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Show ISLANDS STUD PACIFIC BATTLE ZONE ' P 1 ) JIofoJ vT r y Statute Miles o rSsS V lzu "' Approximate Shanghai Opan) :J Amami . RETTO Midway ' Oshima . .-qSu'" . ,. ,. Ogasawara Shoto ulands V, Chichi J,ma: (Bonin ,s,ands) lull' 4.;;:.... -RasaJima al,?n .Minamitori Shima ifeSW ml S " MARIANAS. Agrihan 'Wake (U.S.) ;t LUZON ...ISLANDS V-Guguan " 'WManiJa T;an5aipan "." PHILIPPINES "fa MARSHALL. i hik .''- C ISLANDS-'1 ' OA YaP- (Japanese Mandate) Wotie jr" .Maloe'lap MINDANAO. i 'A.,.in : Palau' " -r -"'Ponape Jaluit Kwajale.n Vf.-:IS' CAROLINE V ""ISLANDS' r - j. i M F . tMaki .? .Equator " V - .'i'fe, 5?"' 1 yBISM ARC K """'f Aust."" ' GILBERT,.... CELEBES " k7-iJL-"' " Mand.) : T v NEWv'ARCH.X. A ISLANDS v " X3' 3 rv SOLOMON (Great Britain). . A'N5K ELL'"-.- xaHU- & ffBina" AISLANDS ISLANDS . Darwinp- Capcf 6Cf....Li V a York Vb loJlOtS J V ' ft CORAL SEA Vixr FIJI.'; ' The South Pacific is a constellation of hundreds of islands, some of which like the waters around them, remain uncharted. Jap possession and fortification of many strategic islands have given them key positions for the South Pacific fighting. Any Allied march on Tokyo from present bases, would necessitate the movement move-ment of troops through these regions. 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 a large map of the Pacific ocean war theater. In his ears ring encouraging words of President Roosevelt to the 78th 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. How will the United Nations forces reach Tokyo? Will the conquest be step by step backward through the Netherlands Indies, Malaya, Burma, the Philippines? Philip-pines? Will it be from interior China by way of the coast where Japan has been tightening her foothold foot-hold for five years? Will it be by way of Alaska and the Aleutians, or from Siberia? Can it be done across 2,500 miles of open ocean from Midway Mid-way at the western edge of the Hawaiian Islands? Will it perhaps be across more than 3,000 miles of island-studded but little-known Pacific Pa-cific from the present hard-held positions po-sitions on New Guinea and on Guadalcanal Guad-alcanal in the Solomons? First Part Scene of Battle Starting from New Guinea and Guadalcanal, 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, Malaita, Santa San-ta Isabel, Choiseul and the New Georgia group with its notorious Japanese air field at Munda, are neighbors of Guadalcanal in the British Protectorate portion of the Solomons. In the heart of Melanesia ("black islands"), these are large compared to their neighbors of Micronesia ("little islands") to. the north. Their inhabitants are ebony-dark, ebony-dark, unresponsive to attempts at civilizing, still inclined to break out in spells of inter-tribal head hunting. First discovered in 1567, they were "lost" for 200 years before be-fore new exploration confirmed their existence. American fighting men, writing home from Guadalcanal, rave of the islands' lush, tropica beauty. The western portion of the first group belonged to Germany before the First World war and was mandated man-dated to Australia in post-war settlements. settle-ments. It includes large Bougainville Bougain-ville and little Buka, westernmost of the Solomons, each with a harbor that has sheltered Japanese ships gathering for attack. farther east. It includes the sweeping arc of the Bismarck Archipelago New Britain with the captive base at Rabaul, New Ireland, New Hanover and the St. Matthias and Admiralty groups. It includes the steaming, mountainous, mountain-ous, eastern half of gigantic New Guinea, with such new household place names as indomitable Port Moresby, liberated Buna, captive Lae and Salamaua. Just across the Equator lies Micronesia, the middle stage of the "march." The 1,500 islets, mostly of coral formation, are scattered like star dust over an area the size of the United Stages. 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 Philip-pines and Guam, but handed the rest back to Spain. Spain then handed hand-ed it to Germany for 4 million dollars. dol-lars. Japan seized it from her present pres-ent ally promptly with the start of war in 1914. At the peace table the Allies entrusted the islands to Japan, Ja-pan, stipulating that they should not be fortified. Thus America's Philippines Philip-pines and steppingstone island of Guam became surrounded by a Japanese Jap-anese controlled sea. Islands Fortified by Japs Key island groups in the Carolines, Caro-lines, the Marshalls and the Marianas Mari-anas were secretly fortified. Barred to foreign visitors, the islands remained re-mained unknown even to the seasoned sea-soned globe-trotters who hunted for island paradises and kne every corner of Honolulu, Pago Pago and Manila. From such strong bases as those on the Palau and Truk islands, is-lands, Japan may have launched her attacks on Hawaii, the Philippines, the Netherlands Indies and the island is-land neighbors of Australia. From Rota and Saipan it was no surprising surpris-ing military coup to overwhelm and capture near-by unfortified Guam. The Palau group, nearest the Philippines, combines coral and volcanic vol-canic isles.