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Show ALASKA: U. S. WAR FRONTIER ' ' Uj to most people it is a comparatively good picture of SQ1" y' '"v) -CotlT11 the northern world and with relatively little distor- 1 ' ' f " in 1 yitfrf ALASKA: U. S. WAR FRONTIER ALASKA, sitting high on the globe, is a place of great potential military importance. Whether it is best fitted for offense or defense is a secret closely kept by U. S. military leaders. But probably no man can completely foresee the vast potentialities of Alaska Alas-ka as a defense bastion of the future. One glance at the distance lines radiating from Fairbanks, however, will give even the novice an idea of Alaska's place in the world of the future. As the range of bombers increases and this occurs at an amazing pace more and more of the world is drawn into the Alaska orbit. Military experts have stated that the day is in sight when three-fifths of the world's land area and most of its metropolitan centers will be within bomber range of this great potential military outpost. Alaska has served America well it may some day save it. The Territory is at the top of the world where distances seem strangely drawn in on the map. This map shows most of the northern hemisphere, looking down upon the world from a point directly above the North pole. While this projection will appear strange to most people it is a comparatively good picture of the northern world and with relatively little distor tion above the equator. Compare the size of Greenland and the United States with the same areas on the world map in this atlas. Alaska's true position in relation to the land area of the world is best seen on this, a polar projection. The Aleutians point like a dagger at Japan. Attu, the westernmost island, is but 2,000 miles from Tokyo. By seizing the islands Japan could point the dagger at the heart of America. Congress has belatedly appropriated millions to arm Alaska, but how this money is being spent, where the men, the guns and the .planes are being dispersed and the bases are being located is a secret which the Japs would like to know. The record-breaking time in which army engineers rushed to completion the new Alcan highway a military road of inestimable ines-timable importance attests the value placed upon Alaska by military authorities. It is possible that you may one day drive your car over this road to the shores of Bering strait and cross by ferry to the vast Siberian wilderness of Russia. Only 56 miles of water separates Alaska and Siberia at this point, and only 16 miles separate the Russian-owned Big Diomede island from the United States' Little Diomede island. Aside from the military importance of strategic stra-tegic Alaska it is hard to conceive what giant industrial empires the Soviets and the United States may some day carve out of their neighboring northlands. I I ARCTIC j OCEAN ALASKA: STRATEGIC OUTPOST wiM!!M5 GUILD u trrf yyg ,ui4,L, i W XrXm o iuas.il) I S. meriin. qM .yg'" V i T L raQ 4 9j. I Amuntiten Quit ft . "' I . -V-NMiOwr.l A.UH,Htaf :-i:-mwm v-C? jrffiL (car4iu s ; If hm - -- 1 ST LAWRENCE I. U CV , . I " ' it""-? '"'V J. - i 1'",r"X" - :!:-! - T l:T -rfo? V ch,l6o VYfU ;.:s;. ::;s;:;; K?CS. "v- A ' NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN USN ' . - ., S CHARLOTTE IS. V f s"'"fM"" V0 NORTH AFoiCft The North African expedition 'will be written in history his-tory as one of the greatest single military overseas expeditions of all times Carefully timed and planned it may change the whole course of the war Fighting was negligible; it was Blitzkrieg personified. Hitler will not be defeated by the Allied conquest of North Africa, but the act will have given the Allies two tremendous advantages which have been sorely lacking (1) Protection for Mediterranean shipping, and (2),-new bases completing the semicircle of bases around Europe. Allied air power based on North Africa will in time raise a protective "umbrella" above the Mediterranean shipping lanes and permit safe passage of that stretch of water. When this is a realization the effect upon Japan will be stunning, for then a sizeable force in India can be maintained