"MILLIONS MUST DIE IN ASIA"
SEELY, Lt. Comdr. C. S.
"Millions Must Die In Asia" By LT. COMDR. C S. SEELY EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second of a series of articles by Lieut. Comdr. Seely on the scope of the problem we face in the war against Japan....
...National unity, national morale, geographical position, and the "do or die" spirit of the individual soldier favor Japan's cause, and not ours...
...Certainly millions of men will be required...
...And millions of United Nations men must die for certainly millions of Japanese soldiers will before Japan surrenders...
...With the exception of certain areas in China the best that we can hope for in the countries we wish to retake from Japan is an attitude of disinterestedness by the natives...
...There is no good reason for believing that the Japanese are having serious difficulties converting to their cause the natives of the fully occupied areas...
...And in spite of reports to the contrary, this includes the Philippine Islands...
...But in all probability the great majority of the people in those areas will see no advantage in helping the United Nations—and especially the Dutch, French, and English —regain their lost territories...
...All this must be taken into consideration when examining the situation in the Orient...
...Of course, much will depend upon how successful the Japanese are in converting the peoples of the occupied areas to the new order of things...
...THE CONQUEST of Japan undoubtedly will be one of the most difficult military operations in all history, if not the most difficult...
...The third article will appear in an early issue...
...It is simply a case of the United Nations having to meet and defeat a great nation which in all its long history has never been beaten...
...Great armies with all modern equipment must be landed not only on Chinese soil, but also on Japanese soil before we can win...
...The opinions and assertions expressed above are the private ones of the writer and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Navy Department or the naval service at large...
...The Japanese would be fools if they did not use every possible means to win these natives—and the Japanese are not fools...
...In magnitude the battles to be fought probably will not approach those fought in Russia during this war, but the Japanese certainly must be expected to fight many—perhaps thousand s—of small delaying action engagements such as those which have already been fought in the Solomon and Gilbert Islands...
...China, of course, may be expected to furnish most of these troops, but probably not less than 4,000,000 Americans must see action in China or Japan before the end comes...
...Japan cannot be bombed into surrender by airplanes or warships...
Vol. 8 • January 1944 • No. 2
