- Chapter IX:
-
- PRIOR CLAIMS VERSUS BOLERO
- April 1942
-
- The work done on the BOLERO plan in Washington during the spring of
1942 was an exercise as useful in its way as maneuvers and
rehearsals by troops in training. It was excellent practice for the
planners to try to fit the next movements of men and equipment to the
British Isles into a long-range program running well into 1943. But it was still an exercise. Outside the War Department no one was much
disposed to decide current questions in accordance with the effect
on operations in 1943. Four cases of great importance came up during April in which expectations
created by established American policies conflicted with projected requirements for
concentration in the
British Isles. They involved conflicts between (1) the defense of the Middle East and AAF plans, (2) the claims of China and
British-American plans, (3) the Soviet lend-lease program and War
Department plans, and (4) the defense of the Pacific "line"
Hawaii-Australia and BOLERO. The outcome of these conflicts,
largely dependent on highly unpredictable military developments, was
so uncertain that long-range planning by the military staffs necessarily
remained exploratory and controversial, in spite of the agreement in
principle on concentration in the British Isles.
-
-
- The support of the British position in the Middle East was the least
well defined of the prior claims on American men and materiel that
existed at the time of the beginning of BOLERO planning. In March the
President had so acted as to support the British without sending
American forces there. While renewing the understanding that the British
should retain full responsibility- for the Middle East, he had
supplemented lend-lease commitments by agreeing to put at their
disposal tonnage sufficient to move 40,000 troops for reinforcing the
Middle East command and had agreed to send two American divisions to the
Southwest Pacific so that an Australian and a New Zealand division
might remain in the Middle East.
1
-
- What the United States must directly contribute to the defense of the
Middle East remained uncertain. The War Department had left in statu
quo the missions--North African. Iranian, and Russian set up in the
fall of 1941 to supervise the moving, storing, and transfer -of
lend-lease supplies and equipment in the Middle East. The heads of
these missions were dissatisfied with the help received from the British
au-
- [198]
- thorities on whose co-operation they depended, with the limitations
of the small staffs under them (mainly civilian technicians), and with
the facilities and the local labor at their disposal. The solution was
to send then service troops trained and equipped to do the job. 2
-
- There were two objections to this solution, both of which had been
raised soon after Pearl Harbor, when General Maxwell of the North
African mission had requested L. S. service troops for the fiddle East.
One objection, which had been decisive at the time, was the lack of
troopships. The other was based on reasons of policy-American combat
forces were not due to be sent to the :fiddle East, and the War
Department, therefore, should not send service troops, since service
troops should go only to "areas where they will eventually come
.under the control of a theater commander of our own combat
forces." 3
The War Department had refused Maxwell's request,
although it had not entirely ruled out the possibility of favorable
action later in the year.4
Both General Somervell (then G-4) and Col.
Henry S. Aurand (Defense Aid Director) had concurred, although they
believed that the War Department should adopt only on a temporary basis the policy of not sending service troops to the Middle
East.5
General Eisenhower had agreed with them, remarking:
-
- It seems foolish to put a lot of expensive equipment into a place and
then let it deteriorate because of lack of maintenance. If translated
into ship-tons we'd probably find it cheaper to provide tech.
maintenance units than to ship more material.6
- Eisenhower's advice, during the emergence of March, was to do
everything possible. to help the British except to send combat troops:
-
- For many reasons the combat units in this region should be British,
but our interest in the whole matter is such that we should give the
British every possible encouragement and assistance in building up the
defenses now. For example, I would go as far as to strip American
mechanized units down to bare training requirements, and to find every,
possible pursuit and bomber airplane that could be dispatched to the
area without damaging our ability to expand, provided only the British will guarantee to have the trained units there to operate this
equipment effectively. 7
-
- The reasons why the British Empire should continue to furnish the
combat units in the 'Middle East were many. Two of the most obvious and
most serious were not discussed formally. One was that some American
observers distrusted the competence and the tactical doctrine of the
Brit-
- [199]
- ish command in Egypt.8
To commit inexperienced American combat
troops to the Libyan front would be to risk serious public criticism
should they stiffer heavy casualties or should they be involved in a
major defeat. A second reason was that American forces stationed in
other parts of the ?fiddle East would be replacing Empire forces whose
duties were not only to defend but also to occupy the territory-, and
would thereby become involved in highly controversial questions of
British Middle Eastern policy.
-
- These reasons applied mainly against sending ground forces, and for,
the time outweighed the one strong reason for sending ground
forces-economy in the use of shipping. The United States by sending
divisions direct to the Middle East could achieve a net saving in the
use of shipping by reducing movements from the United States to the
British Isles and from the British Isles to the Middle East, thereby not
only cutting miles-per-ton but also eliminating one series of loading
and unloading operations and decreasing traffic in the dangerous
waters of the northeastern Atlantic. In March Admiral King therefore
raised the question of sending American divisions to the Middle East,
and Sir John Dill took it tip with General Marshall. 9
Marshall opposed
the move as a further dispersion of American forces. He also objected to
intermixing American forces in a predominantly Empire theater,
observing that it would be hard to arrange for their supply and command.
