WE REMEMBER AUGUST 14th

August 14

We Remember:

1939: Chamberlain and Halifax receive details of Ciano's meetings and consider the idea of sending a German-speaking Briton to negotiate directly with Hitler. (Andy Etherington)

Hitler tells his senior officers that he intends to deal with Poland in a quick war. (Andy Etherington)

Hitler also orders Ribbentrop to telegraph von der Schulenberg in Moscow, begging him to secure 'a speedy clarification of German-Russian relations.' Ribbentrop says also that he is prepared to fly to Moscow and present Hitler's views to Stalin 'because only through such a direct discussion can a change be brought about, and it should not be impossible therefore to lay the foundation for a final settlement of German-Russian relations.' (Andy Etherington)

German Ambassador von der Schulenberg receives instruction for a meeting with Molotov next day in Moscow, and Marshal Klement Voroshilov, Commissioner for Defence, puts his central question to the Anglo-French delegates: If Russia were to fight on behalf of Great Britain or France, Russian troops will have to cross either Poland or Rumania, so will the Red Army be allowed to march across Poland? Knowing it is almost impossible that the Poles or Rumanians will agree, Drax is unable to answer. The ideal offer from the Anglo-French point of view would have been a steady supply of hardware manufactured in the Soviet Union. (Andy Etherington)


1940: RAF 4 Group (Whitley). Bombs oil targets at Bordeaux and St. Nazaire - Caproni aircraft factory at Milan. (Andy Etherington)

RAF Fighter Command: German effort today amounts to almost 500 sorties. Opening with a high-speed low-level attack on Manston by Bf110s of Erpro Gr 210. Two of the attackers were shot down by ground defences. At 12:20 the main Stuka force attacked Hawkinge and Dover, with a detachment sinking the Gate Lght Vessel killing two crew. A mid-aftenoon raid by Do17s on Pevensey was thwarted and the attackers forced to jettsion their load, but a later raid on Pevensey put four bombs in the radar station. (Andy Etherington)

Sir Henry Tizard leaves London for the USA with various British scientific items and ideas for development including the magnetron. (Andy Etherington)

In Berlin, The American United Press Agency reported: "Tonight an air raid alert was sounded in Berlin at 1:35 A.M. and ended at 2:22 A.M. This was the third alert in the German capital since the outbreak of war. No explosions could be heard from the vantage point on the United Press offices, nor were any searchlights seen operating. The German Ministry of Propaganda has stated that no details may be released as yet." (Andy Etherington)

Germany suspends the constitution of Luxembourg, henceforth the Duchy will be ruled by the German civil service. (Andy Etherington)

1941: Evacuation of the Russian Black Sea naval base at Nikolayev begins tonight. During the next three nights 13 ships under construction will be towed away. 11 remaining ships, including 1 battleship, will be blown up along with other supplies.

Auschwitz: Ten Polish prisoners had been condemned to die after a prisoner had escaped. When the ten were selected, one begged and pleaded to be saved for his wife and children. Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan friar and fellow prisoner, had stepped forward and asked to take the place of the family man. The offer was accepted. The ten were marched off to a starvation bunker. As one by one they died, Fr. Maximilian comforted them. The last survivor of the ten, Fr. Maximilian was executed by lethal injection on August 14. The man he died to save was present in St. Peter's Square in 1982 when Fr. Maximilian was proclaimed St. Maximilian Kolbe. (Jim Gallen)

While returning to the US from the Atlantic Charter Conference, US President Franklin D Roosevelt, in USS Augusta (CA-31), watches flight operations conducted by the F2A Buffaloes and SOC Seagulls of Scouting Squadron Two Hundred One (VS-201) in aircraft escort vessel USS Long Island (AVG-1), the first "jeep" aircraft carrier. During the afternoon, USS Augusta reaches Blue Hill Bay, Maine, where he reembarks in the presidential yacht, USS Potomac (AG-25). (Jack McKillop)

1942: The German 6th Army has alomost finished clearing the elbow of the Don River in Russia. Because of a lack of mobile forces the Germans consider that too many potential prisoners have escaped to the east.

