Evening Star Newspaper, February 1, 1942, Page 8

A-8 Java Seen Desfined To Be Scene of Final Stage of Pacific War Rich Island Menaced by Six Japanese Thrusts Against Other Areas By J. B. BOUWER, Staft Correspondent of Aneta, Official Dutch News Agency. BATAVIA, Jan. 31 (Aneta to As-| sociated Press) —At the beginning| of the eighth week of the war the Japanese invasion of the Nether- ‘lands Indies is well advanced, and it is foolish not to admit that sub- stantial danger now threatens this| archipelago. | While it is encouraging to notei that the Japanese have not yet con- quered any really decisive points, it is beNeved here that the most serious phase of the battle is at hand. | The principal threat is to the fabulously wealthy and densely pop- ulated island of Java, which, it is generally believed, is destined to be the scene of the final stage of the Pacific war. | Menaced by Six Thrusts. Java is menaced by six Japanese | thrusts. These are: | 1. The advance on Singapore. | . 2. The drive in West Borneo, which started with the landing at Pemang- ‘kat and was followed by the cross-| ing of the Sarawak-Dutch Borneo ‘border. 3. The Japanese naval push ‘through the Macassar Straits, which | ihas been temporarily halted at Balik | Papan, where fighting is still going on. 4. The Japanese action against Kendari, in Southeast Celebes. | 5. The assault on the island of | Amboina, site of an important naval | ‘and air base, which has just begun“ 6. The drive toward New Guinea and Australia. Observers here believe that ex-| ecution of the plan has been con- | siderably slowed down by losses in- | flicted on the enemy and the highly | successful delaying actions fought by the defenders at the advance Aimed at Pontianak. Part of this plan apparently is a drive to complete the encircle- ment of Singapore before decisive reinforcements arrive. The push in‘ 'West Borneo seems to be aimed at | conquering Pontianak, 400 miles east of Singapore, which may be followed by action against the‘ islands of Bangka and Billiton, tin- | mining centers south of Pontianak. | An attempt may then be made to close the ring around Singapore by | an effort to conquer bases on the | east coast of Sumatra. Incessant air activities over this sector ap-| pear to presage such action. The assault on Pontianak, besides | aiming at forging another link in | the Singapore encirclement, also | would bring the Japanese much closer to Java and would increase the menace of air attacks on this island, which is the center of the United Nations’ unified command. The threat toward Java through the Macassar Straits appears to have been halted temporarily by the heavy losses inflicted by Allied sea and air action on the huge Japanese convoy. Some observers believe that this fleet, which got only as far as Balik Papan, was originally on it§ way to attempt an invasion of Java. Threat to Positions on Java. 1t is realized, however, that even concentrations at Balik Papan rep- resent a substantial threat to Allied positions on Java. It is taken for granted that the enemy is concen- trating such strong forces at the ruined East Borneo port to estab- | lish a naval and air base as a gen- eral supporting point for further \actions, presumably against Java. | Other observers hold that Java will not yet become the unmediate‘ enemy objective, expressing the be- | lief that the Japanese first must | acquire additional bases at Band- Jermasin, in Southeast Borneo, and | Macassar, in Southwest Celebes. | These observers believe that the next Japanese attack will be di- rected against these two cities. | The landing in the Kendari re- gion of Southeast Celebes is another | important threat to Java. Pre-| sumably the Japanese, if they can consolidate their position there, will use this region as a base for exert- ing additional pressure on Macassar, while also utilizing it as a support- ing point for attacks on Java and ithe other islands. Very Serious Action. The latest attack, on Amboina, | seems to be aimed not only at ac- quiring an additional base, but also 4t cutting the Allied supply lines via Australia. As such, this action is considered very serious, not to men- tion the fact that the loss of Am- boina would mean the loss of a vital Allied naval and air base. The enemy action in recent days against Australian territory is an- other threat to the Allied supply line. There is confidence here that | within a reasonable period the| United Nations will be able to end | the threat to the Southwest Pacific. But meanwhile, the Netherlands ,Indies are clearing the decks for a | critical battle, Tough on Tire Thieves [ By the Associated Press. | DECATUR, Ill., (#)—If you get a | flat tire here, reach for your identi- fication card ahead of your jack. | Under a drastic order designed to curb thefts of the rationed articles, | police have been instructed to re- | ‘gard every tire changer as a tire thief until he proves otherwise. 