to give the Chinese real help in driving the Japs from China. This new route will save 8,000 miles and many thousands of tons of shipping. The Middle East can be supplied and its oil brought back to Britain. Eventually North Africa will be fringed with Allied airfields, and planes based upon them will rain death from the skies upon Southern Europe until it is softened up enough for a blow at the vulnerable part of Europe. The bases in North Africa will unquestionably be used as jumping off points for Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Italy, Southern France, Greece, Crete, and perhaps per-haps the Balkans, accompanied by invasions from British points. A great deal has been said about the importance of Dakar. Only 1,830 air miles from Natal, Brazil, it has been a constant threat to the security of our Atlantic position. As an Allied base it will immeasurably strengthen our North Atlantic sea lanes and relieve the submarine menace in this area. There is no evidence that German submarines have used Dakar as an operating base, but in Hitler's control Dakar would be the equivalent v of adding many new vessels to his submarine fleet. In Allied hands Dakar will cut thousands of miles from the route used for air-borne plane deliveries deliv-eries to the fighting fronts. It will serve as a great dispersal point for all kinds of military equipment an advanced supply base such as established estab-lished by the Allies at a secret Red sea point. The facilities of Dakar are superior to those of any West African port. The harbor is deep, well protected, and with a drydock, seaplane bases, vast petroleum storage tanks and all the other installations of a first-class naval base. The Trans-Saharan railway has been a French dream since 1879. The section between Colomb-Bechar and Beni Abbes was completed in 1942. By 1946 it is scheduled for completion to the major river ports of Segu and Gao, tapping the vast Niger valley. The gap between Bamako -and Beni Abbes is 1,500 miles. The route is largely over desert lands of shifting sands where few bridges and tunnels are required. Hitler may have dreamed of using this road in his plan to conquer South America from Dakar, and thence move northward to the United States. Now the Allies may reverse the plan. I . aICFRU "M.r.. EGYPT A BhJri j"!" FRENCH If EST AFRICA J f IJXpoRTl. B.m!wVC Ni"2 -f l Ch.J U f ANGLO-EGYPTIAN I cor co f NIGERIA f C" 5 V ? L I COAST S & 1 S "" , principe i. sp. J- r ""- x L A SOUTH IPortl CUINEA I ) .;.. SAO THOME p t; 1 EOUATOR fs. ATLANTIC OCEAN obo f BELGIAN CONGO IMOTH AFRICA r ( V& 0 200 -100 600 Mile 1 11,1111 1 k V IIHIIlim RAILROAD UNDER CONSTRUC7TION X r , . 1 RUSSIA. From the icy shore of Barents sea to the snow-covered crags and peaks of the Caucasus Russia fights on a 2,500-mile long front the longest continuous land front of World War II, and one which offers little except weather in the way of a natural defense barrier. The rich Ukraine and the iron, coal and manganese districts dis-tricts of the Crimea and Donetz Basin have been lost to the Germans, but the Russians fight on with the resources re-sources developed in the equally rich Magnitogorsk region. It is true that Russia has lost all of the rich wheat land of the Ukraine, but the Russians have demonstrated before that hunger does not rapidly weaken their will to Tesist. The loss of the Ukraine was serious, but not fatal. Unless the Red army can be annihilated it is difficult to see how Russia can be defeated by a Germany which must guard stolen countries from the North Cape to the Mediterranean. Russia's great wall is the Ural mountains, moun-tains, and Russia's back is far from that wall. Russia can retire hundreds of miles. Can Hitler extend his already thin lines that distance? But Russia is determined not to retire. The Russians are peculiar this way a peculiarity pecu-liarity Hitler fails to understand. "They are licked," he said a year ago, "why don't they quit?" Roughly Germany has conquered and holds but 10 of Russian soil. Contrary to public opinion the 90 still held by the Russians is rich in natural resourcesand probably adequately machined. From all reports morale was never higher. The invasion of North Africa has given her relief to some measure perhaps not as much as the Russians desire, but at least the definite assurance that greater things are on the way. UILI. UIIIIUJ.L.14 IIM lii- l-l-,L. ggPgHWgfJL. qjUmiljJl-JJJ IIUJIM JUjU JUIJIHq iM , .