Marshall objected also to the alternative, suggested by Sir John Dill,
that U. S. troops should defend the Syria line, replying that this would
take too long.10
-
- But at the same time, in response to British requests, Marshall
offered to send American air forces to Egypt-five groups, the planes
to come out of British allocations, the United States furnishing
personnel and auxiliary equipment.11
-
- General Marshall explained his position to the President. He spoke of
the "disastrous consequences" of the loss of the diddle
East, which would allow German and Japanese forces to join in the
Indian Ocean. He went on:
-
- Agreements with the British, prior to December 7, have always placed
the Middle East in the sphere of exclusive British responsibility.
However, the critical nature of the present situation is such that I
have already informed Sit- John Dill that the War Department stood
ready to assist. in every practicable way, in improving Middle East
defenses.
-
- He noted that the United States could help with personnel, but not
with planes. He concluded
-
- Of course; the meat of the situation is the necessity of meeting our
responsibilities in the Southwest Pacific, the reinforcement of Alaskan
defenses, and, above all, the gathering of air p6wer in England.12
-
- Secretary Stimson took strong exception to General Marshall's
willingness to concede so much to the defense of Egypt. He thought the
opening declaration on the consequences of the loss of the Middle East
- [200]
- to be an "overstatement" and regretted that Marshall had
committed the War Department to do everything possible to help in the
crisis. On the project of sending air forces to the Middle East he
remarked, "I don't see how we can do any of this." On the
concluding paragraph listing the other American tasks, he remarked,
"This should have been put first." Secretary Stimson himself
ended by saying:
-
- The Middle East is the very last priority of all that are facing us.
We have foreseen for months that the British would be howling for help
here that we really should not give them-- and I think now is the time
to stand pat.13
-
- To equip American air units with British planes for employment in a
British theater, as :Marshall had offered to do, presented a way out of
an impasse in combined planning--the irreconcilability of scheduled
plane allocations to the British and the projected expansion of American
air forces. At the end of the ARCADIA Conference General Arnold had
agreed with Sir Charles Portal, the British Chief of Air Staff, on a
tentative schedule of allocations to the British from American
production of 1942. 14
But by March Arnold was intent on reducing
allocations to the British. These allocations and the requirements for
the expansion of American air forces, added to other estimated
requirements (principally Soviet lend-lease schedules and commitments to
the Pacific) gave a total far exceeding expected American production.
According to Arnold, the effect of satisfying the British would be to
cut by more than one half the projected expansion of American air
forces.
-
- He contended that deliveries to the British could be cut back since
they already had relatively large reserves.15
-
- Early in April, when Marshall's proposal to concentrate American
forces in the British Isles was under discussion in London, Secretary
Stimson himself took to the President General Arnold's case for reducing
plane allocations to the British. On 9 April he reported
-
- I showed the President the charts showing the present allocation of
the pooled production of the U.S. and U.K., and he seemed much
impressed by the fact that the U.S. was getting so little of the
production. He asked if our Air Corps knew what the British were
doing with all of their allotments. I told him that I did not think that
we knew . . . I left the charts with him and also the memorandum with
tabs.16
-
- Three days later the Secretary wrote to the President an eloquent
presentation of General Arnold's case. He owned that he himself had
not understood how long it took to complete the training of air forces
for combat and how costly it was to slight the later stages of
training, in which specialized units were developed, using the
equipment they
- [201]
- would use in combat and dealing with situations resembling those
they would actually meet in combat. The Secretary therefore urged on the
President the need for reallocation, and stated in general terms the
policy that seemed to him required by the proposal Marshall and
Hopkins had taken to London:
-
- The sum and substance of this is that, unless we art, to court
disaster in our corning efforts of "holding" and "striking" during this year of crisis,
we must at once lend
our major effort to accumulating and training the Air Forces which we
have planned for the purpose of holding our vital indispensable key
positions and striking the blow which we hope will a a Russia. Not
an hour can be spared. Not a plane can be unnecessarily given away. We
are so far behind that it will require Herculean efforts to
catch up. 17
-
- The project of sending air groups to Cairo had meanwhile been held in
abeyance.18
Finally, as a result of the negotiations in London, the
project was dropped, partly in order to send reinforcements to the Tenth
Air Force--to help meet the incursion of the Japanese in the Indian
Ocean--and, more generally, in order to go ahead with the BOLERO
plan, which was due to absorb all available American air units.19
General Marshall's proposal to concentrate American forces in the
British Isles thus entailed the disappointment of British expectations
in the Middle Fast that he himself had encouraged. It reopened, moreover, the
very question of strategic policy
that his offer of air units had beers intended to settle, at least
temporarily-the question of allocations of planes to the British.20
-
-
- General Marshall's readiness to collaborate with the British in the
defense of the Middle East and India--an essential condition of
British co-operation in mounting an offensive from the British
Isles--was extremely difficult to reconcile with the development
of the program of aid to China. The difficulty became conspicuous at the
beginning of April when the minuscule Tenth Air Force was diverted to
the mission of bombing the Andaman Islands, recently seized by the
Japanese as a further move into the Indian Ocean. During earl- April the
danger in the Indian Ocean became evident, with the appearance of a
strong Japanese naval force which conducted air raids on Ceylon and against the Indian coast and sank two British cruisers 1 the
Dorsetshire
and Cornwall) and an aircraft carrier (the Hermes). On April 14 General
Marshall sent word from London that the British Chiefs were greatly
concerned and "most urgently" required, American naval assist-
- [202]
- ance and American air units, particularly bombers, in the Indian
theater. The consequences, should the Japanese succeed in extending naval control into the
Western Indian Ocean, would be disastrous for
the Allied position in the Middle East. Marshall directed Eisenhower and Arnold to inform Admiral King and send him "its
quickly as possible your appreciation and it proposed reply." 21
-
- The War Department reply, read and approved by the President, agreed
that the British did need everything they requested. but indicated that
the Ignited States could not then send so much. The Navy could not
release any major fleet unit for use in the Indian Ocean, but Admiral
King was willing to use the aircraft carrier Ranger to ferry pursuit
planes across the -Atlantic. The planes could be assembled en route,
then flown off to land on the west coast of Africa and follow the ferry
route to India. The Army Air Forces had no planes available for
transfer to India or the Middle Fast, but there were in the United
States planes allotted to the British- including bombers whose departure
for England had been held up by the congestion of the north Atlantic
ferry route -that could be diverted at once. The message proposed
alternative plans- to use the bombers to bring the Tenth Air Force
to full operational strength at once, or to ferry them to India (with American
crews) and turn the planes over to the British on arrival.