Finland: The Italian torpedo boat MAS 527 engages three Soviet gunboats on Lake Ladoga, sinking an 800-ton Bira-class gunboat. (Arturo Lorioli via Mike Yaklich)

In the Aleutian Islands, a US 11th Air Force B-24 Liberator trying to fly photo reconnaissance over Tanaga and Adak Islands aborts over Kiska Island due to weather. (Jack McKillop)

In Iceland, US 2d Lieutenants Joseph D Shaffer (33d Fighter Squadron) and Elza E Shahan (27th Fighter Squadron) jointly shoot down an Fw 200 Condor off the coast of Iceland. This is the first aerial victory of the USAAF in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). (Jack McKillop)

In Libya, US Army Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF) B-24s bomb the harbor at Tobruk during the night of 14/15 August. (Jack McKillop)

On Guadalcanal, 3 IJN G4M "Betty" bombers from Rabaul circle and photograph Henderson Field just above the range of the Marines 90 mm AA guns. (Jack McKillop)

In New Guinea, USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses of the Allied Air Forces attack shipping off Gona. (Jack McKillop)

Lieutenant General Dwight D Eisenhower, Commanding General, European Theater of Operations US Army (ETOUSA), is appointed Commander in Chief, Allied Expeditionary Forces. (Jack McKillop)

The US submarine S-39 (SS-144), commanded by Francis E. Brown, ran aground on a reef off Rossel Island, S.E. of New Guinea No hands lost. (Joe Sauder)

In the U.S., the 30-minute daily radio show, "The Show Without a Name," hosted by Garry Moore, debuts on the NBC Red radio network at 0900 hours Eastern. It is an effort to crack the morning show dominance of "Arthur Godfrey Time" on CBS radio and "The Breakfast Club" with Don McNeill on the NBC Blue network. A prize of $500 is offered to name the show and it is renamed "Everything Goes" ca. March 1943. The show remains on the air until November 1943. (Jack McKillop)

1943: Revisions in the US draft become effective. A revised list of important occupations as well as dependents will be the deciding factor in selection.

US and British units capture Randazzo, Sicily.

In the Aleutian Islands, 2 US Eleventh Air Force B-24s fly a special radar ferret and reconnaissance mission; 1 B-25 Mitchell, 8 B-24s, and 10 P-38 Lightnings then fly 2 attack missions to Kiska Island, bombing with unobserved results. This is the last Eleventh Air Force mission against Kiska. The high-speed transport USS Kane (APD-18), lands elements of the US Army's 1st Special Service Force on Kiska. (Jack McKillop)

In the Mediterranean, the US Ninth Air Force dispatches 61 B-24s, on loan
from the Eighth Air Force in England, to bomb the Bf 109 factory at
Wiener-Neustadt, Austria. (Jack McKillop)

In the Solomon Islands, 9 US Thirteenth Air Force B-17s bomb the Rekata Bay area of Santa Isabel Island. (Jack McKillop)

Submarine HMS Saracen suffers flooding after heavy depth charge attacks by Italian torpedo boats Euterpe and Minerva off Bastia. Unable to control buoyancy, the crew assemble in the control room to make their escape to the surface, and Saracen sinks after being abandoned. (Alex Gordon)

In the U.S., the motion picture "This Is the Army" is released. This musical, based on Irving Berlin's play, is directed by Michael Curtiz and stars George Murphy, Joan Leslie, George Tobias, Alan Hale, Una Merkel, Rosemary DeCamp, Frances Langford, Kate Smith, Ronald Reagan, Joe Louis and Ezra Stone. Appearing in an uncredited roles are Irving Berlin and Richard Farnsworth. In World War I, dancer Jerry Jones (Murphy) produced an all soldier show on Broadway called "Yip Yip Yaphank." It is now World War II and his son (Reagan) gets orders to produce another all soldier show called "This Is The Army." The film is nominated for three Academy Awards and wins one. (Jack McKillop)

1944: The Canadians are about 5 miles north of Falaise, France. Their advance is assisted by the RAF with 4,000 tons of bombs.

The US XV Corps moves east from Argentan toward Dreux as other US units move into Argentan.