- "s V f CASTELBUON'O . ; O RANDAZZO fe'i-r:;:3;nn::?E:::;!i:;-.L 3 0SALIMI e ; V ... -'V , ) f jj!;;? YMARCAI A -.. .-CM'-EONE ouRA -V J""' .OTROINA ; V, ' Vpj i:w-P "AZARA "" V- LEONFORTE 9AGIRA yg8s sciacca s t , .js en;sas""' paterno0 n$'m&Mp-'-' ) J5" T c v CALT VNISSETTA i -,V. firTBp53' "I, ' 'i , , "l 't Lj.TS fn "cALTAC.HONI-'--- tf A" Y'll 3 f'li I 'l, r 'i 2 1 Viirm v X1 Iffr ! "1 i - t,A.',';0o jiagl A yiE,'l"' '- ! 'I ' ' ;v,OD,CA fiffj , I T I It? n "ii ii i m in 1 1 I il,- ,i II, 1 1 rill In n 1 1 , - ' ' - ' i ; sf ril r- 'tij-, ri nr iri-niiiMiiiiiariiiiniil Kokk.li '""-, M Vko,!.,!.-.- U''" V;t"lr"f t k K-miiklov 6 uk.n H.' Q v'"k C NXSv "J3 g JtJ r' ,Vk. S X. Chtli.bmik "A B.lolol . S.rlli.n,.k;CvV f -ALX 7 t z,w vT tyjtp$ - rM, o Vlt. YTS"""'' Tul." . R,h,k B"""V' V Ctalto J VOrl Mln.k S ;,, i""'"' N.v.u.kU.N, . S SICILY, For many months both Germans and Italians have been battering batter-ing Britain's lifeline through the Mediterranean with planes based upon strategically located Sicily. From these Sicilian fields bombers have shuttled across the 60 miles of water to blast the British base at Malta. An air-borne army has undoubtedly long been held here in anticipation of dropping in on Malta at the opportune moment. But the solid defenders of Malta have never weakened. Instead they have exacted a terrible toll of Nazi planes and pilots. The Germans, realizing that any Allied hope of invading the soft underside under-side of the Axis through Italy must -include capture of Sicily first, have probably heavily fortified the island and garrisoned it well. Trapani, Sira-cusa, Sira-cusa, Catania, Messina and Palermo are all bases with good airfields. Out of them operate Axis submarines and small surface craft. Scattered over the island, which is only 125 miles long, are innumerable concealed air bases Italian in name only. The geography of Italy forces her to be ready to defend herself from many directions, but also gives her many geographical advantages. To Sicily, Mussolini has given the task of preventing an invasion of Italy , from the south. Sicily fitted well into the offensive scheme of empire which Mussolini had outlined for his country previous to the collapse of Italian armies in Egypt and the subsequent infiltration of German troops. In World War I Italy waited until 1915 to see how events would fall. Convinced then of Allied victory, and under promises of territorial gains, Italy entered the war and received a terrific pounding from Austrians and Germans, culminating in a disastrous defeat on the Piave river. In World War II Italy was equally cautious and did not enter the war as Germany's ally against England and France until it was apparent to her military leaders lead-ers tha': France was already shaking on her heels from German assaults. There are good reasons for this Italian caution. Italy is a poor nation with many people and little wealth. She has millions of soldiers, but little coal and iron to make weapons for them, and little will to fight to the finish. Her coast line is long and her food supply is dependent upon other countries. coun-tries. Italy's chief ambitions were to build a new Romm empire around the Mediterranean sea, to open the English-held door to the Atlsniic at Gibraltar and by conquering Egypt and the Sudan- to link up Ethiopia with Italy. I THE WORLD AT WARl K;.'iL ''''''vj Controlled by Allied Power j Controlled by Axis Powers J Neutral or Non-belllfjerent fc'-:vV5 ft-P 4 '''''li -:;yv'''vV'-V- V;.S SEVERNAYA ZEMIYA NOTE: Rouia not at war with Japan. Finland al war with Ruisia only -S V:VV.''? ' :V'''f''',V",!,'VV'-''''V'V;V .'''y Sea Distance ------ Air Distance (All diitancai In itatuta mllaO V., - V'-'A'-V.-yK'IvXvk '..'''.'.:! ':i'''''lf"''':'''.'''.i'.'