THE WAR IN REVIEW
THE WAR IN REVIEW IN one of the most dramatic episodes of World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, landing soon after his troops had swarmed ashore to establish bridgeheads, returned to the...
...He warned the Japanese military authorities that he would hold them responsible for any indignities against American military and civilian prisoners...
...Churchill's visit to Moscow was said to have been primarily motivated by the crisis that has developed over Polish affairs...
...From the northern anchor in Holland to the Swiss border the steady Allied pounding continued in an effort to wear the German line thin...
...It was on the political front that Europe again produced the most provocative news...
...The invasion followed a week of spectacular blows against the great Japanese Formosa base, many miles to the north of the Philippines...
...In the east the big news was made by the Red Army smash into East Prussia...
...Charles de Gaulle in France has received official recognition from this country as the "provisional government of the French republic...
...Rally to me...
...Although it was reported that progress had been made, correspondents reported that no final agreement had been reached by Stalin and Churchill...
...Douglas MacArthur, landing soon after his troops had swarmed ashore to establish bridgeheads, returned to the Philippines last week...
...and the division of spheres of influence in the Balkans...
...The recognition came after a fortnight of bitter complaining on the part of the de Gaulle government that the Allies were "keeping France at arm's length...
...Let the indomitable spirit of Bataan and Corregidor lead on...
...As a symbol of America's enlightened colonial policy in the Far East, MacArthur was accompanied by President Sergio Osmena of the Philippines who took over the reins of the re-established government at Tac-loban, the capital of Leyte now designated the temporary capital of the Philippines...
...Air strips on the island will make heavier bombing raids possible while the full strength of the Japanese forces, garrisoned principally in Mindanao to the south and Luzon to the north, will be cut in two...
...With Leyte as a base, the campaign against Luzon to the north will be greatly facilitated...
...So devastating was this softening-iip blow that first landing waves met with only light opposition...
...Represented by two bitterly opposing governments, one recognized by London and the other by Moscow, Poland has become the first great test problem of the war...
...Just a little more than two and a half years have elapsed since MacArthur left the Philippines at the order of President Roosevelt, after he had directed the epic defense of Bataan and Corregidor...
...Not only did this serve as an effective diversionary tactic, but it inflicted heavy damage on the installations on which the enemy must depend to reinforce and supply her Philippine garrisons...
...policy to be adopted toward the royal government and the government of Marshal Josip Broz-Tito in Yugoslavia...
...The Churchill-Stalin conference in Moscow was concluded, and although the usual cloak of secrecy surrounded the subjects of the discussion and the results achieved, it was generally agreed that the following problems were discussed: Elaboration of final military plans worked out at Teheran and Quebec for decisive blows against Germany ; the future status of Poland...
...It was significant that the Russian press bitterly attacked the Polish government-in-exile in London before Churchill left Moscow...
...One whole town in the path of the landing forces had been leveled by the mighty naval and air barrage...
...Britain and Russia also announced recognition...
...See map...
...Bold Strategic Stroke In another radio message to the people of the Philippines, MacArthur pronounced the laws of the Japanese-sponsored government "null and void" and promised the extension of commonwealth authority to other regions as they are liberated...
...By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on the Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood of our two peoples...
...Shore installations and air fields were knocked out...
...Meanwhile, the United States announced that the administration of Gen...
...Probably the most pressing problem faced by the two leaders was that of Poland...
...The American landings were preceded by a smashing three-day assault by carrier-based planes and naval fire from offshore...
...His pledge, "I shall return," made to the world in a broadcast from Australia soon after his arrival there became a reality this week...
...In a few hours after landing MacArthur broadcast the following dramatic message to the people of the Philippines: "I have returned...
...American soldiers were rolling over the island of Leyte in the central Philippines to prepare a base from which the drive of liberation will ultimately envelop the whole archipelago...
...In the extreme north the Russians were reported to have pounded their way across Finland and had crossed to the Norwegian border...
...The landing at Leyte was a bold strategic stroke aimed at cutting the Philippines in two and thus giving the Americans an opportunity to strike out either way...
...While Americans in the Pacific were thus striking a blow directly at the Japanese jugular vein, six Allied armies along the long western front in Europe continued to hammer away at the fanatically resisting Germans...
Vol. 8 • October 1944 • No. 44