The War Department pointed out that there was some doubt in
Washington whether there were trained British pilots and crews in India
to operate the planes tinder the second alternative. The message
concluded:
-
- We desire to remind you that the Tenth Air Force has been assigned to
General Stilwell with an original purpose of supporting his operations.
Since this diversion of the Tenth Air Force to another mission will adversely
affect the Chinese situation and Stilwell's operations we
deem it especially important that no attempt be made to divert any of
the airplanes required to keep the AVG at full operational strength and that former
assurances to the Generalissimo and Stilwell in
this regard be adhered to.22
-
- General Marshall decided in favor of reinforcing the Tenth Air Force
with planes allocated to the British and placing it under the
strategic: direction of the British for operations in the Indian Ocean
and the Bay of Bengal, at the same time attempting to placate the
Chinese Government by giving first priority, so far as pursuit planes
were concerned, to building up the AVG.23
The War Department so
notified General Stilwell, adding an explanation to be given the
Generalissimo:
-
- The Naval situation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean has
deteriorated seriously in the past few days and the threat against
Calcutta and the Eastern coast of India is critical not only to India
itself but to our future ability to assist China. We deem it of
transcendent importance to establish speedily sonic air protection
along this coast to avoid risk of destruction of the Brit-
- [203]
- ish Eastern Navy, which would open tip northeast India to invasion and
permit the enemy to cut air communications into China.24
-
- Stilwell, who had not been consulted, protested the decision in view
of its probable effect on the Chinese Government, which had had a series
of disappointments, including the news that the Doolittle mission
would be carried out as planned, in spite of the objections of the
Chinese.25
The real problem, which was vet to be explained to the
Chinese, or indeed to Stilwell himself, was not that British
requirements in the Middle East and India-as was strategically
necessary- -took precedence over commitments to China, but that even
the minimum British requirements could scarcely be n-:et if the United
States and Great Britain were to carry out General `Marshall's proposal
for the concentration of forces in the British Isles. If the primary
effect of the BOLERO plan would be to leave very precarious the British
position in the Middle East and India, its secondary effect would
certainly be to leave nothing but token forces available to support
China.
-
- At this point Chinese suspicions and discontent in the face of
British-American military collaboration at last emerged in full force
in the form of a message from Chiang Kai-shek to T. V. Soong in
Washington, which Soong sent to the President via Mr. Hopkins. 26
The
burden of the complaint was that the disposition of American forces
and---even more important-the distribution of American munitions were worked out by the United States in
close collaboration with the British, without consulting the Chinese,
and, moreover, without giving the same consideration to commitments to
China or the demands of China that was given to commitments to the
Soviet Union and demands of the Soviet Union. The text of Chiang's
telegram to Soong read as follows:
-
- With what has been happening lately. I am afraid you could no longer
avoid having a frank Heart-to-heart talk with the President, which I am
sure he will not misunderstand. As you know. I have to fight
continually against demoralizing doubts on the part of my officers, who
concluded that American attitude towards China is in essence no
different from that held by other nations, that both in the
all-important matters of joint-staff conferences and war supplies,
China is treated not as an equal like Britain and Russia, but as a ward.
-
- The President has consistently shown himself to be the one great
friend of China, and I may say on our part we have been loyally
responsive. We have placed Chinese armies under American command. and
we have shown every readiness to support American policies, sometimes
even against our own judgment. All that we have and all that we are, we
truly and unreservedly contribute to the cause of the United Nations.