.': Approximate Allied Supply Routes (Eiact Routat Ara Military Saerati) ft Jv-V'C ST"-!'' VrvVV'":V'VvV K HAINAN MARIANAS IS. 5 fflZil IS. MVIUA eietOO .sV V'S.Vf. 2feA'iH XX lUngoon MllilpMlk PHILIPPINE IS.CIV ---1 2?llet -i3(S'te JOHNSTON I. .jjffr l!5 V: SrW-T HONDURAS WEST INDIES" -.,, .,. CAPE 'christmas i. Timor sea "LIK-r A i 4 i I PMIfiMm-'-'-V-X-V :: :vXvV::-.v::y 'v s&:rfci is ' c-s'-rarotonSa-' ' " . . uMSMfc illffllllW NT SPORPOLK I.. f -vtJ-C'' T tSTl.. lA(-f!iUa 'A 'AN AMBROSIA I. Jl 1 , bi::vi'.y TWicr- A" vm"Iffl llll 'xasmahu ""f7- SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN ffli Hlhl CHATHAM 0. !' . I0UNTY IS. (Ni tnhj C . ANTIPODES (k BTt?)r 5)Ui Lr AUCKLAND L X'rH HAC9UAUI.I. VSJERRA DEL PUECO SCVI. - -IVcAra how ' WAR 1 WIDTJOf HANSEN UNO $) j fllll'lllllll' lllllllllllT""0'' B of good Kbi1'--'' SOtrtf PACIFIC OCEAN 'llilr OCEAN ii XttJERRA DBL PUEGO jA0" wtu SOUTH SANDWICH - D"l's'""' ' TTPinfUtj I i .... .... : . y -. . .r.. r r Trrr-rr"L::'"L:-L " - - :' . 1 ; tiA ' V J "'"" K i J INDIAN OCEAn C 0 500 1000 INDIA: AXIS MEETING POIMT? ' fjT i lhoe0 o V 71tM (fM 't'-:::'S::;-;:':-'f f A.MRITSAR v;::'x:.:V:::vV;; I Vv.':' Jodhpnr Crnpor sPstn HVRN A '" 0 AHMEDABAD Q jubbutpori CHA,DERIVAGORo V-y J L"1' " AiiitlV "' -':'VV- OBro(1, Mndo F"' MCKJyTf psM,,,d",V jjJ oNagpur c k I 7"N Tnun'eef:''':l:'i'::'-,::-:-: DAM A A W.rdht O Puri o J" ik, 7 ARABIAN SEA p , jA VSl 1 m-DERABAD V JJ. S2,V BAY OF BENGA L LJ ft J I .n(.lor. JmaDRAS ANDAMAN IS. j Mmfilort A SMilel " - "" I'on Bliir ' V V QPOKDICUERY ' X o I if-1 a V IACCADIVE IS. Triehinopoly .-'A V TRINCOMALEB tf NIC0BAJR I Si 'V. COLOMBO" i '3 " V"'- Sc3.t rf m.i. INDIAN OCEAN 'lPV - INDIAN OCEAN.T wo long Allied supply routes skirt the fringes of the Indian ocean. The western, and most used, route serves to supply Allied forces in the Near East and North Africa from the United States and Great Britain. Along this route, too, moves much of the Lend Lease equipment into the Persian gulf and thence on by rail and truck to Russia's southern armies. This route was secured by the British seizure of Madagascar, a step or two ahead of the Japs. With complete Allied control of the Mediterranean Medi-terranean this route will be abandoned in favor of the shorter route through the Suez canal. The second and lesser used route is that from Australia to Bombay and the Persian gulf, handling U. S. transhipments from Australia. Aus-tralia. When and if India is invaded by Japan this route will increase in importance. Unless the Japs can secure and establish further bases on the edge of the Indian ocean this great waterway should remain securely in control of Allied naval power. The great British Indian ocean base is at Trincomalee in Ceylon. During the low of British fortune in the Far East the Japs made one attempt to take this base or knock it out, but the British drove INDIA That India should be endangered by a power with its headquarters some 4,000 miles away is one of the wonders and dangers of modern war. But this is the prospect which India faces. The threat is deadly serious if and when Japan can release sufficient naval power from the Pacific. The imminence of Japanese invasion has tended to unify the Indian- peoples, but at the same time the Indians have seized this opportune hour to demand independence from the British. From the Japanese advance bases in Thailand (Siam), Burma and the Andaman islands, India's southeast coast is in range of Jap medium range bombers. The rest of India can be reached by long range bombers, and India's flat east coast is ideal terrain for a determined landing force. An overall Axis plan undoubtedly calls for a meeting of Jap and Nazi troops some place in teeming India. When and if this occurs it will indeed be a low point in the Allied fortunes of war. Only by a conquest of India can a junction of the two Axis partners be effected, whether it be attained as a result of Japanese subjugation of the whole of Hindustan and possibly penetration even farther westward, or by a joint offensive with a German breakthrough in the Near East. In any case the resulting Axis self-sufficiency in raw materials and manufactured goods that would be the outcome of such a junction would, to say the least, prolong pro-long