Except for the ancient citadel in the Port of St. Malo the city has been liberated.

In the Aleutians, the USN's Task Force 94 sorties from Attu to sweep the Kurile Islands but weather forces the ships to return to port. (Jack McKillop)

In England, the US Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions.
- Mission 552: 1,183 bombers and 429 fighters, in 4 forces, are dispatched to attack 9 airfields, 2 aero engine factories, 1 oil plant, 2 bridges, 2 rail junctions and other secondary and targets of opportunity in southwestern Germany, eastern France, and the Bordeaux, France region; 2 bombers and 1 fighter are lost (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking the target). (1) B-24s attack 3 airfields in France, Lyon/Bron (108), Dijon/Longvi (83) and Dole/Evaux (70); 2 bridges Anizy (46) and Fismes (34); and 12 B-24s hit Liart rail junction and 1 hits a target of opportunity; escort is provided by 92 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs. (2) B-24s bomb French rail junctions at Saintes (38) and Angouleme (38); escort is provided by 40 P-51s. (3) B-17s dispatched to Germany hit Ludwigshafen (144), Mannheim (110) and Sandhofen Airfield at Mannheim(72); 4 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 88 P-51s; (4) B-17s dispatched
to Germany hit airfields at Hagenau (92), Metz/Frascaty (72), Florennes (24), Chievres (9); Stuttgart/Echterdingen (72), Kaisereslautern (46), Sindelfingen (12), Trier (10) and targets of opportunity (16); escort is provided by 168 P-51s that claim 10-0-11 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost.
- Mission 553: 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night; they
claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft.
- 37 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France; 1 B-24 is lost.
- 136 P-38s and P-47s fly fighter-bomber missions in the Paris area; claiming 3-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-38 and 2 P-47s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

In France, the US Ninth Air Force sends A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders with fighter escort to hit several highway and rail bridges, junctions and sidings mostly beyond the battlelines to delay and complicate the German retreat; fighters fly armed reconnaissance over the Falaise, Broglie, and Chartres areas, and support ground forces, especially 7 armored and infantry divisions, over wide areas of northern and western France; a XIX Tactical Air Command squadron uniquely effects the surrender of a number of German ground troops, Germans on roads being strafed by the squadron northeast of Carrouges wave white flags, whereupon the planes buzz the road and shepherd the enemy troops into a column which then proceeds to US lines to surrender.
The US Twelfth Air Force in Italy dispatches medium bombers to hit coastal defenses while fighter-bombers pound various gun positions, tracks, enemy HQ, and targets of opportunity in the Toulon-Nice area; fighters strafe radar installations and targets of opportunity along the south coast as Operation DRAGOON forces approach. (Jack McKillop)

The US Fifteenth Air Force in Italy sends 540 B-24s and B-17s to bomb gun
positions in the Toulon, France and Genoa, Italy areas as the Operation DRAGOON (the invasion of southern France) convoy heads for the French
Mediterranean coast; 145 P-38s and P-51s strafe radar installations at several coastal points. (Jack McKillop)

In the Central Pacific, the US Seventh Air Force is reorganized as a "mobile tactical airforce" retaining only units that will function in the combat area; the VII Bomber Command includes the 11th, 30th and 494th Bombardment Groups (Heavy), and the 41st Bombardment Group (Medium); the VII Fighter Command includes the 15th, 21st (in Hawaii) and 318th Fighter Groups and the 6th Night Fighter Squadron; and the 9th Troop Carrier and 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadrons assigned directly to HQ Seventh Air Force. (Jack McKillop)

The German submarine U-618 is sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of St. Nazaire, in position 47.22N, 04.39W, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS Duckworth and HMS Essington and by depth charges from an RAF Liberator of No. 53 Squadron based at St Eval, Cornwall, England. All hands on the U-boat, 61 men, are lost. (Jack McKillop)

In the U.S., the top pop songs today are (1) "I'll Be Seeing You" by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra with vocal by Frank Sinatra; (2) "Amor" by Bing Crosby; (3) "Swinging on a Star" by Bing Crosby; and (4) "Is You is or is You Ain't (Ma' Baby)" by Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five. (Jack McKillop)

1945: The US War Production Board removes its controls over automobile manufacturing activity.

