Two Down and One to Go

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Two Down and One to Go was a short propaganda film produced in 1945; as its title might suggest, its overall message was that the first two Axis powers, Italy and Germany, had been defeated, but that one, Japan, still had to be dealt with.

Narrated by Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, the film is notable for its heavy use of animated graphics, spliced with stock footage. Opening with a fasce being splinter over Italy, and a swastika being exploded over Germany, the film cuts to a Arthur Szyk caricature of Mussolini, Hitler and Tojo, an x being superimposed on the respective dictators, then turning to Tojo. Gen. Marshall informs the audience why the US had chosen a Europe first strategy for the war, noting the supply lines where far shorted for Europe, and that the US simply did not have the material, in the early stages of the war, to launch an invasion of Japan. He also notes that in Europe the US had strong fighting Allies who could help them launch an attack on Germany, while in Asia, "we did not have any strong Allies, however brave."

The general ends the film by reminding the audience that the war cannot be won until Japanese military might is "crushed".