the war for several years. It is primarily to prevent such a catastrophe that the United Nations must hold India at all costs; but there are other scarcely less pressing considerations that serve to emphasize the strategic importance of India. The United Nations forces in the Near East, as a result of the shortage of shipping, will depend more and more on India's food production and on the many kinds of munitions and equipment that India is able to manufacture. The Allied hope of gathering a strong land force to eventually drive the Jap from China may depend upon the position of strategic India. them off. The main Japanese bases for action in this area are Port Blair in the Andaman islands, Akyab and the huge Singapore base captured from the British at the outbreak of war in the Pacific. It is unlikely, however, how-ever, that the Japanese have sufficient naval strength above that required to hold and press their South Pacific gains to attempt an Indian ocean venture in the near future. In the event that Germany is defeated before Japan and Prime Minister Churchill has publicly hinted of this possibility the Indian ocean will serve as Britain's path to pour troops and equipment equip-ment into India and China in a huge pincers movement designed to throttle Japan. India is naturally the key to the whole Indian ocean situation. Should the Japanese conquer India and establish bases near the entrances to the Persian gulf and Red sea they will constitute a real threat to the Russian supply lines. Such a move by Japan might force Russia, in defense of her vital supply routes, to attack Japan's puppet state of Manchukuo to relieve the danger. This in turn would open Russian bases for United States bombers to carry the war to Japan proper. The situation is full of possibilities. pos-sibilities. Japan lodged in West India would be near Moslem Arabia and only a step from Africa, By jumping across the Red sea she could attack the Allied African forces from the rear, forming with Hitler's armies a gigantic pincers movement designed to strangle the Allies. jXT UNCONQUERABLE CHIMA J f SEA OF GOBI DESERT o m j Jrj"ijg , 1 SAISHU 's "fxFl 1 ST-TJ -' '' f j-j: . f JM.rf;, Ofc hanchai - I r -V r J KM Jh, --"V i 'T EAST CHINA ; TIBET 1 .cktn, V-ffiaT-T! A-Jl. -;' x-" v ; Sv' "gf3N''''' i? fTf re.-v f sea JAPAN This is Japan the enemy's ene-my's lair. Placed in line against the United States it would stretch roughly rough-ly from Seattle to San Diego. Its greatest maximum width is 270 miles, and with an area smaller than Indiana, Oregon, New Jersey and Vermont combined, it supports almost al-most 73,000,000 people. Four islands comprise the main group: Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu. A country of mountain ranges, frequent fre-quent earthquakes, forests and small valleys, Japan depends heavily upon the sea for food and largely upon Korea to keep the rice bowls filled. There are five cities of more than 1,000.000 inhabitants: Tokyo, the capital, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya and Kobe. Japan is the poorest of the world's powers (or was until she stole the riches of the Netherland Indies, Thailand, Burma and Malaya). In her own possessions she has little coal, no iron, an inhospitable climate, few strategic. minerals; and a rapidly growing population on 85 non-arable non-arable land. From conquered lands she secured oil and rubber but what Japan needs worse is iron. China has an estimated 240 billion tons of reserve iron. In the simplest terms this is why Japan and China are at war. Japanese railroads are narrow gauge, and most are single track, far behind American and European standards in carrying capacity. There are many tunnels and bridges strategic air targets. The rivers of Japan are short and rapid, not navigable nav-igable for ocean-going vessels, but they , supply irrigation water and hydro-electric power. Deep snow falls on the Japan sea side of Kyushu, Kyu-shu, Honshu and Hokkaido, often reaching a depth of 25 feet, while the Pacific side of the same islands are fair with little snow. All Japan is hot in the summer, and Taiwan is unbearably so for most white men. JAPAN! 