present year and that the mikado will follow the fuehrer fuehrer fuehrer down the road to oblivion shortly thereafter This is a very natural state of mind Hope as the proverb says springs eternal It is in inevitable inevitable inevitable in- in evitable thai tha we should believe what we want to believe and andall andall andall all of us fairly ache for the day when we can get back to peacetime peacetime peacetime peace peace- time tasks and normal living So it is only natural that when news of united nations triumphs comes we should take it for granted that total victory is not far of oft off As a matter of fact there is not the slightest ground for this attitude in fact or logic The victories that united nations forces have won on land and sea thus far splendid though they are have peen been defensive victories victories victories victor victor- ies strategically The fact is that we have not yet succeeded in invading the citadels of the main strength of our foe in either Europe or Asia The realistic picture of the war is that in 1942 united nations nations nations na na- na- na forces put forces Put an end to axis advances and rendered it 99 per percent percent percent cent certain that neither Germany Germany Ger Ger- many nor Japan could attain the decisive objectives necessary to them if they wished to win total victory During the whole of 1943 we have the offensive offensive offensive offen offen- sive all along the line but the object of most of our offensive i strokes has been to render render render-ou our om Jin line of positions stronger in crit critical critical j crit-j ical theaters where they confronted confronted con con- fronted those of our enemies Our magnificent campaign inthe inthe in in- the southwest Pacific fought by General Douglas Mac MacArthur Arthur and Admiral William Halsey had for its objective the security of of- Australia menaced by an ad advancing advancing ado ad spearhead of Japanese sea and air bases Also the diversion diversion di diversion di- di version of Japanese forces froman froman from an invasion of India then considered considered considered con con- probable These objectives have now been achieved Fortified bases of the mikado's forces have been rooted out of New Guinea and the Solomons for fer several hundred miles with American American- Australian forces n ng w lN attacking attacking- New Britain and its great central cen celL base at Australia and India are now in no danger When falls a hole will be punched in Japans Japan's Ja Japans pans pan's outer rampart of fortified bases But after all aU the islands islands' we have recaptured are only a 3 afew afew few of those the mikado's forces took from us in the spring of 1942 and we are still nearly miles from Tokyo Our splendid and victorious campaigns in Tunisia Sicily and Italy have also been in the nature nature nature na- na ture of aggressive defensive strokes A year ago Egypt was menaced by Nazi Marshal Erwin Erwin Er Er- win Rommel If Egypt fell feU with it went control of the Mediterranean Mediterranean Mediterranean and the gate was open for a German drive to India Eisenhower's landing in Africa and the subsequent victories in Libya and Tunisia put an end to this threat The Sicilian and ad Italian campaigns clinched Mediterranean Mec Med Med- ed control in American American- British hands It was a great triumph to knock Mussolini out of Italy and Italy out of th the war But when the nazis are finally driven back to the B Bren en ner ncr pass pass the great barrier of b between be- be the Alps will still stand tween us and Germany Even Evenin Evenin Evenin in Russia where the red army has won its sensational victories the nazis still hold a strip O of soviet territory about as big a athe as the portion of the United States east of the Alleghenies Only in the air with the mass bombing of Germany have our allied forces gone on an n out all-out offensive and that as Premier Winston Churchill said is a a. j matter in which results cannot j be considered certain We hope It will bring Germany to her knees but we cannot be sure ure We also hope that hunger deteriorating deteriorating de deteriorating de- de nazi morale ings in enslaved Europe will will bring collapse But it is not tot safe to count too heavily on 00 hopes If we have to win the vic victory tory the hard way by old old-fash- sea-land sea slugging the road ahead will be long and weary Statements and opinions here hereIn herein hered in are private to the writer an anare and ana andare construed as re reflecting re- re are not to be fleeting the views of the navy navY department |