SHOWDOWN IN THE PHILIPPINES
SEELY, Lt. Comdr. C. S.
Showdown In The Philippines By LT. COMDR. C. S. SEELY IT IS NOW obvious that we have shifted our war emphasis from Europe to Asia, and this is as it should be. Hitler is no longer a menace, and we...
...We are now doing that...
...But Japan must hold most of Luzon or her position in Java, Borneo, Sumatra, and all the other occupied islands south of Hainan Island will become precarious...
...Our landing in the Philippines was a great and bold military operation, much more so than the news indicates...
...The situation will be much different in Luzon, the island in the Philippines we are heading for and must take...
...Great sanguinary battles must be expected during the next few months, and we must continue to give "all out" support to our men who are about to fight these battles...
...Hitler is no longer a menace, and we have strong allies in Europe...
...It is my considered opinion that Japan will send many of her best divisions into Luzon to reinforce the garrisons already there...
...The chances of success are good, but the difficulties ahead for our men there are greater than they were in France, for example...
...It seems clear that most of the Germans who faced us in France had been passed through the Russian "meat grinder" and had little heart for more fighting...
...This can be done easily enough as she still controls the sea lanes between the Philippines and China...
...In-short, there is every reason for believing that Japan will hold all of Luzon north of Batangas at almost all cost, and that desperate rear-guard actions will bo fought in all the other Philippine areas...
...But we do not have strong allies in the western Pacific, and it is imperative that we get at the Japanese before they "dig in" too deeply...
...There must be no "let down" for celebrating anything that may look like a victory in Europe...
...Also Singapore will not be of great value to Japan if she loses Luzon...
...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 enemy soldiers in France—according to nearly all reports—were not first rate troops...
...Probably four-fifths of France was more of a liability than an asset to Hitler, and except in the north and northwest areas, he has lost no military advantage by his retreat there...
...Impressed prisoners-of-war, old men, boys, and even cripples (one with a wooden arm) were trying to hold the Nazi lines...
...Predictions recently made that the Japanese may withdraw from the Philippines instead of making a determined stand are completely fallacious...
...For us the war is only beginning...
...The best soldiers Japan can muster, and plenty of them, are waiting for us there...
...Luzon is much more important to Japan than France was to Hitler...
Vol. 8 • November 1944 • No. 45