1 i Delivery of Night Final Edition The Night Final Edition of The Star, with two addi- tional pages of last-minute | news, is delivered through- out Washington and ‘nearby suburbs, together with The Sunday Star, at 85c per month. This edition gives the latest developments of the day in International, Na- tional and Local news, with complete Financial Reports. Special delivery is made | between 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. dally. o 500 MILES AT EQUATOR THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHING TON, D. GIANT JAPANESE PINCERS THREATEN PRIZE ISLAND OF JAVA—The siege of Singapore is but one incident in the broad Japanese plan of conquest in the Southwest Pacific—a plan which presents this map-picture of Nipponese thrusts aimed PACIFIC mainly at invasion of the fabulously rich Netherlands island of Java. Meanwhile, to the west the Japanese push into Burma and eastward continues to threaten islands north of Australia. Japan Still Far Short of Major Objectives 'Despite Successes Yesterday, Maj. Eliot Says By MAJ. GEORGE FIELDING ELIOT. ‘This is a black day as far as news from the Far East is concerned. The British have been compelled to give up their last foothold s D the Malayan Peninsula and have withdrawn to their fortress island of Singapore for a last stand. British troops have likewise evac- uated Moulmein, and the Japanese for the first time are in possession of a town possessing direct rdil and | road connection with Rangoon, ocean terminus of the Burma Road. The Japanese are directing a heavy attack on the important Dutch air base of Amboina. Taken together, these develop- ments are discouraging indeed. Everywhere the Japanese seem to be retaining the initiative, every- where their reckless and desperate attacks seem to be succeeding; they pile one gamble on another and go on winning. And yet there may be more of the appearance of victory in what they are doing than its actuality. What Constitutes Victory? To understand this, it 4s necessary Hto ask ourselvés what weéuld “con- stitute a Japanese victory—what is the stake for which they are gambling? This, and only this, is the true measure of their success or failure, just as the progress of the Russian campaign can only be truly measured by the yardstick of what the Germans hoped to ac- complish when they invaded that country. The Japanese unquestionably had two main objectives in mind—a short-range objective and a long- range objective. The short-range objective was to obtain possession of Singapore, Manila and the prin- cipal Dutch Islands, especially Java and Sumatra, in order to deprive the Allies of all naval and air bases in the Southwestern Pacific other than those of Australia, and to pre- sent against attack from Australia a long barrier of island outposts. Behind this barrier the Japanese could hope to accomplish their long- range objective, the exploitation of the oil, metal and other resources of the captured regions to rebuild Japanese industrial power, while they would be in a position to carry out further offensive operations against Australia itself and against the vital Allied lines of communi- cation in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Meanwhile they would have excel- lent positions from which to attack Burma and close the Burma road once and for all, thus enabling them to settle accounts with the Chipese foe which has resisted them so long. Price of Failure. Should they succeed in accom- plishing w1 this their subsequent defeat would be a long, bloody and desperate affair. Should they fail, that is, should their limited present resources prove unable to win de- cisively before the infinitely superiar resources of the Allies can overcome the handicaps of time and distance, then the Japanese face overwhelm- They're Off—Thrilling Horse Race Game. Invasion—Flying the Beam Conflict—Land, Sea and Air. Quiz Kids Own Game Box._ American Flag Game (App. by U. S. Flag Assn.) ;Vings-A New Target Game Lively Action Game | the | against the Japanese. They may | ing defeat within a comparatively short space of time. Measured in this fashion, the Japanese accomplishments seem less impressive. Eight weeks have assed. The Japanese still have not reduced Manila Bay to their possession; the incredible and mag- nificent Gen. MacArthur still holds Batan Peninsula and the fortress of Corregidor. The Japa- nese have won Malaya but they are still denied Singapore. They have established a few scat- tered outposts in some of the Dutch islands, and in Australian islands northeast of New Guinea, but no Japanese soldier has set foot on Java or Sumatra. For these successes, the Japanese have paid a very heavy price in men, material, ships and aircraft. The battle of the Strait of Macassar, in which the Japanese losses could only be described as tremendous, is but a foretaste of what further Jap- anese successes seem likely to cost. Severe Handicaps. On this black day, one ray of cheer was the news that a large Allied convoy carrying troops and gcn!