THE CHALLENGE IN THE PACIFIC
SEELY, Lt. Comdr. C. S.
The Challenge In The Pacific By LT. COMDR. C. S. SEELY NOW that we have obtained such a tremendous advantage in Europe, an advantage which assures complete victory over Hitler despite the fact...
...A Base In China Needed If Japan can secure a railroad from Hankow to French Indo China she will gain a great advantage, but this railroad is not absolutely necessary or vital to Japan...
...Japan can bring supplies from the south by using small vessels which eaa operate very close to the mainland—under protection of land based defenses—and re-ship at Canton...
...Time favors the Japanese in every particular—just as it favored Hitler before we opened our Second Front—and every month they can keep open their supply lines to the Dutch East Indies gives them just that much more time to store up supplies of oil and rubber, materials they must have in great quantities if they are to prolong the war after we establish a bridgehead on China proper...
...Bloody Fighting Ahead In spite of all our brilliant strategy and great fighting in nearly three years of war against the Japanese, we still have not seriously threatened any of their vital bases or defense positions...
...C. S. SEELY NOW that we have obtained such a tremendous advantage in Europe, an advantage which assures complete victory over Hitler despite the fact that the struggle is far from over, we should give more attention to the situation in the Far East...
...What we have done so far is to capture some remote (from Japan) outposts and put some dents (at Guam and Saipan) in Japan's outermost line of defenses, the Japan-Marianas-Mindanao-Celebes-Java line...
...A railroad from Hankow to Canton will serve almost as well, if Japan can prevent us from establishing a bridgehead south of Hong Kong...
...The Philippines are a long way from China, and will not be a complete substitute for a base on China proper...
...She can do this long after we take the Philippines— and all the other islands south of Hainan...
...Fighting of the most sanguinary character is certain to begin after this line is broken, and stiff opposition must be-expected at Mindanao, the part of this line toward which we are now moving...
...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...
...We can merely hamper the Japanese when we take the Philippines, it seems to me, and not prevent supplies from moving along the Asiatic coast...
...There the Japanese are still digging in, almost completely unmolested, except in areas remote from their homeland, which they certainly have no thought of holding...
...The theory, which apparently is held by some commentators, that we can completely cut Japan's life line when we take the Philippines is one I do not share...
Vol. 8 • October 1944 • No. 41