3I Gparamoimira SEA OF X OKHOTSK o vJ?PNllNAT0 F JAPAN ?Ja"Po NAGOVAo VOJjOHAMA P V SASEKO 1 ffrf101 .L-P NAGASAKI YELLOW ' SEA ' vs.,,.,.; . 7V 5 V ' ' s , CHINA SEA . y V j np CHINA. For five years the Chinese have been fighting back at the Japanese. Recently they have had to fight on a half-dozen different fronts. China is without any railroad to the outside world since the Jap seizure of Indo-China. There is no highway outlet from the north. The 2,500-mile road to Russia is all but useless since Russia Rus-sia needs every gun and shell she can get against the Germans. Material aid from the Allies has been slow but it is coming. Yet China fights on with unflinching faith in the defensive strength of her depth.. China is the nearest and strongest base available to the United States for direct attack against Japan. If ways can be found to arm and equip her 2,000,000 soldiers and 1,000,000 reserves send them the planes, the guns and the tanks China may drive the Jap into the sea. The Chinese soldier is tough and he has refused -to quit. Against overwhelming odds the Chinese have materially aided the cause of the United Nations, Their resistance to the Japanese has been all the more amazing because of their lack of the modern tools of war. AURORA yTV- f LEPREAUX k NT "SVy w (PINTSC0S1 V"' sspimusANio "AL0CQfP0RT&S tsf Sj "SANDWICH pJ1 J . MAlEKULAl -JF"' t?'. EROMANGAQ MM MMHHHMBiiM TANA fL NEW HEBRIDES 0 20 40 60 80 100 Mllet -p-fpfff SOLOMON ISLANDS The Solomons Solo-mons were discovered by a Spaniard, completely forgotten, and not seen by a white man until 1568. In 1885 they were divided between Germany and Great Britain, and in 1914 they were taken over by Australia as a mandate until they were all but swallowed up in the Japanese advance. ad-vance. The main Jap bases are at Kieta, Buin and Rekata bay, with Buin probably the strongest and best equipped of the three. Another base was under construction at Tu-lagi Tu-lagi until knocked out by Allied airmen. air-men. If the Japs are driven out of Guadalcanal their strategy will probably prob-ably be to fall back on their nearest base and carry on the war from that point. Step by step, island by island, they will force' the Allies to regain their stolen outposts at the greatest possible cost. That the Jap considers the Solomons of great importance is evidenced in his fanatical fight to hold them. ft SOLOMON ISLANDS IUKA 'p;1' (e How. U. &)n?V BOUGAINVILLE I PACIFIC OCEAN VELLA LAV5LLA Vf SANTA ISABEL L SAN0NGSA U M!s60GIA US O AVg. SAN X)JE I. V lpN J Q fl0f JIALAITA L A RUSSELL (S. .SAV.IS5',') HENDERSON F 1 I X. '. (jL - - CORAL SEA ViW 3 GUADALCANAL I. SAN CR1STOIAL 1. St. I. of Mili Lou Iliad Archipelago 0 -SO 100 160 200 THE NEW HEBRIDES, a French and British condominium, are directly in the path of the U. S. supply line to Australia. When stopped at Guadalcanal Guadal-canal the Japs were moving towards the New Hebrides and in their possession pos-session they would have at one and the same time severed that vital supply route and flanked Australia. With the fall of France the New Hebrides joined the Free French and eventually permitted the entry of U. S. forces and the establishment of a base at an undisclosed point on the island of v Espiritu Santo. From this forward base U. S. airmen strike deep at the heart of the Japs lurking in their rapidly prepared bases in the Solomons. Scilt ot Mtlf 0 24 -SO 7i 100 C-7 WlfJ2vl.rS PACIFIC OCEAN coral sea A l&c -'y'Z! NSW CALEDONIA I NEW CALEDONIA serves as an Allied outpost and protective base along the U. S. -Australian lifeline. It was occupied first by the British and later by American forces. With Espiritu Santo, the Fijis and American Samoa it forms a huge defensive triangle through which all troops and materials for the Pacific struggle passes. Any one of these points in Japanese control would immeasurably increase our Pacific problem and prolong the war indefinitely. New Caledonia's enlongated shores are reef-studded and the land is hilled and thickly wooded. Noumea is the chief port and a good port available to the Allies dangerously threatening Japan's southern flank. GUADALCANAL is the focal point