a 6 month analysis of the war situation; Axis - Controlled Areas (p. 403)

Mehnert, Klaus, 1906-1984

eVols at University of Hawaii at Manoa

VOL. IITHE~COOllRYJUNE 1942THE TWO CAMPSBy KLAUS MEHNERTIt is e:eactly aiz months now that the whole world has been at war.The time has come to analyze th.e present situation and t'us inllffr umloutward strength. 01 the two ynllJ.t (;amp~ ill tf~o ligkt 01 laota all thel/ •aro ',,~own to lCa. Thi. all thl1 mor" 80 all "'. are apflron.r.hino summer.whioh mall bO<lornll onll 0/ til., ,,"oet d.."illi<ve plIf"iodSl in thll h.iSltof"JJ of theworld ""lid muy ill ito OOur<'O .oUZo tho lato 01 all not;07l11 1_ g8nuatioJlIIto lIome.No.6.118• 79. 62.259THE DOUBLE CHARACTEROF 'l'HE WARTHE present World War has tor everypSlrti~ipllting nation a nationalas well as a super-national character.It may be years before the truth aboutthe real causes of and responsibilityfor thUs war prevails. Yot ono CAnpredict with some eertainty that. intheir judging of each indivntual nation,the hll:lLorlans or later generatlorus wJl1takp. hoth viewpoints into consideration.The members of the Axis, for instance,each had thcir own rCasons for cntcringthe war and, at the same time, allthree powers are united in the strugglefor a new order of the world. Therewere other reasons to decide each oneof the Allies. Yet they too have amotive in common: their hostilityagainst the new order and those whorepresent it.Without going into the question,which were more decisive for each ofthe various nations' entry into the war-the national or the super-nationalreasons. we can say that today thereare two clearly defined camps.THE HUMAN RESERVESWe do not wish to repeat here theattempt, made so orten, t.u compare themilitary strength of the two camps.The fi2\lres on which such comparisonsare built up are largely guesswork andsubiect to constant and rapid change.We shall only refer to the human re-ocrvos availablo for both gidell. Fir"twe shall include only those on whomthe belligerent nations can rely as beingthdr uwn nat.iooab. 'TADLE IHuman Reserves of Both Camps(In millions)AxisGermans in Europe . . . • 87JBpBnelie of Yamato Race • 75Italians in Europe and Africa • • 49Total .•...• 211AlliesWhite US AmericansRussians ..British •.•.•.•Total(The number of Russians does not include theinhabitants of the occupied areas and the non-Russinn national minorities. The Brit~h figurecontains only Britishers of English or Scottishdescent throughout the world.)402 THE XXth CENTURYTABLE IIDamage Inflicted on the Allies by the Axisup to May 1942 (according to Axisfigures and excluding China)from Wake Island to the Indian border.Moreover, they have caused huge damageto the Allies compared to which thedamage suffered by themselves seemsnegligible.The corresponding figures of lossessuffered by the Axis powers are notavailable. But no one will deny thatthey are only a fraction of those in-flicted by them on the Allies.LONG WAR AHEADWith rega.rd to the further coursOof the war, both camps agree in onerespect, namely, that this war is likelyto be a long one. Even Japan, whoha:5 had the greatest succe:sses in thelast few months, has constantly beenreminded of thi3 by her leading states-men, especially by Prime Minister'rojo. In his first radio speech afterwar had broken out. on the very dayof the attack on Pearl Harbor, hewarned the peoplo "to expect 0. pro-tracted struggle." and ever since heand other leading men have urged thenation to be prepared for a long-term war.The Allies, on the other hand. haveemphasized again and again that theywould not possess the necessary strengthbefore 1943 to start a real attack of theirown. President Roosevelt admitted onMay 23: "The present war will be along one."What are the prospects of both campsin such a protracted war? We shallexamine this question from three as-pects.1. The economic position of bothsides has frequently been comparedby Japan1,100,000816624604,000290,0001,400.00018.000.000<164612012186.0008.200,000940,000Iby Germany/ltalylMuchantahip. aunk (In tOM)Battleshipa aunk • • •Cruiaerl aunk • • . •Aircraft calTiera aunk. •DeetroYerlI IUJlk. • • • •Submarinel luok • • • •Airplane, deetroyed • • •Pri,onen taken. • • • •Territory ocoupied (in ,q.m.)LOMeli inIllctedIf we add to these figures the alliesof each camp, the numbers availablefor the Axis are increased by the in-habitants of Finland, Hungary, Croatia,Slovakia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Manchu-kuo, and Thaifand, as well as by thenon-Japanese citizens of the JapaneseEmpire (Koreans, Formosans, and var-ious aborigines), which raises the totalfrom 211 to 345 millions; while in thecase of the opposing camp we must addthe non-Russian minorities of the un-occupied Soviet Union (41 millions), theUSA negroes (13 millions) and variousother participants, which increases theirtotal from 259 to 319 millions. Afterthe developments of the last fewmonths India can no longer be counted.The Chinese question, although undoubt-edly of. great importance, we have toexclude for lack of exact data.SUCCESSES HERE AND THEREMore revealing than the uncertaincOmpo.ri30n of o.vnilable ohipping ~paceor the number of airnlanes is a com-parison of the successes of both camps.The only real success of the Allies sofar is that they have to a certaindegree blockaded Europe from tilt' relStof the world. However. since theJapanese successes and the occupationof most of Europe, including thewheat and ore-producing areas of theUS!SR, th9 qUQ$ltion of who if! bloeko.dedand who blockading can no longer beo.oowered "3 unequi vOl:ally as In theautumn of 1939. The two successes ofthe Allies next in importance are bothof a nel!'ative nature. ThQY consistof the fact that, in spite of all reverses,Great Britain and the Soviet Union arestill in the war. Their remaining ~mc­cesses are all of lesser significance andcan hardly be counted as militaryachievements, as, for example, theoccupation of Iceland, Ethiopia, Iraq,Iran, and Madagascar.In the course of the war the Axispowers have swept the influence oftheir opponents out of Europe fromthe North Cape to Libya and fromBordeaux up to the line Lake Ladoga/Sea of Azov, and out of East Asiafrom the Amur River to Timor and-THE TWO CAMPSconfidence in their political and militaryleaders, which is only to be expectedafter the past successes.On the side of the Allies we have adifferent picture. After the long seriesof military and political defeats whichhave reached their present climax inthe loss of all southeastern Asia andIndia's refusal to co-operate, the con-fidence of the British people in its lead-ers has been gravely shaken. Serioustension exists between some of theDominions particularly Australia, andthe mothe~ country. Only the tenacityof the British people, and the fact thatthey are accustomed to their traditionalleadership, can account for the sa~ecaste shaping the destiny of the Empiretoday as at the beginning of the wa.r.In the Soviet Union the contrasts stIllexist between the thin stratum ofBolshevist leaders and the greaL masses,as woll as those between the l.re;ttRussian part of the population and .thenational minorities, contrasts which,though hidden by the patriotism of war,have by no means been eli~inated. ~ndthe United States is especIally wornedby the conflict between cnpital nnd labor.the pacifist leanings of the people, andthe uncertainty she feels concerning theattitudg of hgr milliong of inhnhit.antsof German, Italian, and perhaps evenFrench descent.THEY MUST STICK TOGETHb'XIII. Just as important as the unit,}'within p.SlC'h of thp. !;ix hellir!erent powersis the unitywithin enchof the two·camps. Bothsides area ware ofthe fact thatonlywith ab-solute unitycantheylookforward to-final victory.The collapseor desertionof the SovietUnion, forexample,oraand with very varying results. With-out going into detail, it can be .saidthat the Allies entered the war 10 amuch better position as regards rawmaterials but that the situation haschanged considerably since the militarysuccesses of the Axis. We know thatthere are still vast natural resourcesin the territories controlled by theAllies. But the Allies are sufferingfrom two things: there is, first, thedisorganization of Soviet economics;and secondly, the necessity of havingto ship the weapons, fuel oil, andfoodstuffs produced in the Americanarsenal over wide and, as