The Japanese bomb burst on Sumatra this week. It dropped at the one point on the long, narrow island where, by winning fast, the Jap could: 1) seize a major source of Indies oil; 2) set himself for his final drive at Java.
This strategic city was Palembang, a miracle of industrial creation in the jungle, rich in refineries, stored oil and the Indies' only high-test aviation gasoline. Some $100,000,000 and years of labor had been poured into Palembang and its satellite oilfields and towns.
If the Japanese won Palembang, in effect they won all...
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