THOSE VITAL SOVIET BASES
Williams, Major Al
Those Vital Soviet Bases By MAJOR AL WILLIAMS THIS ARTICLE is prompted by the recent statement of Earl Browder, head of the American Communists, that Russia will not help us fight our war or fight...
...If he is, then we will have to revise our over-all concept of American strategy for conducting our war against Japan...
...If he is wrong, and the Reds should permit us to shuttle from Alaskan to Soviet air bases on the continent, the war would be shortened...
...This is her Achilles' heel...
...In other words, if we cannot strike directly at Japan's heart, we might be able to drain off the blood from her war machine in this fashion...
...Precious Oil Supply But before we leave the Low Road altogether, it might be well for us to study the overall layout of Japan's new empire in the Far East...
...In addition, there is the Asiatic Road up through Burma and thence from China air bases...
...The suspicion grows that Mr...
...The Middle Road is out of the question by reason of the length of the lines of communications and the lack of suitably located island air bases...
...But with our deplorably late start in developing American airpower, that arm has done far more than we could have reasonably expected...
...Those Vital Soviet Bases By MAJOR AL WILLIAMS THIS ARTICLE is prompted by the recent statement of Earl Browder, head of the American Communists, that Russia will not help us fight our war or fight it for us in the Pacific...
...I don't mean to imply that American airpower could whip Japan alone...
...This airmen term the "High Road...
...The Low Road holds little promise for air operations against Japan proper because it means an island to island conquest of prohibitive duration...
...And while this air pincers strategy is in operation it would seem logical to assume that our sea fleet and air forces elsewhere could keep pressing Japan in other quarters to force her to consume her precious oil reserves...
...Japan is completely dependent upon East Indian and Burma oil for maintenance of her oil reserves...
...The attack through the East Indies we know as the "Low Road...
...The road right square across the widest girth of the Pacific is the "Middle Road...
...But there seems no reason to believe that if we could obtain use of the Red bases that the constant air hammering would not produce the results in slowing down the Jap war machine that air bombardment already has produced in Germany...
...We already know that Japan has been feverishly developing her land transportation facilities along the Asiatic coastline to make up for the inroads American seapower has made on her cargo-carrying facilities...
...One is the air road via Alaska...
...Browder's statement is a matter of vital moment to the American fortunes of war...
...War Could Be Shortened It is obvious, however, that the accuracy or inaccuracy of Mr...
...If the Reds refuse use of their air bases, we will have to go elsewhere...
...Browder is stating the Red case with some authority...
...Beyond question, oil is the key fluid of the modern war machine...
...That leaves us the Asiatic road and air operations launched from Chinese air bases...
...Perhaps, therefore, if we can't reach Japan proper with our air forces we might find it possible to utilize our air power both from the continent and from bases to be acquired nearer the Dutch East Indies as an air pincers to dislocate her sea-borne importation of oil from this area to Japan proper...
...There are four roads by which we might bomb Japan proper...
Vol. 7 • October 1943 • No. 42
