World Battlefronts, STRATEGY: The Pattern Emerges

Winston Churchill’s speech (see below), General MacArthur’s outburst in the Pacific (see p. 55), General Marshall’s prospects in Europe (see p. 19), served to give the public some, extraordinary glimpses of the probable future:

> The British and U.S.—if not the Russian—high commands now conceive of Europe as a single theater, are organizing for the knockout on that basis. This means that the controlling decisions have been made, the forces are being assembled for definite objectives, the debate over when and where to enter Western Europe has ended.

> The decisive European strategy now depends upon the Russians, and their willingness or ability to prevent the main body of the Wehrmacht from turning to the south and west. To insure this strategy, the Allies moved last week (see p. 36).

>Equally definite decisions have been made in the Pacific. General MacArthur clearly eliminated his southwestern theater as one of the chosen areas. That left two—Burma-Malaya, and the Central Pacific (see map, p. 31).