World at Stake?

"Be prepared," warned the London Daily Herald, "to learn from some military spokesman or semi-official syrup-dispenser that the situation in the Far East is scarcely relevant to the general trend of the war. Be prepared for the revival of soothing phrases about 'keeping a sense of perspective.' Be prepared for reminders that, my dear fellow, the real enemy is Germany, and for suggestions that the war with Japan is little more than an exciting side show."

These were typical of the angry, worried words which flew in the capital of the British Empire last week when it was learned that Singapore, farthest-flung fortress of the Empire, was in grave danger. But the warning was amiss. The Government dispensed no syrup. It appointed Alfred Duff Cooper, onetime Secretary of State for War, onetime First Lord of the Admiralty, onetime Minister of Information, who has been in Singapore for 15 weeks, to be Resident Minister for Far Eastern Affairs. He will have Cabinet rank, will be equal, if not superior, to Commander in Chief Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham.

This was reassuring to the British people, who were a little shaken on Sir Robert. He had given them an exaggerated sense of complacency about Singapore by saying, in the course of 1941: > "The whole of the East Indies and the Far East are in a high state of preparedness for any eventuality." > "We are in a position to handle any war situation that may arise." > "As long as we are awake and Japan sees it. I think the situation will remain as it is." > "We have had plenty of warning and our preparations are made and tested."* By contrast, Minister Duff Cooper's first statement was neither sweet nor soothing: "Let us not blind ourselves to the gravity of the situation or the seriousness of the task that awaits us. Let us frankly admit that so far the Japanese have been extremely successful." The Japanese were alarmingly successful: 1) Britain's great 19th-Century warrior and native-queller, Field Marshal Sir Frederick Roberts, once said that the history of the world would be decided at Singapore. By this week the Japanese had come within 300 miles of that decision.

The Japanese, big only in their fury, fought their way down Malaya on a miniature scale. The little men, in light shorts, open shirts and rubber sneakers, or with bare feet, were apparently insufficient targets for the British. As they had used tiny, steel-saving two-man subs at Pearl Harbor, they used in Malaya tiny one-man tanks and two-man gun carriers. The British even said that their doctors cut miniature Japanese bullets out of miniature British wounds.

Small though all the Japanese elements of attack may have been, there could be no belittling the results. In 14 days the Japanese had driven more than 100 miles through jungles which the British had complacently considered impenetrable. The enemy had isolated and driven the British off the island of Penang--not only a secondary naval base, but also the key to the narrow Malacca Straits, most direct route for supplies and reinforcements for Singapore. The Japanese had also established themselves in a number of nearby air bases.

By week's end the British were getting reinforcements into action. They reported the situation somewhat more in control. The jig was not up yet, by a good haul.

2) The Japanese landed in Sarawak, on the wild and oily island of Borneo. So far this was only a holding attack on Singapore's flank; it might eventually develop into a quest for oil, but the British reported that they had already destroyed the wells in the region threatened by the Japanese.

3) In the Philippines, the Japanese made a new landing on the Japanese-infested southern island of Mindanao, appeared ready to make their big push on the main island of Luzon (see p. 14).

4) Hong Kong tottered (see p. 14).

5) The Japanese heavily bombed Kunming, Chinese terminus of the Burma Road, to prevent, they said, a Chinese drive into Indo-China or later through Burma into Thailand.

6) The one spot at which the Allies got the jump on the Japanese was Timor. This half-Dutch, half-Portuguese island, lying between the Dutch East Indies and Australia (only 410 miles from Darwin), has long been eyed by the Japanese. This autumn they acquired the right from the Portuguese to fly a commercial airline there. Dutch and Australian troops marched into Portuguese Timor last week over the protest of local Portuguese authorities. But even this little triumph was fraught with political hazards which might eventually offset the military advantage (see p. 22).

* It is possible that Sir Robert's reports to the War Office were more confidential and less confident than these public remarks.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.