Priests of The
Yellow Robe
NEMESIS IN THE PACIFIC
By
Major E. W. SHEPPARD
/JJ.REAT things have been hap
pening in the Far East while
we have been so preoccupied
with the European War.
Spare a few minutes from
your contemplation of German
revolt. Russian advances, Nor
mandy offensives. and flying
bombs, to survey the war in the
Orient.
The main centre of interest is
the American drive into the
heart of the Japanese island de
fences in the Southern Pacific.
Starting with the conquest of
the Caroline Islands north of
New Guinea, it has now penetrat
ed to the Marianas, where Sai
pan has been occupied deeply,
and Guam and Tinian, to the
south of Saipan, are now being
attacked a n d .••••••......................
will fall shortly.
This places our
Allies within
1.200 miles of
Japan itself, and
only the Vol
cano and Bonin
groups serve as bastions in
between.
The Philippines, the first big
Jap conquest of the war, are
about the same distance from
the Marianas to the west, and
beyond them is the main sea line
of communication with all the
Japanese armies in South China,
Burma, the Dutch East Indies,
and all the territories and
islands in between.* Which way
will the next Allied thrust go?
Unprepared
The enemy would give much
to know. But it has been one
great merit of General Mar-
Arthur's and Admiral Nimitz’s
strategy that he has always been
kept guessng as to the direction
in which they will strike.
Another example of this may
be seen farther south. Here the
conquest of New Guinea is as
good as complete. The 45,000
Japanese encircled about Aitape
failed in their desperate attempts
to break out of the ring of
death.
The fate of the 55 000 Japanese
trapped in the islands of the Bi*-
mark Archipelago is equally as
sured. The enemy will make no
• The war against Japan is well in hand, says President j
j Roosevelt. This global map shows how near (in Pacific terms) •
j the Allies now arc to their two main objectives—the •
: Philippines and the Jap homeland. Pacific HQ has moved now :
• to Saipan ( SEAC 12 Aug ). :
¦ ;
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
attempt to save them, for he
knows .that it would be as vain
as it would be costly.
But with all this great island
group in the South-Western Paci
fic in Allied hands as a base for
further operations, the Japanese
High Command faces the question
whether we shall use it to launch
the southern prong of a two
pronged attack against the Philip
pines, or for an offensive west
ward against the Celebes and
Timor, and eventually the Dutch
East Indies.
Precautions have ' to be taken
to guard against either, and there
are now none too many Japanese
troops to go round.
So much for the maritime
theatre of the Far Eastern war.
In the land theatres the cam
paign in Burma, after sustained
and ferocious fighting by Gen
Slim's army has ended in a dis
astrous setback for the enemy.
He has been fiung back to the
borders of Burma, to the posi
tions from which he set out. and
has nothing to show for his offen
sive but heavy losses.
W ith th e liq uid ation of Myity
kyina the way will be clear to
drive the Ledo road through to
this area—a long
steo forward to
its eventual Imk-
up with the old
Burma Road into
China.
time, for China is the only dark
spot in a generally cheerful Far
Eastern war picture.
Bid For China
The Japanese, exploiting to the
full what they no doubt suspect
will be the last chance of dealing
with her in isolation from her
Allies, are pressing her hard in
the centre and south.
We’ can still do little—too little
- —to help China in her hour of
need. She can on'y be sure that
whatever she loses will, with our
help, eventually be retrieved.
Nevertheless, the Far Eastern
war as a whole is going well for
us—better than we had any right
to hope or to expect at this stage,
when" the greatest Allied effort is
necessarily being directed to the
complete overthrow of Germany.
Indeed, we have good reason
to hope that when we are at
length able to turn the whole of
our strength eastwards, the
crushing of Japan may be effect
ed much sooner than at one time
seemed possible.
Recent events in the Fax East
give ample encouragement for
thi«s belief.
Nazis Face Oil Crisis
pR O M Pleesti to St. Nazaire,
Germany's oil supply is
going up in flame and billowing
black smoke.
In this last great battle of
the war Hitler’s oil has be
come Priority Target No. 1
for Allied air power. His re
fineries, synthetic petrol plants
and oil and petrol storage ins
tallations from Rumania to the
Bay of Bscay have been, and are
still being, subjected to concen
trated bombardment from Britain
and Italy on a scale comparable
wilh that of ihe attack against his
aircraft plants.