-
- What a contrast this is to the attitude of the British and Russians
who, whenever it concerns their own interests, will not make concessions
in the general interest, so that to this day they will not concede to
the United States the direction and the location of the Supreme
Military Council. The result of this non-cooperation is that there is in
existence no organization to formulate and execute over-all strategy,
and every country looks to its own immediate interests, so that the Axis
is successfully imposing its grand strategy. What a difference there is
between our attitude towards the United States and that of Britain and
Russia
-
- If in future the Anglo-American joint staff is not enlarged to include
China, and China
- [204]
- is kept out of the Munitions Assignments Board. then China would be just a pawn in the game. Gandhi told me
when I visited India
- "They will never voluntarily treat us Indians as equals: why,
they do not even admit your country to their stall talks." If we
are thus treated during the stress of war, what becomes our position
at the peace conference? You must insist that we have our own stand, and
we have our own independent position to uphold. 27
-
- The long commentary that Soong wrote for the President to accompany this message made the same points. He
concluded
- Finally, the Generalissimo feels himself entirely out of touch with
the main decisions of strategy, which profoundly affect China's future. Whether
an offensive will start from Australia, whether it
is considered feasible to hold Burma, what steps are taken to protect
the Indian Ocean route, what air forces will be sent to India. Burma and
China. on all these vital questions his role is that of an occasional
listener. Also, be it remembered it is from these decisions of strategy
that stems the question of allocations of munitions.28
-
- In this conclusion Soong hit the vital point of the whole issue. The
development of effective British-American collaboration on strategic
plans, begun at General Marshall's instance during the ARCADIA
Conference and leading to the adoption of his proposal for concentration
of American and British forces in the British Isles, was entirely
contrary to the desires and interests of the Chinese Government.
Whatever Soong may then have known of the BOLERO plan-and he was
generally well informed about current developments in Washington-the
plan would unquestionably entail the postponement of am' American efforts
to help China on a sufficiently large scale to prevent the further deterioration of relations with China. It remained to be seen
whether the President would accept this consequence.
-
-
- A third conflict between previous commitment,: and the new strategy
developed in the War Department had to do with the Soviet lend-lease
program. In the First ( Moscow ) Protocol of October 1941 the United
States had undertaken to deliver to the Soviet Union each month through
June 1942 given quantities of supplies. After the attack on Pearl Harbor
the American armed forces had taken over critical munitions and ships,
including those allocated to the Soviet Union under the Moscow
Protocol.29
The President had tried to put a stop to the diversion of munitions allocated to the Soviet Union and had warned
that any deficits would have to be made up by 1 April.30
This was
easier said than done.31
How critical the shipping shortage was,
the President himself was forced to recognize at the ARCADIA
Conference, at the end of which
- [205]
- he reluctantly consented to the diversion of seven cargo ,ships
allocated to the Soviet lend-lease program, in order to move supplies
and equipment to the Southwest Pacific.32
Finally, in the middle
of March 1942 he flatly insisted that the commitments to the USSR he
met. He directed that Mr. Nelson of the War Production Board get
materials "released for shipment at the earliest possible date
regardless of the effect of these shipments of any other part of our war
program." 33
At the same time he Instructed Admiral Land of
the War Shipping Administration that "the meeting of the Russian
Protocol must have a first priority in shipping." 34
As a result of
these orders, shipments to the Soviet Union rose in March to more than
200,000 short tons and in April to nearly 450,000 short tons, as against
about 375,000 short tons shipped between October 1941 and March 1942,
bringing the cumulative total to over 1,000,000 tons. This was still
only about half of what the United States had undertaken to export by the end of
June. 35
-
- To meet the June deadline while bringing the Pacific garrisons to
authorized strength would require an intensive effort, rigidly
restricting other projects. But the temporary effect was of far less
concern to the War Department (and to the Navy Department) than the
long-range effects of the President's intention, which he announced
soon thereafter, of renewing American commitments to the Soviet Union on
the same basis for the period July-December 1942.36
In his directive to the
Secretary of War, he wrote:
-
- I understand that, froth a strategical point of view, the Army and
Navy feel that aid to Russia should he continued and expanded to maximum extent possible. consistent with shipping possibilities and the
vital needs of the united States, the British Commonwealth of Nations
and others of the United Nations. I share such a view.37
-
- The War Department did indeed believe in continuing and expanding aid
to the Soviet Union, but only insofar as it would not interfere with
preparations to open a "new front in Europe." 38
Marshall soon
had occasion to point out the limitation on lend-lease aid that was
implicit in this view of strategy.