The Japanese army coup is scheduled for 10:00 am. At 9:00 am War Minister Anami addresses all senior section war ministry staff: "The army should act in unison, because Japan is now facing the critical stiuation. Strengthen your unity. Beware of any undisciplined acts. Those who consider any arbitrary actions will have to carry them out over my dead body." This statement ends the hopes of the Junior Officers for an easy takeover.

At 10:30 the Imperial Conference with the cabinet and the Emperor begins. After discussion the Emperor again gives his decision: "I have carefully studied the Allied reply and concluded that it virtually acknowledges our position in the note sent several days ago. In short, I believe the reply is acceptable. Though it is understandable that some should distrust the Allied intentions, I do not believe the reply was written with malice." With this statement it is now a matter of trust.

Shortly after Noon, Professor Asada meets with the Navy. After hearing his report on the Hiroshima bombing, he reports their conclusion was: "to isolate all Japanese physicists in the caves in Nagano Prefecture to have them produce atomic bombs. They planned to drop them on America. The Navy had no intention of surrendering."

At 1:00 pm the full cabinet meets and after much discussion reluctantly approves the Emperor's decision.

Representatives of the Radio Tokyo arrive at the palace at 3:00 to record the Emperor's statement. It is finished recording just before midnight. There are 3 copies. Members of the household ministry agree to hold the recording until they will be broadcast tomorrow.

In Japan, US Far East Air Force (FEAF) B-25s, P-47s, and P-51s attack shipping in Korea and Kyushu waters, claiming several vessels destroyed and damaged. P-47s over the Osaka-Nagoya, Japan area claim several Japanese aircraft shot down. (Jack McKillop)

The US Twentieth Air Force sends 752 B-29 Superfortresses to fly 7 missions
against Japan without loss. These are the last B-29 missions against Japan in WWII. The following 3 missions were flown during the day:
- Mission 325: 157 B-29s bomb the naval arsenal at Hikari; 4 others hit
alternate targets.
- Mission 326: 145 B-29s bomb the Osaka Army Arsenal and 2 hit alternate
targets; 160+ P-51 escort the B-29s and attack airfields in the Nagoya
area; 1 P-51 is lost.
- Mission 327: 108 B-29s bomb the railroad yards at Marifu; 2 others hit
alternate targets.
The following 4 missions were flown during the night of 14/15 August:
- Mission 328: In the longest nonstop, unstaged B-29 mission from the
Mariana Islands, 3,650 miles (5,874 km), 132 B-29s bomb the Nippon Oil
Company at Tsuchizakiminato.
- Mission 329: 81 B-29s drop incendiaries on the Kumagaya urban area
destroying 0.27 sq mi (0.7 sq km), 45% of the city area.
- Mission 330: 86 B-29s drop incendiaries on the Isezaki urban area
destroying 0.166 sq mi (0.43 sq km), 17% of the city area.
- Mission 331: 39 B-29s mine the waters at Nanao, Shimonoseki, Miyazu,
and Hamada. (Jack McKillop)

Before the last B-29s return from the missions above, US President Harry S Truman announces the unconditional surrender of Japan. Immediately thereafter, the 11th Airborne Division leaves the Philippine Islands by air for Okinawa, where it goes on standby as the initial occupation force for Japan. (Jack McKillop)

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On Aug. 14, 1945, President Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.