Sixty Attacks
History may yet show this
assault to be the most important
air action of the war. Without
oil Germany is beaien.
A modern army does not march
on its stomach It marches on
oil . . . oil for its tanks, armour
ed cars, ammunition lorr.es,
planes, self-propelled artillery: for
its troop trucks, its motor-cycles,
ambulances, even its small arms
And even if it did march on its
stomach, it must have oil for the
lorries that bring up the food
There must be oil for the plants
producing the arms for the
Army. There must be o I for
ihe planes that support the Army.
There must be oil for the sh ps
that bring raw material to the
factories, oil for the submarines
that war against the enemy s
supply lines, and oil for the fast
torpedo-boats that menace the
enemy's sea commun'.cations.
Without oil the modern battle j*
lost.
And Hitler is fast losing his
oil. Since mid-May the Allied
Air Forces have carried out more
than 60 major attacks on the oil
fields. refineries and storage
installations upon which the Ger
man armed forces depend for
their supplies.
Output Halved
Until recently one-third of
Germany’s refined 0:1 products
came from Ploesti. Another thir<1
came from synthetic oil plants
mostly within the Reich.
Plcesti has been virtually eli
minated for refining purposes. It
is reliably reported that only one
of its refineries is still working—
and even that one survivor may
have been damaged.
It is probably safe to say that
the attacks have, at least tem
porarily, reduced the Rumanian
industry's working capacity of
over 10,000.000 tons to below the
present level of local crude oil
output of round 5.500.000 tons a
year.
Tanks Ran Dry
At the same time attacks on
communications and mine-laying
in the Danube must have created
tremendous transport problems—
problems which will, in the end,
deny the Nazis access to more
than a fract:on of even the reduc
ed production of Rumania.
G;ermanv s synthetic oil plants
have been dealt with in similar
fashion. At least 14 of the
largest synthetic petrol plants in
the Reich have been badly smash
ed. Some fdea of the importance
of the attacks on these targets
can be gained from the fact that
e;ght of them alone, all bombed
at least once, formerly provided
3.500.000 tons a year.
Considerably mere than 50 per
CROSSWORD
cent, of the oil which the Ruhr
used to produce is now lost to the
enemy.
The Wehrmacht faces major
offensives on three fronts. The
battle front is always the last
place on which the shortage of
any essential becomes evident,
but there are already signs that
the Allied attacks have to be met
with inadequate supplies of petrol
and oil.
Advancing Allied troops have
found tanks abandoned by the
wayside for want of fuel, and
there are frequent signs that
Rommel is desperately hoarding
every drop of oil available.
Behind the three land battles
signs of acute oil and petrol
shortage are multiplying. The
German army is using an increas
ing amount of horse-drawn trans
port, in back areas. Electric
barges are replacing Diesel
vessels on canals and rivers.
In the air it is the same story.
The petrol quota of some Luft
waffe squadrons is known to have
been cut. Squadrons are even
compulsorily grounded for one day
a week, while the Luftwaffe has
introduced a system of elemen
tary flying training on gliders
instead of power aeroplanes to
save fuel in the service flying
schools.
VICTOR LEWIS
29
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MOWN
1 Bitterly pungent.
2 Envy
3 Custom.
4 A boat.
5 Pronoun.
6 Incline.
7 Bud.
8 Go in curves.
10 That which
tear*.
12 Place for
luggage.
14 Chess opening.
17 Edge.
18 Through.
21 Sliver coin.
22 Trim.
24 Storms.
25 Sharpen.
27 Lubricated.
28 Boredom.
30 Blackthorn.
21 Animals.
3i) Scholar.
ACROSS
2 Scotch game. 9 Shut 11 Light. 13 Be very
keen. 15 Valley. 16 Correction. 17 Smart
blow. 19 Adversary. 23 Shadow;. 24 F;le. 2 G
Rushed. 29 Formal statement. 32 Edible lungus.
33 Tall support. 34 For. 3$ Decoration. 37 Bira. 38
Happy.
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Catafalque of bamboo and tinsel in which the body of the monk
is cremated.
Writer of this artlclc, the
Yen G. Appleton, the Archdea
con of Rangoon, came out«4o
Burma as an S.P.G. missionary
in lf)27 and has worked mainly
among the Burmese. During
the retreat he and h's wife
organised convalescent homes
in Maymyo for British troop.i.