-
- Plane Allocations
-
- The projected invasion of the Continent could be expected to affect,
first of all, allocations of critical equipment needed by units
undertaking advanced training -especially planes. Of all critical items
they
- [206]
- were in greatest demand by foreign governments and by American
commands overseas. Of all the Army training programs, moreover, the
program for training air units was by far the most exigent in its demands
for extended advanced training with precisely the equipment
the units would use in combat. Allocations to the Soviet Union were
Involved only indirectly in Arnold's recommendations at the end of March. He contended himself
with observing that any increase in
allocations to the Soviet Union "should be met by an even further
reduction in commitments to the British," in order to obtain the
net reduction he considered to be necessary. 39
Secretary Stimson agreed
With Arnold that the immediate step to be taken was to cut allocations
to the British, on the ground that they already had reserves beyond what
they needed for operations or could use in training. But he concluded his recommendations on policy
with it sweeping statement
that specifically included allocations to the Soviet Union:
-
- All requests for planes for areas not essential to our own plans
must be refused. The time is past for all gift, of planes-- all gifts
of planes based upon sentimental or good will development purposes. The
time may even soon come when we will have to determine
whether more effective, efforts to save Russia ill he made through our own air force; rather than through the planes
turned over to her air forces.40
-
- At the end of the month Marshall made the same point. In the course of
discussion by the JCS on the allocation of planes as between the United
States and Great Britain, he stated that "while no change should
be made in delivery of planes in accordance with existing protocol, the number of planes to Russia
would have to
be drastically reduced, if not altogether stopped, by August or, at the
latest, in September.41
-
- The problem Was by no means peculiar to the: development of air power
nor equally serious for all aspects of the air program itself. The most
critical issue of all at the tune was the allocation of transport
planes. The settlement of this issue would therefore constitute it test
case. Transport planes had not been listed in the Moscow Protocol, but
ice November 1941 Soviet representatives had requested 600 transport
planes over a sit-month period, later reducing the number to 400, and
finally asking for an immediate allocation of 100 and 25 a month
thereafter.42
At the beginning of April the Munitions Assignments
Board found it necessary to review proposed allocations of transport
planes for the rest of 1942.43
The War Department submitted to the
Munitions Assignments Committee (Air) the Army's requirements as
estimated by the AAF. 44
Having measured these and other
requirements against expected production, the Munitions Assignments
Board acceded to the Soviet request to the extent of allocating twenty-nine
transport planes to the Soviet Union for May and June. Arnold
- [207]
- was "emphatically opposed" to this action, and on his
initiative the JCS requested the CCS to disapprove it.45
The JCS
pointed out that the number of transport planes available was
"entirely insufficient to meet urgent and pressing needs," and
that it was then and had "for some time been impossible to assign
more than a very few transport airplanes to the important mission of
training parachute and air-borne troops. which constitute an essential
component for the contemplated U. S. effort." The JCS concluded
-
- To meet the training, requirements for and to have in combat the 200
transport airplanes in August and the 400 transport airplanes in
November, which have been allocated for the main effort. and to provide.
in addition, the essential minimum requirements of the U. S. Ferrying
Command. Air Service Command, and for overseas arias where the U.
S. Army Air Forces are operating, will require every transport plane
that is now available or that can be provided by the entire U. S.
production.46
-
- On 21 April the CCS considered the recommendation. The question was
evidently one of a conflict between military and political
considerations. In the discussion by the CCS, Rear Adm. John H.
Towers, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, "stressed the
importance of making at least a small allocation to Russia in view of
the political considerations.47
Sir John Dill observed that in
case no transport planes should be allotted to the Soviet Union,
"it would be necessary. to give a very well reasoned explanation." Marshall agreed that "a very carefully
phrased reply would have to be made. He observed that "the
operational effect of such a small number of aircraft in Russia would
be small although the political effect might be considerable. For
the projected cross-Channel invasion, on the other hand, even small
numbers of planes were, at the time, of first importance. -Marshall
explained:
-
- The next three months were the critical ones and it As essential
not to cut down training facilities. During his visit to England he had
seen exercises carried out by British airborne formations and the number
of aircraft available [to U. S. forces] for this important form of
training (17) [transports] was hopelessly inadequate.
-
- After considering the statements of General Arnold and General
Marshall, the CCS agreed to countermand the order of the Munitions
Assignments Board.48
-
- The subject was not closed. Before the CCS had considered the JCS
recommendation, Admiral Towers had proposed, in a memorandum to
Admiral King, that the recommendation should "be held in abeyance
and the subject be again brought up before the Joint Chiefs of
Staff." Admiral Towers' principal points were that the MAB had
acted in complete awareness of the military and political
implications, that what Art old had wanted the CCS to do wags to
"repudiate a firm agreement" simply to benefit the Army, and
that CCS action was in any event useless, since Mr. Hopkins, as
an. individual, will get the President to overrule any such decision
of the Combined Chiefs of Staff." The memorandum concluded with
the postscript, "There are many other transports in hands of Air
Force that
- [208]
- could be assigned to parachute troop training." 49
-
- On the day following the CCS decision Admiral King forwarded Admiral
Towers' memorandum to General Marshall, noting: "I am impressed
with the above presentation-and think you should know of it." 50
On 27 April Marshall replied at considerable length. On the