- It has been described as the Japanese Singapore, seat of the entire Japanese South Seas government, gov-ernment, hive of new industry and agriculture, magnificent Beet and air base. To the northeast Yap, despite a poor harbor, is a naval station. Many islets dot the 40-mile lagoon of Truk. Ideal for yachting, blessed with a wealth of natural color and the year-round even temperature of all Micronesia, Truk could be a paradise para-dise of international fame. Instead, its great lagoon, with deep water V and convenient gaps in the surrounding surround-ing reef, provides a perfect haven for the constant traffic of the Japanese Japa-nese fleet. Ponape, 130 square miles, is the largest single island of the Japanese Mandate. Still further across toward the funnel's fun-nel's eastern edge are the Marshalls, some 32 islands and innumerable reefs, many enclosing broad, well-sheltered well-sheltered lagoons. Closest to Honolulu Hono-lulu (2,300 miles to its southwest) they might have been the springboards spring-boards for the Pearl Harbor attack. Less than two months after Pearl Harbor, the United States navy made a brilliant surprise raid that damaged Japanese planes and ships at Jaluit, Wotje, Maloelap and Kwajalein in the Marshalls. Marshalls Menace Shipping Nearest to Panama and the Pacific Pacif-ic coast of America as well as to Hawaii, the Marshalls threaten the vital American supply line to Australia. Aus-tralia. 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 Britain's Gilbert Gil-bert group 16 low, barren atolls-ribbons 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 of converting Makin atoll into a well-equipped base from which to launch seaplane raids on the shipping ship-ping lane from Hawaii to Australia. The subsequent attack by the United Unit-ed States navy on the Makin island construction brought the Gilberts their first world-wide notice. The 16 flat Gilbert atolls are over-populated. over-populated. Their 28,000 natives average 160 to the square mile of land good only for growing cocoa-nuts cocoa-nuts and pandanus palms. Fewer than 100, white people live there Three-fourths of the natives are literate, lit-erate, while smallpox and other diseases dis-eases imported by whites have wreaked havoc to populations on many, neighboring Pacific isles Health on the Gilberts is good and births continue to exceed deaths. Today, from bases at Darwin and on Cape York, Australia's northern tips, and from Guadalcanal Flying Fortresses can range 1,500 miles toward Tokyo. Thus they can guard sea lanes and strike Japanese ships and bases anywhere in the Carolines Marshalls and Gilberts. Within the area of the Japanese Mandate only Guam and the curving arc of Marianas Mari-anas to its north are beyond range of United Nations bases on Australia and Guadalcanal. The Marianas he m the funnel's 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 and eo and coral reefs are a threat to navigation. navi-gation. Kazan Retto, 800 miles from the Tokyo goal, is a group of volcanic vol-canic islands, units of which are shown on old charts by such names as Sulphur Island" and "Submarine Volcano Island." Next come the Bonins, 600 miles rom the target. From 1827 to 186 ttey were British, although bossed for many years of the period by Nathaniel Savory, an American, ll 1853 Commodore Perry visited them and urged the government at Wash mgton to annex them with the Loo choos and Formosa as convenient stations for American ships. Wa,h mgton declined. In 1861 Great Brit" am discontinued claim to the Bonins m favor of Japan. To Japanese they are known as the Ogasawaras Japan cla.med Formosa in 1895 re naming it Taiwan. ' Urges Bases in East After War Establishment of American air and naval bases in the Pacific after the war to guard against future aggression ag-gression in the east recently was proposed by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox. Knox urged the immediate consideration consid-eration of such action while American Ameri-can influence was strongest because of its gigantic lend-lease operations. After the war, Knox said, it will be the policy to disarm Japan. But Use Portable Airports Portable steel runways for emergency airplane landing fields are being produced in quantities. The effectiveness of the portable landing equipment has been demonstrated dem-onstrated in the operations in the Southwest Pacific. The landing mats consist of prefabricated steel grids or networks, net-works, constructed in sections, which may be packed easily and transported by plane or ship. to prevent her rearmament, Knox added, it will be necessary to establish estab-lish air and naval bases in the Pacific. Establishment of such bases in the Pacific would complete the circle of defensive outposts guarding the North American continent. The transfer of 59 destroyers to Great Britain in 19-10 gave the United States rights to construct air and naval bases on British islands in the Caribbean. Before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines constituted con-stituted America's strongest base in the South Pacific. While we controlled con-trolled Guam at the foot of the Mariana islands, we did not develop it into a formidable springboard. The Japs, in the meantime, used their cluster of islands to build up a network of air and naval bases for both offensive and defensive action. ac-tion. The Japs' development of those islands gave them strategic positions in almost every possible theater of war in the South Pacific. |