He is now acting as Director of
Public Relations lor the Gov
ernment of Burma.
J^VERYWHERE in Burma you
will see signs of the Buddhist
religion—the great Shwc Dagon
Pagoda at Rangoon, the graceful
little white pagodas crowning
every hill of any height, monas
teries with their 7-spired roofs,
and. more typical still, the Bud
dhist monk.
His possessions are less than
those of any Commando-—a
begging bowl, the three yellow
garments which make up his
robe, a girdle, a filter to strain
out insects from his water lest he
unwittingly take life, a razor to
shave his head, a needle to mend
his robe and. sometimes, a large
fan to shield his gaze from
women. He is the poorest man
in Burma, yet the most res
pected.
Village Hero
Sometimes he may remember
the day when he forsook the
world, gave up home and the
hope of wife and family. On
that day he was the hero of the
village: dressed as a prince and
riding on a pony, he processed
round the village escorted by
happy companions, until he came
to the gate of the monastery,
when he laid aside his princely
clothes, shaved his head and took
hie vows. There may have been
echoing in his ears the words of
Lerd Buddha to the first monks.
“Go ye O monks, and wander
forth for the gain of the many,
for the welfare of the many, in
compassion for the world, for the
good, for the gain, for the wel
fare of gods and men. Proclaim,
O monks, the Doctrine glorious,
preach ye a life of holiness, per-
and puxc.'^^
In the monastery he lives
according to rule. In the early
morning he meditates before a
statue of the Buddha, then goes
the round ol the village with his
begging bowl held before him,
eve« modestly cast down while
the devout Burmese women come
and make their offerings of food.
He never says ‘ thank you,” for
is he not doing the lay folk a
good turn by giving them oppor
tunities of merit? To feed the
menks or building a pagoda is a
most meritorious deed.
After the morn ms round he re
turns to the monastery, eats his
fill of the food in his begging
bowl, and then teaches the boys
in the monastery school or studies
the Scriptures. He never eats
after noon.
Nirvana
He does not mix much with the
outside world, except perhaps to
read the Scriptures to a small
gathering or expound the 8-fold
path which leads to release from
worldly existence and 1o Ihe calm
bliss of Nirvana. And when he
dies there will be a magnificent
funeral, which will be the occa
sion of a local holiday and fair,
for the faithful do not doubt that
their good monk has reached
Nirvana's goal. So the burn ins
of the saint's bodv is a matter
not for sadness but for joy.
Every Burmese boy becomes a
monk for a time—until he does
so he is not regarded as a grown
up member of the Buddhist
Church. He may stay in the
A TRIBUTE TO
LONDON
Once more, great C:ty, yours
to show the world
That dauntless face which gave
the nations pride:
When first Ihf* foe this dread
armaria hurled.
We lovpd you most, who saw
you crucified.
And knew, hearts burning, that
from out your pain
A s'ronger England would
come forth attain.
* * *
The baffled enemy his mindless
toy
(Fit emblem of a race whose
soul has fled!)
Now launches: and a tongue,
with ghoulish joy,
Proclaims for news another
Cockney dead.
A lie again! They stand, who
shared your str.fe.
For ever. London, partners in
your life.
- A. C. TARBAT.
monastery for only a week or
two, more likely a whole Lent,
and. in some cases, a whole life
time.
Before the Jap invasion, there
were 120.000 monks in Burma
out of a total population of 17
million. They do no manual
work but are supported by the
people. They need not even
preach, for their aim is personal
salvation, to get free from all ill-
will, ignorance and selfishness, to
crush out all lust, wanting, re
sentment and so attain the great
peace.
A few became monks out of
desire for an easy life. Here and
there, you might find a criminal
hiding his identity under the
yellow robe. Some of the
younger monks get caught up in
politics, but the great body of
them are good monks.
A few monks helped the Japs,
and the Japs often disguised
their spies in yellow robe. But
The village priest.
the large majority of monks,
particularly the country ones,
were men of pe»ce, living their
quiet religious life.
The. Burman reveres the monk;
he calls him Pon-jee which
means “Great Glorv.” and use* a
whole set of honorific words when
speaking to him. To treat the
monks with respect will gain the
respect of the Burmese people,
and will enlist a great spiritual
force in the task of making
Burma a peaceful, honest and
happy country again.