Japan Surrenders, End of War! Emperor Accepts Allied Rule M'Arthur Supreme Commander Yielding Unqualified, Says Truman Japan Told to Order End of Hostilities, Notify Allied Supreme Commander and Send Emissaries to Him MacArthur To Receive Surrender Formal Proclamation of V-J Day Awaits Signing of Those Articles -- Cease-Fire Order Given to the Allied Forces By ARTHUR KROCK Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES RELATED HEADLINES All City 'Lets Go': Hundreds of Thousands Roar Joy After Victory Flash Is Received: Times Sq. Is Jammed: Police Estimate Crowd in Area at 2,000,000 -- Din Overwhelming Terms Will Reduce Japan to Kingdom Perry Visited Hirohito on Radio; Minister Ends Life Two-Day Holiday Is Proclaimed; Stores, Banks Close Here Today MacArthur Begins Orders to Hirohito OTHER HEADLINES Our Manpower Curbs Voided: Hiring Made Local: Communities, Labor and Management Will Unite Efforts: 6,000,000 Affected: Draft Quotas Cut, Services to Drop 5,500,000 in 18 Months Third Fleet Fells 5 Planes Since End Secrets of Radar Given to World Petain Convicted, Sentenced to Die: Jurors Recommend Clemency Because of His Age -- Long Indictment Upheld Treaty With China Signed in Moscow: Complete Agreement Reached With Chungking on All Points at Issue, Russians Say Cruiser Sunk, 1,196 Casualties; Took Atom Bomb Cargo to Guam Washington, Aug. 14 -- Japan today unconditionally surrendered the hemispheric empire taken by force and held almost intact for more than two years against the rising power of the United States and its Allies in the Pacific war. The bloody dream of the Japanese military caste vanished in the text of a note to the Four Powers accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration of July 26, 1945, which amplified the Cairo Declaration of 1943. Like the previous items in the surrender correspondence, today's Japanese document was forwarded through the Swiss Foreign Office at Berne and the Swiss Legation in Washington. The note of total capitulation was delivered to the State Department by the Legation Charge d'Affaires at 6:10 P. M., after the third and most anxious day of waiting on Tokyo, the anxiety intensified by several premature or false reports of the finale of World War II. Orders Given to the Japanese The Department responded with a note to Tokyo through the same channel, ordering the immediate end of hostilities by the Japanese, requiring that the Supreme Allied Commander- who, the President announced, will be Gen. Douglas MacArthur- be notified of the date and hour of the order, and instructing that emissaries of Japan be sent to him at once- at the time and place selected by him- "with full information of the disposition of the Japanese forces and commanders." President Truman summoned a special press conference in the Executive offices at 7 P.M. He handed to the reporters three texts. The first- the only one he read aloud- was that he had received the Japanese note and deemed it full acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, containing no qualification whatsoever; that arrangements for the formal signing of the peace would be made for the "earliest possible moment;" that the Japanese surrender would be made to General MacArthur in his capacity as Supreme Allied Commander in Chief; that Allied military commanders had been instructed to cease hostilities, but that the formal proclamation of V. J. Day must await the formal signing. The text ended with the Japanese note in which the Four Powers (the United States, Great Britain, China, and Russia) were officially informed that the Emperor of Japan had issued an imperial rescript of surrender, was prepared to guarantee the necessary signatures to the terms as prescribed by the Allies, and had instructed all his commanders to cease active operations to surrender all arms and to disband all forces under their control and within their reach. The President's second announcement was that he had instructed the Selective Service to reduce the monthly military draft from 80,000 to 50,000 men, permitting a constant flow of replacements for the occupation forces and other necessary military units, with the draft held to low-age groups and first discharges given on the basis of long, arduous and faithful war service. He said he hoped to release 5,000,000 to 5,500,000 men in the subsequent year or eighteen months, the ratio governed in some degree by transportation facilities and the world situation. The President's final announcement was to decree holidays tomorrow and Thursday for all Federal workers, who, he said, were the "hardest working and perhaps the least appreciated" by the public of all who had helped to wage the war. Mr. Truman spoke calmly to the reporters, but when he had finished reading his face broke into a smile. Also present were Secretary of State James F. Byrnes and Admiral William D. Leahy, the President's personal Chief of Staff, and two other members of the Cabinet- Henry A. Wallace, Secretary of Commerce, and James V. Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy- managed to respond to a hurry call in time to be there. The agreement to issue the statements simultaneously in all the Allied capitals, and the brief period between the call to the Cabinet and the announcement, were responsible. Later the chief war administrators and Cordell Hull, former Secretary of State, arrived to congratulate the President. President Addresses Crowd After the press conference, while usually bored Washington launched upon a noisy victory demonstration, the President with Mrs. Truman walked out to the fountain in the White House grounds that face on Pennsylvania Avenue and made the V sign to the shouting crowds. But this did not satisfy the growing assemblage, or probably the President either, for, in response to clamor, he came back and made a speech from the north portico, in which he said that the present emergency was as great as that of Pearl Harbor Day and must and would be met in the same spirit. Later in the evening he appeared to the crowds and spoke again. He then returned to the executive mansion to begin work, at once on problems of peace, including domestic ones affecting reconversion, unemployment, wage-and-hour scales and industrial cut-backs, which are more complex and difficult than any he has faced and call for plans and measures that were necessarily held in abeyance by the exacting fact of war. But certain immediate steps to deal with these problems and restore peacetime conditions were taken or announced as follows: 1. The War Manpower Commission abolished all controls, effective immediately, creating a free labor market for the first time in three years. The commission also set up a plan to help displaced workers and veterans find jobs. 2. The Navy canceled nearly $6,000,000,000 of prime contracts. The Japanese offer to surrender, confirmed by the note received through Switzerland today, came in the week after the United States Air Forces obliterated Hiroshima with the first atomic bomb in history and the Union of Soviet Republics declared war on Japan. At the time the document was received in Washington, Russian armies were pushing back the Japanese armies in Asia and on Sukhalin Island, and the Army and Navy of the United States with their air forces- aided by the British- were relentlessly bombarding the home islands. When the President made his announcements tonight it was three years and 250 days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which put the United States at war with Japan. This was followed immediately by the declarations of war on this country by Germany and Italy, the other Axis partners, which engaged the United States in the global conflict that now, in its military phases, is wholly won. If the note had not come today the President was ready though reluctant to give the order that would have spread throughout Japan the hideous death and destruction that are the toll of the atomic bomb. Officially the Japanese note was a response to the communicator to Tokyo, written on behalf of the Allies Aug. 11 by Secretary Byrnes, which was itself a reply to a Japanese offer on Aug. 10 to surrender on the understanding of the Japanese Government that the Potsdam Declaration did not "prejudice the prerogatives" of the Emperor of Japan as its "sovereign ruler." Plan on the Emperor Mr. Byrnes wrote, in effect, that the Japanese might keep their Emperor if they chose to do so of their own free-will, but that he would be placed under the authority of the Allied Commander-in-Chief in Tokyo and would be responsible to that commander for his official and public activities. Relief rather than jubilation that the grim and costly task of conquering the Axis is done was the emotion of the officials, from the President down, who have traversed the long and agonizing road to victory since Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor while Tokyo's "peace" envoys- Admiral Kichisahura Nomura and Ambassador Saburo Kurusu- were still continuing their negotiations with Secretary of State Hull. The road is piled high with the bodies of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians who gave their lives that the victory might be attained. And, in a solemn hour of triumph, the men in Washington that were their military and civilian commanders could not be jubilant in the lasting memory of these human sacrifices. On the contrary, they seemed more than ever resolved to produce a system of world security which for a long time would obviate the necessity of such sacrifices to dictators and aggressive nations; and to impress on the Japanese- as on the Germans- their crimes, nor relax their punishments, until they learn to follow the ways of peace. Though the victory over the Japanese as well as the Nazis had always seemed assured to the American authorities, it did not become a certainty until the Allies- through United States invention and production, Allied military and scientific skills and the fortitude of the British, Chinese, Russian and American populations- were able to change from defense to attack. This change, so far as the Pacific was concerned, came after the Battle of Midway gathered force after the actions of the Coral Sea and the Philippines and came to crescendo with the captures of Saipan, Iwo Island and Okinawa, the perfection of radar and the discovery and use of the atomic bomb. But before these successes the story was very different. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor found the Pacific Fleet divided, half of it crowded in the roadstead, the other half dispatched for Atlantic service for reasons of policy. These reasons grew out of President Roosevelt's decision that the Nazi menace required the fleet diversion to the Atlantic for immediate national defense, and out of his belief that, as he expressed it, he could "baby along Japan." This latter view was the foundation of the underlying policy by which the United States continued to furnish Japan with scrap iron, petrol, ant other materials transferable to war uses long after Japan by many officials was conceded to be bent on hemispheric and eventual world-wide aggression.