assumption that Admiral 'Powers was "not fully informed" of
the BOLERO plan, Marshall explained that a critical weakness in the
initial proposal made to the British had been the lack of planes to
transport parachute troops, airborne infantry, and gliders, and that
future allocations would not serve to train units for the invasion
"in view of the time schedule under which we are directed to
operate." On the basis of AAF estimates he analyzed United States
needs and showed that allocations fell short by 379 planes. He concluded
-
- In the circumstances I can no more agree to the diversion of
additional transport plane equipment to Russia, while charged with a
primary responsibility for the preparation of a major offensive, which
will require an heroic effort if launched in 1942, than you could
approve the diversion of your ships from naval task forces forming for
operations in the immediate. future. Neither of us can be expected
to fight a war and still give away our weapons beyond some reasonable
point. As far as I am concerned, we have passed that point in
aircraft.51
-
- At the same time Marshall also submitted to the President a full
explanation of the critical need for transport planes, accompanied by a
statement of his views on lend-lease shipments to the Soviet Union. He believed that shipments
to the Soviet Union should be increased "in every practicable
way," and hoped in particular to furnish the Red Army "with
greater strength in mechanized , items." But he reiterated his
belief that whatever help the United States might send, "the
greatest service to Russia will be a landing on the European continent
in 1942, and we must not jeopardize that operation or risk the sacrifice
of the troops engaged by scattering the vital materiel required for what
we know will be a hazardous undertaking." He therefore recommended "that we undertake no commitment involving the provision of
transport airplanes for Russia." 52
-
- Marshall had also to counter a proposal, which had been made to the
JCS by the American members of the Munitions Assignments Board, that,
in lieu of military transports from current production, the United
States should transfer to the Soviet Union a "reasonable
number" of transports from commercial airlines.53
Marshall and
Arnold were both opposed to this proposal, and the JCS accordingly
disapproved it.54
According to AAF, about fifty planes could be
taken from the commercial airlines without disrupting services
essential to the war effort.55
The Army was reluctant to originate
a proposal to take over transports from commercial airlines. However, as
Marshall recognized, Soviet representatives "resented
- [209]
- the large civil air services still running."56
If the President
should then decide to reduce those services, it was logical, in view of
the large deficit expected, that the Army should get the planes
withdrawn. Marshall therefore recommended to the President that
"all transport planes of the U. S. Commercial airlines be
immediately earmarked for Army use," being left "in their
present status until required for military operations." 57
-
- The President replied that he "fully" appreciated the
needs of the Army, but could not See why, if the Army and Navy needed
planes, It was enough simply to earmark commercial transports for
future military use. He asked just how many commercial transports there
were in the United States and that they could do, observing:
"The old expression 'pigs is pigs' should be translated into the
modern terms 'planes is planes.' " 58
The Secretary of War thereupon undertook to see what further
reductions could be
made. 59
-
- Although not satisfied with the Army's cautious approach to the
question of commercial transports, the President was apparently
satisfied that the Army's need for transport planes was critical.60
On 1 May Brig. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith circulated among the members of the JCS
a proposed draft of a letter for Hopkins to use in informing the
Soviet ambassador that the United States would not furnish transport
planes to the Soviet Union as requested, and explaining why. The
explanation was the same that General Marshall had written to Admiral
King and to the President, except that it was not accompanied by
definite figures, it did riot allude to British doubts, and it dwelt
even more oil the interest of the Soviet Union in foregoing equipment
essential to an early Invasion of the Continent.61
On 7 May
Marshall learned that Hopkins had acted. although he had not used the
letter offered by the JCS, but instead had made the explanation
himself, orally, "preferring to handle the refusal by personal
contact." 62
-
-
- During April, while raising the question of the eventual subordination
of the Soviet lend-lease program to the BOLERO plan, the War
Department also restated and defended the thesis that BOLERO schedules
should take precedence over any new commitments of Army forces to the
Pacific. The debate began on 29 March, four days after the War
Department project for con-
- [210]
- centration in the British Isles had gone to the President. when
Admiral King sent to General Marshall a protest over the allocation of
Arm aircraft to the Pacific
-
- In my opinion the strength of the air forces planned to be sent to
Australia, to the South Pacific, and to the Hawaiian Islands is
inadequate to implement surely and effectively the strategic concept
on which the detailed plans are based.
-
- He objected specifically to the idea of relying on the diversion of the bombers assigned to Generals
MacArthur and Emmons in case of
an attack in the South Pacific. He was dubious of support from
either source -- from MacArthur since he was independent of Navy control, front
Emmons since he was too far away and needed to keep
all his bombers in Hawaii. Admiral King therefore recommended that
"at least one heavy bomber group should be assigned to the South Pacific
Area in addition to all aircraft planned by J.C.S. 23." 63
-
- The essential difference between Admiral King's view- of Pacific
strategy and the War Department view was that he proposed to
"implement surely and effectively" the aim of holding the line
Hawaii-Australia, whereas the War Department insisted on stopping at
half-way measures that might or might not slow down a
Japanese thrust enough to give the United States time to react. Admiral
King did not repudiate the general idea of concentrating large
American forces against Germany, but only the idea--the key to the War
Department plan -of commencing to do so while the issue In the Pacific was still in doubt. He held that the
needs of the Pacific.