the last fewmonths have proved, gravely threatenedseas in a diminishing number ofvessels. The Axis, on the other hand,possesses, especially in the industrialareaB of Europe, 8. tremendous nrmn-ment industry, whose production canbe transported to most fronts by wayof safe interior land and sea routes.INNER STABILITYII. What Is revealed by a comparIsonof the inner stability of the six powersinvolved in thi~ war? A~;t rp.slIlt ofher history and national character,J a.pllU P033C:50CO a Bcm~c of nntionalunity unique among modern states,which makes the whole nation, regard-IC1J8 or social ur maLerial jJu:siLiun,appeSlr :'IS one laTire family. Italy andGermany have successfully eliminatedthe acute inner conrlicts existing beforethe ndvent of Fa~C'i~m ann N;tt.ional_Soc i ali sm ~!igii••~~~~~===='iiij==n·~·'E·:;;,",~·'·[ijii]thruuglJ LlJei 1" Isocial policyand throughthe kindlingof an ideathat has firedtheir entirenations. Inspite of theresults of theblockade be-ing felt intheir stand-ard of living, ~~===~==~==::::':::::~~==::;::::~===::;,===~~all three Axis Black Areas Are Those Co-operating With or Occupiednations have by the Axis404 THE XXth CENTURYturn toward isolationism on the part ofthe United States, would mean an irrepa-rable catastrophe for the Allied cause.The same holds good for the Axis. Itis true, before December 8, 1941, Ger-many and Italy had fought alone fortwo years against the Allies, who eventhen were being aided by America withher industry and fleet as if she wereat war herself. During this periodthey eliminated the armies of Poland,Norway, Belgium, Holland, France,Yugoslavia, Greece, and, in part, of theS viet Union, with a total strength offifteen to twenty million troops. Yetthe entrance of Japan into the war easedtheir load considerably, and, six monthsafter December 8, one can hardly im-agine the war without Japan's participa-tion at the side of Germany and Italy.This reflection is also true withregard to Japan. Her tremendous suc-ce~ses were aided by the fact that, dueto thG Rct:ivity of her Axis pnrtnors,she had in HOnizkonl!!. the Philippines,Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, Burma,and Australia, to face only a fraction,about 600,000 men, of the Allied landforce~ and. morp.over. wa~ only nnno~{!nby part of the Allied fleet. "Sin_gApore nnd Burma. woro lost in Libya.,"wfote Liddell Hart, the prominent Eng-)(8h mUitary authOr, on May l~ in theDa.ily Mail-ju3t n3 other Briti5hcomrnentator~ hefore had claim{!dthat Libya was lost in Singapore.THE "UNITED NATIONS" .What dop.~ t.hp. inne~ unity, ~o necl'!s-sary for the hoped for final victory,look like ill Loth camps?The Allies have for some time insistedon calling themselves no longer the"Allies" but the "United Nations."And, indeed, it is necessary for them toemphasize their unity, since the existingcracks are far too obvious. To presentlJu t a few of them:There is in the first place the un-bridgeable contrast between the com-munist Soviet Union and the capitalistAnglo-American states, which has onlytemporarily been forced into the back-ground by common enmity against theAxis. As the main representatives ofcapitalistic economics, Great Britain andAmerica have been bitter opponents ofBolshevism since its victory in Russiatwenty-five years ago. They also knownow that their capitalistic economicorganism is far more exposed to theRed bacillus than the Fascist, National-Socialist, or Japanese economic systems.With deep concern they are observinghow the Soviet Union is taking advan-tage of her position as an ally of Eng-land and America to spread her ideasof world revolution in the capitalistworld.Next there is the old conflict betweenthe Near East aspirations of GreatBritain and Russia, which during thelast few months found expression aboveall in their obstinate rivalry in Iranand Turkey.Then there is the di~tn]~t hp.tweenthe USA and Great Britain. To thisday the Americans remember that theycould win their independence oulythrough a war against England; nndthe bitter slogan, "England expectsevery American to do his duty I" isuec}Jly ell~nivt:1l ~lS ~ lSU~IJIclUIl on theheart of all Americans. England, onthe other hand, has to see one