"Let's Begin to Strike"

The defeats, the danger, the urgency of the hour had all hit home. The nation was astir. The old played-out words--Defense Program; A Small Army for Defense; Defend America by Aiding the Allies-now sounded like mumblings in a dream. The dope of complacency had worn off. The country began to look at its heritage and its destiny with better understanding; a people that had almost cravenly debated "neutrality" now looked forward to the fight.

The cry was action, attack, offense, let's quit fooling around.

Litvinoff's Plea. In Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, at a celebrity dinner of the Overseas Press Club, Maxim Litvinoff stood up in white-tie-&-tails to make his first public address as Russian ambassador. Round, homey Maxim Litvinoff spiced his speech with American colloquialisms, with an easy, audience-catching humor. But the speech was grave. Maxim Litvinoff pleaded:

"The enemy's power has been shaken, but he is far from being beaten. ... He is preparing for a spring offensive. ... He knows that either he will win this campaign, and win all, or he will lose it and lose all. "We should like to have the utmost possible aid by then. We should like all the forces of the Allies to be put into action by then. . . . There should be no idle armies, immobile navies, stationary air fleets. . . .

"We hear a lot about the common efforts of the United Nations. . . . But common efforts which do not include common fighting may not be sufficient. . . .

Only by simultaneous offensive operations on two or more fronts . . . could Hitler's armed forces be disposed of. ...

"We are proud that it has fallen to our lot to smash Hitler's war machine, but we by no means insist on exclusive rights. . . ." U.S. Answer. Maxim Litvinoff's nation, alone among the Allies, had taken the full shock of the Nazi machine. He feared that his nation would be alone again when spring brought a new German attack.

In his talk to the nation last fortnight, the President had promised that the U.S. would "strike hard" (TIME, March 2); he had not again referred to 1943 as the first possible year for a U.S. offensive. In Congressional cloakrooms, in editorials, in talk up & down the nation, the cry was for striking now. The U.S. had made one punishing attack: the raid on Marshall and Gilbert Islands (see cut) was proof that the U.S. could strike. The week's most talked-of book was an Army officer's call for attack (see p. 10).

The same night that Maxim Litvinoff spoke, Wendell Willkie, whom Americans like because he talks like so many of them, addressed Hollywood's Academy Awards dinner:

"It sickens me to think of America in terms of defense. I am tired of hearing of defense efforts, and defense rallies, and even defense bonds. We should begin to talk of conquering efforts, and victory rallies and bombardment bonds. . . . We should begin to think in terms of attack, not of retreat; we should begin to act in terms of striking, not blocking. . . .

"We will not win this war on the defensive. We want our Navy seeking out the enemy, not hugging our shores for fear the enemy will seek us out. . . . We want our armies penetrating every active front. We want our fighting planes leading our bombers to their goal. . . . Those who win strike first.

"Let's begin to strike.

"Let's begin to win."

This week General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, made offense the nation's official military policy. The Army would not be diverted by submarine attacks on the coasts, could ill spare combat troops for guard duty. "The time has now come," said General Marshall, "when we must proceed with the business of carrying the war to the enemy."

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