"although possibly smaller than those of Europe,'' were "more
urgent in point
of time," and therefore recommended not only that the Army assign one group of heavy
bombers to the South Pacific but also that
- . . . movement of Army units, and particularly air forces, to
positions in the Pacific be given priority over movements to Europe
and to the Indian Ocean and Middle East Theaters. 64
-
- The War Department reply came a few days later after the President had
decided to send Hopkins and Marshall to London. The War
Department stood by its earlier figures on deployment and the
reasoning behind them, and cited in support the President's
"tentative decision" in favor of initiate concentration in
the British Isles, thus giving notice that the War Department, as was
to be expected, meant to appeal to that "decision" in order to
close off further debate on deployment to the Pacific. 65
-
- The President, however, had already reopened the debate by asking
the JCS to re-study the "adequacy of defenses of the Fiji Islands
and Caledonia, concerning which the governments of Australia
and New Zealand were no less uneasy and dissatisfied than was the Navy
Department. The JCS. in order to be able to comply with the President's request, initiated a review of Pacific deployment
as a whole.66
From the beginning, the Army and Navy planners faced the
prospect of a deadlock on the point in JCS 23 to Admiral Kirtz had objected
-the allocation of bombers to the South Pacific. A special
joint subcommittee, the senior planners. and the JCS in turn
- [211]
- reviewed the arguments.67
At each stage they ran into flat
disagreement. Navy representatives insisted on the need to station
bombers at the strong points on the lines of communication. Army
representatives argued that bomber forces should be shifted to these
point, when it appeared necessary, from Hawaii and Australia. They
acknowledged that this course involved greater risks, but repeated the
argument that the risks must be accepted in order to go ahead with
plans for a bomber force in the British Isles.68
-
- A month of study and fruitless debate ended, early in May, with a
deadlock. Admiral King then submitted to the JCS a formal restatement
of his objection to the Army views. He pointed out that the Japanese
were free to attack wherever they pleased and stated his belief that
they would do so in such force that it was far from certain that the
American defenses would "hold." He then referred to the
earlier Japanese exploitation of the weakness of Allied forces
"spread out too thin," urging that we must not commit the
same error in the Pacific Ocean Areas." He concluded:
-
- Important as the mounting of BOLERO may be, the Pacific problem is not
less so, and is certainly the more urgent- -it must be faced now. Quite
apart froth any idea of future advance in this theater we must see to
it that we are actually able to maintain our present positions. We must not
permit diversion of our forces to any proposed operation in an
other theater to the extent that we find ourselves unable to fulfill our
obligation to implement our basic strategic plan in the Pacific
theater, which is to hold what we have against any attack that the Japanese are capable of launching against
us.69
- The JCS could agree only to submit the disagreement to the President.70
-
- Meantime the issue had become still broader. While the JCS had been
disputing, the President had taken under consideration claims of the
Australian Government and of General MacArthur. They had for some
time been representing a large-scale Japanese attack on Australia as
imminent.71
Late in April Prime Minister Curtin of Australia reopened
with Prime Minister Churchill the subject of the return of Dominion
forces to Australia. Specifically, Mr. Curtin proposed diverting to
Australia 6vo British divisions ( one of them an armored division) due
to be sent to India "until such time as the 9th Australian
Imperial Force Division and the remainder of the 6th Division are
returned." He also transmitted a proposal that the British send
- [212]
- an aircraft carrier to add to MacArthur's naval forces and a request
for additional shipping on the run from Australia to the United
States.72
-
- What gave these proposals a peculiar character was fir. Curtin's
explanation that he was presenting them at the request of MacArthur. The
British Prime Minister sent them to the President, expressing curiosity
to know whether the President or his Pacific War Council had passed on
them and whether MacArthur had "any authority from the United
States for taking such a line." Though Churchill ruled out these
proposals as unsound, on the ground that India was in greater danger
than Australia, he considered them to be "none the less a cause of
concern when put forward on General MacArthur's authority." 73
The
President, too, was concerned, being somewhat uneasy (as Admiral King
reported) over the use Curtin had made of MacArthur's opinions.74
-
- The War Department, called upon to comment on Churchill's message,
suggested that the proposals be taken as coming-as earlier ones to the
same effect had come-from Mr. Curtin, on his own responsibility, and offered the
explanation that in Melbourne it. might seem natural and proper to
present them as MacArthur's estimate of what was needed to meet the
situation with which they were jointly preoccupied. It had been assumed
in Washington, to be sure, that MacArthur, since he was operating
under the direction of the U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, would transmit
his recommendations to Washington. The War Department had in fact lately received from him a request for aircraft
carriers, and had told him that the were "not now,
available." But the War Department had received no request for
snore transpacific shipping nor for the British divisions destined for
India. MacArthur to send all such requests to the the War Department
proposed to tell CCS, who would then bring tip for consideration by
the CCS an involving British forces. This point having been cleared up,
the British Prime Minister might rest assured that "any request
reaching you from Mr. Curtin is made upon his own responsibility.75
-
- The proposed message, drawn up by the War Department, was acceptable
to the President, so far as it went. He only added that, if Churchill
liked, he would himself urge Curtin not to press for the release
of the Australian divisions.76
The President had to do rather more to
satisfy MacArthur, who took very ill the War Department statement of
policy governing his relations with Curtin. 77
As he observed, it seemed
"to imply some breach of frankness" on his part. General
MacArthur explained that he had not outlined except to the War
Department his own ideas on grand strategy. but when asked, had given
Curtin his own opinion on specific questions connected with the
defense of the Southwest Pacific, in the belief that it was his duty to
- [213]
- do so and "for [no] other purpose" than Curtin's personal
information. He assured General Marshall, "I have no idea of
bringing pressure to bear through any channels open to the Australian Government in order to support indirectly any views that I
may hold." He disclaimed all responsibility for their being put to
any such use and, told General Marshall "Our government should pay
no attention to anything attributed to me except that which I
communicate to there over my own signature." Finally, he offered
what amounted to a justification, on grounds of policy, of the views
that he had expressed in 'Melbourne on the need for additional
reinforcements. He pointed out that lie could hardly continue as an
Allied commander without the confidence of the Australian Government,
which was-- and long before his arrival had been--preoccupied with the
security of Australia. 78
-
- The President, to whom Marshall referred the message (as he normally
referred messages from MacArthur treating of grand strategy or policy), wrote a long conciliatory answer, to show that he understood and accepted
MacArthur's relations with the
Australian
Government. He began:
- I have seen your telegram No.151 of May third to George Marshall and I
want you to know that I fully appreciate the difficulties of your
position. They are the same kind of difficulties which I am having
with the Russians. British, Canadians, Mexicans. Indians. Persians and
others at different points of the compass. Not one of them is wholly
satisfied but I am at least succeeding in keeping all of than
reasonably satisfied and have so tar avoided any real rows.
