Show hundreds of islands in pacific lie in path of allies march to tokyo exclusive to western newspaper union by the national geographic society the armchair strategist enjoying a few waking hours away from his war production job scans abarge map of the pacific ocean war theater in his ears ring encouraging words of president roosevelt to the congress the period of our defensive attrition in the pacific is passing he settles down to work out his own solution to the battle of the pacific jacif ic how will the united nations forces reach tokyo will the conquest be step by stop step backward through the netherlands indies malaya burma the philippines will it be from interior china by way of the coast where japan has been tightening her foothold for five years will it be by way of alaska and the aleutians Aleut lans ians or from siberia can it be done across 2500 miles of open ocean from midway at the western edge of the hawaiian islands will it perhaps be across more than miles of island studded but little known pacific from the present hard held positions on new guinea and on guad in the solomons first part scene of battle battle I 1 starting from new guinea and guadalcanal Guadal canal the maze of small but strategic islands on a map resemble the outpouring of a giant pepper shaker in the hands of cartographers gone berserk starting the march masalta Ma Mn lalta santa isabel choiseul Chol seul and the ne new georgia group with its notorious japanese air f field at munda tire are neighbors of guadalcanal Guadal canal in the british protectorate portion of the solomons in the heart of melanesia black islands these are large compared to their neighbors of micronesia 11 little ittle islands to the north their inhabitants are ebony dark unresponsive to attempts at civilizing still inclined to break out in spells of intertribal inter tribal head hunting first discovered in 1567 2567 they were lost for years before new exploration confirmed their existence american fighting men writing home from guadalcanal Guadal canal rave of the islands lush tropical beauty the western portion of the first group belonged to germany before the first world war and was mandated to australia in postwar post war settlements it Inc includes loles large boubain ville and little bu westernmost of the solomons each with a harbor that has sheltered japanese ships gathering tor for attack further farther east it includes the sweeping arc of the bismarck archipelago now new britain mith the captive base at new ireland new hanover and the st matthias and admiralty groups it includes the steaming mountainous eastern half of gigantic new guinea with such nev nei household place names as indomitable port moresby liberated buna captive lao lae and Sala moua just across the equator lies micronesia the middle stage of the ni march arch the 1500 islets mostly of corar louthain lor Thain are scattered like star dust over on an area the size of the united states north of their center Is guam and to their east are the philippines this entire region fell rather easily to the united states as part of its conquest in the spanish american war unprepared to defend all of it america held on to the philippines and guam but handed the r rest est back to spain spain then handed it to germany for 4 million dol lars japan seized it from her present ally promptly with the start of war in 1014 at the peace table the allies entrusted the islands to japan stipulating that they should not be forti fortified fled thus americas philippines and steppingstone island of guam became surrounded b by ly a japanese controlled sea I 1 islands corf fortified ifield b by y japs key island groups in the carolines the Mar marshalla and the marl anas were secretly fortI fortified fled barred to foreign visitors the islands remained unknown even to the seasoned globe trotters who hunted tor for island paradises end and knew every corner comer of honolulu pago pago and manila from such strong bases as those on the palau and islands japan may have launched her attacks on hawaii the philippines the netherlands indies and the island neighbors of Av australia from rota and saifan it was no surprising military coup to overwhelm and capture nearby near by unfortified guam the palau group nearest the philippines combines coral and volcanic isles it his has been described as the japanese singapore sent seat of the entire japanese Ta south seas government ern ment hive of new industry and agriculture magnificent fleet and air base to the northeast yap despite a poor harbor is a naval station many islets dot the 40 mile lagoon of ideal tor for yachting blessed with a wealth of natural color and the year round even temperature of all micronesia could be a paradise of international fame instead its great lagoon with deep water and convenient gaps in the surrounding reef provides a perfect haven for the constant traffic of the japanese fleet square miles Is the largest single island of the japanese mandate still furth further r across toward the furi funnels eastern edge are the marshalls marchalls Mar some 32 islands and innumerable reels reefs many enclosing broad well sheltered lagoons closest to honolulu 2300 miles to its southwest they might have been the spring boards tor for the pearl harbor atta attack L less than two months after r pearl harbor the united states navy made a brilliant surprise rold raid that damaged japanese planes and ships at jaquit botje Maloe lap and in the marshalls marchalls Mar marshalls marchalls Mar menace shipping nearest to panama and the pacific coast of america as well as to hawaii the marshalls marchalls Mar threaten the vital american supply line to aus trama from them america could threaten many strategic japanese bases turning southeast across the line of the japanese mandate without leaving micronesia the armchair strategist finds great britaina Brit ains gilbert group 16 low barren atolls ribbons of coral rock from 10 to 50 miles long promptly after pearl harbor the japanese seized the northern gilberts and began the work W ork of converting makin atoll into a well equipped base from which to launch seaplane raids on the shipping lane from hawaii to australia the subsequent attack by the united states navy on the makin island co construction brought the gilberts their first worldwide world wide notice the 10 flat gilbert atolls are overpopulated their natives average to the square square mile of land good only for growing cocoa nuts and palms fiew fewer cr than white people livo live there three fourths of the natives are literate while smallpox and other diseases imported by whites have wrecked baked havoc to populations on many neighboring pacific isles health on the gilberts is good and births continue to exceed deaths today f from rom bases at darwin and on cape york alias northern tips and from Guadal anal flying fortresses can range 1500 miles toward tokyo thus they can guard sea lanes and strike japanese ships and bases anywhere in the Caroll carolines ries marchalls Marb Mor halls and gilberts within the area of the japanese mandate only guam and the curving are arc of marl mari anas to its north are arc beyond range of united nations bases on australia and guadalcanal Guadal canal the marianas mariakas Mari anas ue lie in the funnels collector close to its junction with its tube last leg of march to tokyo and now the strategist enters the tube of the funnel the third and last leg of his imaginary march on tokyo the course is through a sea where volcanic islands come atil and go and coral reefs tire are a threat to navigation kazan miles from corn the tokyo goal is a group of volcanic islands units ot of which tire arc shown on old charts chafes by such names us Hs sulphur island and S submarine e volcano island |