AMERICAN COMMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 63, Issue 33, 18 November 1942, Page 3

AMERICAN COMMENT.

GREAT SENSE Of RELIEF. SIGNIFICANCE OF SEA BATTLE. (Roc. 10 a.m.) NEW YORK, Nov. 17 The victory in the Solomons brings an indescribable sense <of relief, comments the New York “Herald-Trib-une.” Dispatches from Casablanca describing the damage inflicted on the French battleship Jean Bart by American 16-inch shells suggested to anyone knowing how few 16-inch-gun battleships we have, that in the South-west Pacific the position is being risked for offensives in North Africa. Such risks are legitimate and ifecessary in war, but cause anxious moments. The Allies have achieved great successes in the Far East, the Mediterranean and in the Caucasus, but successes are not the final triumph. The enemy is still strong, daring and resolute.' We must expect surprises and prepare for reverses. The moment is brighter than any in the three years of the great struggle. To translate its brilliant promise into actuality still calls for everything we have to give.” The engagement of the. United States Australian and Pacific fleet with powerful units of the Japanese Navy off New Britain and the Solomons was possibly the most significant sea battle of the war. It looks like a decisive victory, writes the military commentator of the New York magazine “P.M.” He says: “A significant aspect of the Allied victory is the evidence that our surface strength in the Australian theatre of the war has been under-estimated. The loss of four cruisers many' weeks ago, and the detachment of strong naval units to North Africa probably led the Japanese, as well as many observers here, to under-estimate our sea power. The Australian area is possibly the most encouraging thing. Apart from the terrific damage inflicted on the enemy, there is evidence „that co-operation between the Army and Navy has reached a point of perfection which will win us many more battles.”