-
- After this disarming statement of his approach to strategy, the
President explained on what basis he was making his critical decisions
- In the matter of grand strategy I find it difficult this Spring and
Summer to get away from the simple fart that the Russian armies arc
killing more Axis personnel and destroying more Axis materiel than all
the other twenty-five United Nations put together. Therefore, it has scorned wholly logical to
- support the great Russian effort in 1942 by socking to get all
munitions to them that we possibly can, and also to develop plans aimed
at diverting German land and air forces from the Russian front.
-
- The President acknowledged that MacArthur would "feel the
effect of this," but went on to assure him that the United States
would (a) send him "all the air strength we possibly can," (b) "secure, if possible." the Pacific, lines of
communication, and (c) strike "as often as possible" against
Japanese communications. He dwelt especially on this last point, on
the cumulative effect of destroying Japanese ships and planes in
preparation for later operations.
-
- The President at the same time commented on the relations between
Curtin and MacArthur, He declared that one of the problems, in trying to
some extent to keep everyone satisfied, was to "avoid any future
public controversies" between Churchill and Curtin, and asked
for MacArthur's help:
- I see no reason why you should not continue discussion of military
matters with Australian Prime Minister, but I hope you will try to
have him treat them as confidential matters and not use them for public
messages or for appeal to Churchill and me.
-
- In respect to the case at hand, he declared his hope that Australia
would leave its troops in the Middle East. At the War Department's
suggestion, he pointed out that the release and replacement of these
troops would take so much shipping as to
- [214]
- reduce the strength of the British forces in the Middle East by
60.000. He concluded with a graceful reference to his dependence, as in
this case, on MacArthur's fulfillment of his peculiar two-fold
mission: "I well realize your difficult problems, and that you have to be an ambassador as well as
Supreme Commander." 79
-
- The Presidents message invited a reply, not only by its tone
throughout but also in specific, terms
- I wish you would let the have your personal guess on whether
Japan will continue large operations against India and Ceylon or
will stop at approximately the Calcutta line. Also, as to whether an
all-out attack will be launched against Australia or New Zealand. MacArthur replied at length to these
questions, restating his
objections to they theory of concentrating for an attack in Europe and
estimating his additional needs. He began with his estimate of the
situation, concluding that the soundest course for Japan on a to
attack southward, securing its position in the Pacific, before
attempting an large operation against India. -Allied forces in the
Pacific, in order to meet this attack, should not only take adequate
defensive measures but should also prepare to take the offensive, or
at least to threaten offensive action, at the "earliest possible
moment." The United States in so doing would accomplish two
things--"meet the demand of the immediate strategic: situation" and "satisfy American public opinion
by providing an adequate effort in the only theatre which is charged exclusively to the United States." He then proceeded to adapt to
the support of this view the President's reason for approving the
BOLERO plan--the urgent treed of supporting the Soviet Union. Since it
was not practicable to send enough direct aid to the Soviet Union. a
"second front," he agreed, was necessary. He concluded: That front should be in the Pacific theatre. Nowhere else
can it
be so successfully launched and nowhere else will it so assist the
Russians." Just as Marshall had argued that an attack on the
Continent would relieve German pressure, MacArthur argued that a second
front in the Pacific would relieve Japanese pressure, permitting the
Soviet ally "either to utilize his Siberian resources in direct
Support of his European front or to join his allies in the Pacific
attack." This course of action would protect not only Australia but also India, and more
effectively. in his belief, than India could be
defended in the Indian Ocean. Finally, lie repeated, a second front in
the Pacific "would have the enthusiastic' psychological support of
the entire American Nation.
-
- General MacArthur then proceeded to explain what he needed, in
addition to what he was already to get, in order even to defend the huge area of his responsibility. It
was somewhat more than Prime
Minister Curtin had proposed --three "first class" divisions
from the United States, two aircraft carriers, and an increase from 500 to 1,000 front-line planes, together with personnel and
matériel to keep the air units constantly at full strength.
- MacArthur concluded his rebuttal by rejecting, as inappropriate to
the case the strategy, mentioned by the President, of wearing down the
Japanese by destroying
- [215]
- their planes and ships. Even though the military potential of Japan
was in some respect diminishing, it was in other ways growing-as a
result of the conquest of rich areas-- and, what was far more important,
the issue during the coming months would be decided not by Japanese
potential, but by Japanese "strength at the point of application of
power," at which the United States was weakest
-
- At that point, as has always been the case since the beginning of
this wear, she has the advantage in both numbers and quality of troops.
Due to her unchallenged command of the seas she is able to concentrate
on a chosen objective and overwhelm the defenders through superiority of
means although the actual numbers of the forces she utilizes may not be
large.80
-
- Thus, early in May the President had to reckon with the objections to
the BOLERO plan of General MacArthur as well as those of Admiral King.
To carry out the plan as General Marshall envisaged it would require
the President to overrule the two senior American officers that were
preoccupied with strategy in the Pacific.
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- Page created 10 January 2002
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