in a major struggle for control of the southwest Pacific. Its only airfield, Henderson Field, has been the vortex of this struggle since its capture by U. S. Marines August 7, 1942. The island, tropically luxurious and topped by 8,000-foot peaks, is about 90 miles long and lies at the southern extremity of Japan's 3,324-mile reach into the southern hemisphere. It can act as a springboard for either the Allies or the Japs. Its possession by Japan makes it a constant threat to the security of Australia and its vital supply lines from the United States. "jCaiyiT12yi:Jr a) -fij v J tPS rL y0koham-P"lml. 8S45 M.. ' Mp J&S '. 3 "J 8fV32' m MIDWAY .. OAjiiu j? Trjjjk HAWAIIAN ISLANOS ",su V ' " JAIAU L l : - ' JALUIT f . palmyra l l CHRISTMAS ... .- fX&km, 'V r-rfPr: J A starbuck l X ' cook IS. r U ) W -TONSAIS. ' t Nfw Caledonia " r ' i ,KST.4L,1 S 3 at . :: .( n 4 NORFOLK . J y" y" . KERMADEC IS. -tv Auckland ..-r"49 J V rJ NEW ZEALAND a' EOUATOR r?ni .SCHOUTEN IS. . fcBir. (' 3-S!'mi ' ADMIRALTY IS. i Vt-V ft Ji "(f timO LAUT fli OLab. j '"). IHuon Cull ARAFURA SEA ' PortJrcsbya. ' ,V- ..id ,.. THURSDAY I. AijJ" VS"? j 3 Gulf oJ Carpeniarii (,i ' JL V. V 3 0 50 100 200 300 Mllct NEW GUINEA. In all military history water and mountains have proven to be man's greatest natural barriers against invasion. The Japs have found no exception to this rule in New Guinea where the difficulties of surmounting surmount-ing the jungle-tangled trails of the Owen Stanley Range were more than even their suicidal determination to win could overcome. From Gona and Buna the Jap tried to drive across Papua to the Australian-held base at Port Moresby. It looked as if he might succeed again, but finally disease, hunger, the terrible jungle dampness and heroic Australians beat him back. PACIFIC BATTLE SCENE. In this vast corner of the world's greatest ocean four great naval battles have already been fought. These have been: (1) Battle of Java sea February 27-March 1, an Allied defeat that gave Japan control of the East Indies; (2) Battle of the Coral Sea, May 4-9, an Allied victory that halted the Jap thrust at Australia and our supply line to the South Pacific; (3) Battle of Midway, June 4-6, which prevented a possible Jap invasion of the Hawaiian islands; (4) Battle of the Solomons, August 7-November 18, a series of engagements engage-ments which prevented the cutting of the U. S. supply line and so upset the balance of Pacific naval power as to materially weaken Japan's position in the South Pacific area. j::mMj TURKEY BESTRIDES A HISTORIC JMATERWfc .y 7 .pS (-, ANKARA t W W ' ss m ,, -y- D-'jf N rv .' t V E'ti- -S-.'i m.,..o. 3 ' I J. " . I WOY" "JVo -S MJ ANL J)a. ',"3 -X "i KARPATHOS 1 ii T rj MEDITERRANEAN SEA 'V ,1 j . - .Z , I, ,. 1 yz77::: . . . MA I M i 'J Ki N'. V, o; r thFmediterrane in the middle of the land i ) f . a n, Mi ,' Air Mile. Sri Mile. T Petlff&id " ' ' " - ' " I '" ' ' 1 Scale of M.lei Q 20 22 J 00 t TURKEY In the foreground of history his-tory are the Bosporus and the Dardanelles Dar-danelles two narrow necks of water which separate Asia from Europe and form the two entrances to Turkey's Tur-key's own private Sea of Marmara. . The famous straits, key to the Black sea, have been a source of trouble since the dawn of time. And as Turkey holds this key so does she hold the key to the vast oil fields of the Near East the Caucasus and Iran (Persia). Hitler, unable to reach the Caucasus Cauca-sus oil fields through Russia, may be forced to go through Turkey. Will the Turks fight? Only the Turks know the answer to this. They have been completely enigmatic, but in view of recent Russian successes at Stalingrad they may resist invasion. Turkey is the kind of a country which is ideal for tank and plane warfare vast distances and open plains. The Turkish defense line would probably extend along the Taurus mountain range the country's coun-try's only natural defense barrier. The Turks, as history has proven, are stubborn fighters, and unless the Axis could gain control of the Mediterranean Med-iterranean they could not be isolated. iso-lated. This is exactly the kind of a military situation the Nazis try to avoid. If