part ofhpr Rmpire Sl£t:~l' anothQl'-S1o fAr asthey have not been wrested from herby her opponents-come under the in-flUt:I1C6 of WashIngton. She cannot ridherglllf of the feeling that, even in thecase of an Allied victory, she will benot much more than an Americandominion. Moreovp.r. thpre i~ no com_mon pride in mili tary achievementswhich might uuite the two lI~tiun~.And, finally, all three powers, atpresent especially the USSR, are bitterlyconscious of the fact that the other twocoulltrie::; are holding back and tryingto burden the third with all the weightof the struggle. Everywhere the lackof unity is felt-in purpose, militaryleadership, and strategy.CRACKS IN THE AXIS?Allied propaganda has oustinatelybeen trying to discover cracks in thecamp of the Axis too. Only recently406 THE XXth CENTURYthe yY0rld was st~rtled with a so-calledItallan plan for a separate peace."Th~s was a. little piece of propagandawhich lost Its effect as soon as it be-came known that at that very timeHitler and Mussolini were conferringat Salzburg upon the further conduct ofthe war. Tens of thousands of I talians areworking today side by side with Germansin Germany's industry and agriculture.Although their homes are in the sunnySouth, Italian divisions, shoulder toshoulder with German troops, havemastered the coldest of Russian winters:and German divisions are fighting inthe heat of the Libyan desert.In tho flAme wa.y efforts have beenmade to find conllict5 between theEuropean and Aoiatic ends of the AxithIt has been attempted, for instance,to fiU Germany and Italy with suspiCionof alleged Japanese plans for worlddomination, and vice versa. AU the~o-called m~te~ial pt.:'esented to provethese and SImilar contentions has noweight in view of the fact that Berlinand Rome have unequivocally recognizedJapan's claim to leadership in GreaterEast Asia, just as Tokyo has recognizedtlmL v! lJec AxIIS partners In GreaterEurope. As a result of this clearpOtlIUon, conIUcts of any importancecannot arise. In contraat to theAllies, the two hubs of the Axishave the advantage of following funda-meptally the same war aims a.nd Yet.oWlllg to their territorial delimitation,not OVeTIA.flflin~ 9.nywh('r~ in th~ir plAng.The Japanese Ambassador in BerlinGan~rD.1 Oshimn, on May 14 oxpressodthis very ably in the following words:It goes without saying that the rawmAterials of the Greater Ea3t Asiatic sphereare at th.e disposal of the European Axispartners, Just as it is important for us toreceive material from Germany.••.It is indeed the first time in the history ofthe world that the most powerful nations inEurope and Asia, separated by tens of thou-sands of kilometers, are carrying on a commonfight. And it is quite certain that the armedsuccesses of Japan owe much to the victoriousstruggle of Germany and Italy.To this must be added the Axis.members' pride in the military achieve-ments of their partners. Germanyand Japan do not have to make ex-cuses to each other for defeats or clearthemselves of responsibility. They arein the happy position ot only havingto congratulate each other on theirvictories and of being able to feel amutual confidence in final victory.Thus the European and ~iatic parts!of the AxiS! conS!ider themselves as the-two fists of a fighter who uses nowhis right and now hie left to hit his.adversary. Before Japan was involved inthe war, the Allies were badly shaken bythe blows of her Axis friends in Europe.And during the last few months, whilethe most important European front laybenumbed in ice and darkness, the heartsof h~]O Europo~D p~rtnarg, who 'Woro-facing eight to twelve million BritishAnd Soviet soldiorlJ, wore warmed bythe rapid march of Japanese succeSRes.After six months of existence, theTrIpartite Pact, sIgned by Japan, Ger-many, and Italy on December 11. 1941,has demonstrated its historical impor-tance. And its first Article reads:"Germany, Italy, and Japan willjointly fight this war forced upon themby the United States of America andBriLaIn, with all the means at their-disposal, to a victorious end."

The Two Camps

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The Two Camps

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