& had safely reached the Far st.. More such convoys afe on the way. Remember that eight weeks have gone by since the attack on Pearl Harbor set off the Far Eastern cataclysm. No matter what the scale of our efforts, we could hardly hope to have begun much earlier to make offensive power originating in the United States or Great Britain felt in the Far East. The internal communications of Australia are another severe handi- cap, and in any campaign whose lines of operation and supply cover such vast distances the one abso- lute certainty is that delay after maddening delay will be encoun- tered in the execution of the best- laid plans. Despite our black day, therefore, | the tide of war is beginning to flow | still accomplish their purpose, but that they have not attained a single one of their major objectives in eight weeks of the most desperate effort is suggestive indeed. In Malaya, in Luzon, and in the Dutch islands and their adjacent waters, brave men, gallantly led, fighting against desperate odds have contrived to gain us this much time. Now at last they are getting a lit- tle help. If, with that help, they can hold fast only a lit%as longer, there is every indication that they will not have fought in vain. That this should be so, however, there is one fundamental necessity —that as the Allied power in- creases, the forces of the Allies should be employed boldly and vig- orously, against the Japanese out- posts and especially against their vulnerable and extended lines of communication with a determina- tion and and offensive spirit at least equal to that which the Jap- anese themselves have so far dis- played. This is no time for hesitation, for demanding guarantees of victory, for the undue weighing of risk in the balance as against advantage. Either the tide will turn within the next few weeks, or it may not turn for years. (Copyright, 1942, by New York Tribune.) Pilots (Continued From First Page) | for consultation. Lt. Comdr. Ham- ilton indicated last night the course | will teach aviators who may some- time be grounded in enemy terri- | tory to “hand back any blow that comes their way, and with interest.” The cadets will be drawn’ in the usual manner, and will be required | to have two years of college train- ing, or one year, plus several years of business experience. There will be rigid physical examinations for admission to the preliminary schools for the three-month course there, and then the cadets will go to one of the 16 regular Naval Training Stations for aviation training. The entire flight training course will normally take a year. When they | complete that they will emerge as ensigns in the Naval Reserve. Although the other ‘aspects of the first training are mentioned, it is the “toughening up” that is stressed. The first course will have four basic fundamentals: | 1. Proper physical conditioning and strength. 2. Indoctrination in Naval history and customs, 3. Military drill and seamanship. | 4. Training in communications, ordnance, and other specialties. | Strenuous 15-Hour Day. Here'’s the way the Navy wamns | the young cadet what is on the daily | | docket: “Once inducted, the cadet's day will begin at 6 o'clock in the morn- | ing with 15 minutes of still tone-up exercises held outdoors, no matter | what the weather. During the next | 15 hours the cadet will alternate between classrooms, drill, sports and muscle-building manual labor. Except for time out for meals and study, the cadet will have exactly 30 minutes during this 15-hour day ! for rest. During the remainder of c, OCEAN MARSHALL s b —A. P, Wirephoto. the time he will be busy, right up | to the time when bugles sound taps at 9 pm.” The Navy also explained that there will be no leave granted dur- ing the first three months, except that given as reward for “special zeal in work, study or training.” There will be organized sports com- petition. While Americans would prefer to fight under rules of sportsmanship, they must be trained to face the Axis, whose soldiers and pilots “have | been taught there is no such word | as ‘foul,’” the Navy announcement | said. | Each of the four schools will in- | duct 625 flight candidates a month, a figure that will mean stepping up the regular pilot training program | 300 per cent. Knox Warns of Rigors. Secretary Knox warned: “The | men who take this training will | have to have guts. When they have | won their Navy wings they will have | proved that they can both take it and hand it out. That'’s the kind of | dropped back to the west bank | the head of the gulf. fighting pilots the Navy wants and the country needs.” The program, groundwork for FEBRUARY 1, 1942. Brifish Surrender Moulmein, Across Gulf From Rangoon All Equipment Reported Removed; Japanese Casualties Heavy By the Associated Press. RANGOON, Burma, Jan. 31.