Turkey can be won to the Allied side, and the Allies can establish complete control of the Mediterranean, Mediterran-ean, the problem of supplying Russia will be greatly reduced by access of the Black sea route, thus eliminating the long haul to Murmansk and the Persian gulf. MEDITERRANEAN. The Mediterranean sea was called by the Romans the "Sea in the Middle of the Land,"and to them no other lands, no other seas existed. On this land-locked sea of history has been fought all of Europe's decisive naval battles except two Jutland and the Spanish Armada. Ar-mada. In 480 B. C. Xerxes watched the Athenians crush his hopes of world conquest off the shores of Salamis. In the Battle of Actium, 31 B. C, the galleys of Antony met those of Octavian. The Battle of Lepanto m 1571 off the Peloponnesos, saw Christendom throw off the dominance of the Turks. At Aboukir bay, off the coast of Egypt, Lord Nelson destroyed Napoleon's fleet and his oriental dreams. Italy has long cherished control of the Mediterranean, and she has some ancient claims on this great waterway. As early as 1000 A. D. the ships of Venice were Europe's chief contact with the East. But English men-of-war did not neglect the Mediterranean, which increased tremendously with the opening of the Suez canal in 1869. Soon the British had both ends bottled up and control of the tiny island of Malta at the bottleneck between be-tween Sicily and French Tunisia, which stood out like a stop signal before Italy's aspirations in North Africa. GIBRALTAR, MALTA. Gibraltar and the Suez canal are the Mediterranean's Mediterran-ean's only entrances. They have both long been in British hands but because be-cause the Axis has free access to the Mediterranean through Italy, Oreat Britain has attempted to neutralize Italy's strategic position through the maintenance of a powerful base on the bomb-battered island of Malta. . Gibraltar is small: two and three-quarters of a mile long by three-quarters of a mile wide, and 1,437 feet to its highest point. Space to conceal batteries has only been gained by digging deep into the steep walls Into the miles of caverns the British have stored tons of ammunition and food supplies as against the day Gibraltar must go on its own It lies within easy range of modern guns, if Spain and the Axis powers choose to attack. Algeciras, on the Spanish mainland, is but four and a half miles across Algeciras bay. Carnero Point, at the entrance to the bay on the Spanish side is supposedly fortified. Across the Strait of Gibraltar to Santa Catalina Point is but 18 miles. Here, at Fort Hacho, are long-range guns which could shell Gibraltar from the south. No fiat surface in the colony is large enough to serve as an airport, and none can be built. Because of this there are no defending land-based fighters except those available from our newly won bases in French Morocco. On the other hand the "Rock" is bristling with anti-aircraft guns of all types and will account for itself well. Gibraltar's position in a strictly naval conflict is self-evident. Gibraltar could stand and yet the Mediterranean could be lost. The Rock could probably withstand a prolonged siege, but because it can be bypassed by the methods of modern war it may not be called upon to do so in the present conflict. Malta's location half way between Gibraltar and Suez is a different story. It is a mid-Mediterranean fortress, naval and air base of first magnitude without the control of which any power in the Mediterranean would find itself constantly threatened on its flanks. It neutralizes Italy's bases in Sicily and the Italian base on Pantelleria island. Although its proximity to Sicilian air bases has made it untenable as a shelter for the British Mediterranean fleet it sits athwart of and threatens the Axis Europe-Africa supply route, and it completely dominates the central Mediterranean. But Malta is more than a base. It is a symbol of Allied determination and courage. jJr "tW l 4 S-fSS-1 ' ""VD ohm r r.. mw-m. ms " !"'r' I ? . ? i mMif . . ( 1 1 ' J Y I(,IBRALTAR Strtil it GbrJkr I i I 5oara Caalaa Ft. M : . mt& Grata - V ct . 1 ul vV ' I v- -. (V-H iohoC .() :: V q , ' - GIBRALTAR |