— The picturesque Burmese teak and rice port of M-ilmein fell to the Japanese shortly after dawn today and British defense forces which had held out against attack after attack of the Salween River. There apparently they manned the first main defense line of Burma, blocking the course of the Japanese - Thai drive toward Rangoon, port for the road to Man- dalay and the back door to China. Military observers predicted the invaders would find the north- south Salween River line and the defenses beyond 1t considerably tougher to crack than anything they encountered in the 70-mile push from the Thai frontier across the Dawna Range to Moulmein. The Salween empties into the gulf of Martaban at Moulmein just 100 miles across the gulf from Rangoon. | The land route to Rangoon from | Moulmein, however, is at least 150 | miles by road twisting north around All Equipment Removed. The official announcement of the withdrawal across the Salween.from Moulmein said rear gyard action held off the Japanese until all stores | and equipment were removed. | The Japanese were said to have | suffered heavy casualties in their as- | saults. | Moulmein, famed in Kipling’s| poem where a cheroot-smoking | Burma girl waited beneath a pagoda for her British soldier, normally has a population of somewhat less than 70,000 and is the principal city of the Tenasserim section of Lower Burma, jutting down the peninsula toward Malaya. Japanese entry into the port cuts which has been laid by Artemus L. Gates, Assistant Secretay of the Navy for Air, and Rear Admiral John H. Towers, chief of the Eu-| reau of Aviation, is expected to oe | under way by May 1. <0 The Army has a training program | providing for turning out 30,000 pi- lots, bombardiers and other air- men this year but is pointed to an increase in 1943. | The Army Air Corps headed its | training program last week under Maj. Gen. Barton K. Yount. It is! centered now in three major flying | centers, the Southeast center, Max- | well Field, Ala.; Gulf Coast, Ran- dolph Field, Tex., and West Coast, Moffett Field, Calif. There are nu- merous supplementary training fields. PUBLIC AUCTION By Catalogue Monday thru Saturday, Feb. 9th to 14th FRENCH and ENGLISH PERIOD FURNITURE OBJETS D’ART ORIENTAL RUGS A Collection of 75 VALUABLE OIL PAINTINGS from various sources and & 5-Pc. Regency Salon Suite in 18th Century Needlepoint Louis XV Amaranth Vitrine Bronze Statuette, Pan of Rohallion by F. MacMonnies formerly the property of the estate of the late EMIL WINTER ON EXHIBITION Tuesday thru Saturday, February 3.7 %nfirm @ LLERIES 722 Thirteenth Street N.W. Ben). 8. Bell Auctionser Flying Aces—Great Airplane Game. Speed—Autos, Planes, Boats, Trains Mystifying Oracle—The Marvel Talking Game_ Blockade—The Game for Armchair Admirals_ Tripoley—Game of Kings and Queens ._ __$195 Chinese Checke Brubit 28848 8! This Week Only 200 sq. ft. INSTALLED 5 $32.50 SILVER CHINA JEWELRY v off the Tenasserim region, where the Japanese already had cut across to the west coast on the Andaman Sea in several places. B Aside from minor border patrol actions, the Japanese-Thai thrust into Burma began less than a month ago. It intensified by January 20 into a full-fledged drive on Moulmein —from the nearest frontier points near Myawadi and Kawkariek, di- rectly to the east. Most observers here expressed the view that the main threat to the Burma road still was in a possible Japanese attack from the Thai bor- der somewhere in the region 100 to 150 miles north of Moulmein. A thrist there would be aimed at cutting the road in the vicinity of Toungoo, midway between Rangoon and Mandalay, where the highway is only about 75 miles from Japanese- held territory. In this section the country is better suited to mechanized warfare. A Japanese thrust north from Moul- mein would run into great swampy regions immediately across the Sal- ween. Fail to Get Air Superiority. Observers declared that so far the Japanese had failed to establish effective air superiority over Bur- ma. An ofimial announcement said 52 Japanese planes definitely had been destroyed since January 23 while the British and volunteer American pilots forces lost only six planes and the pilot of one of those escaped. At least 11 other Japanese planes were believed des- troyed during that time, and many others were known to have been damaged. At least 300 Japanese airmen were said to have been killed in opera- tions over Burma since the start of the war. A combined communique of the army and air force said Martaban, across the river from Moulmein, was under heavy air attack by the Japanese and that Moulmein itself had been bombed. Rangoon had two alarms during the day, but no enemy planes were seen over the city. 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