The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 1945. A GREAT AMERICAN VICTORY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 146, 22 June 1945, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 1945. A GREAT AMERICAN VICTORY

OKINAWA has fallen, after one of the hardest campaigns ever tackled by American forces. It is estimated that there were some 90,000 Japs on the island when Marines and Tenth Army infantry stormed ashore, and of these only 2500 were taken prisoner. The American casualties, too, have been heavy, the ratio of ten Japs to one telling its own story. The pattern of Tarawa, Saipan and Iwo Jima had not changed. Feats of soldiering comparable with any in this or earlier wars were common at Okinawa, and perhaps the most spectacular was the night operation when Cth Division Marines, in the tradition of Wolfe at Quebec, scaled the cliffs to the Japanese stronghold on Jaejudake Plateau. From the day when the troops were safely ashore the issue was never in doubt, the only question being how heavy would be the price forced on our Allies by the fanatical Japanese defenders.

With Okinawa in our hands the outlook is grim for those planning the defence of the Japanese homeland. ' Only three hundred and twentyfive miles separate the latest Allied base from the southern tip of the island of Kyushu, and it will be a matter of days until the hard-working construction battalions have landing fields ready for the flocks of medium, dive and torpedo bombers now waiting. During the campaign the.Navy was forced to station carriers constantly in the waters round Okinawa, offering targets for "kamikaze" pilots of the Imperial air force. It has been a hectic time for the Navy, as is shown by its report of 85 ships sunk or damaged, but it is good to hear that no big vessels were included. The enemy, on the other hand, according to American reports, lost three battleships as well as numerous smaller craft.

Some idea of what is in store for the hard-hitting Tenth Army may be deduced from the appointment of the successor to Lieutenant-General Buckner, who was killed in the closing stages of the campaign while in a forward observation post. The new leader of the Tenth is LieutenantGeneral Stilwell, former Deputy Allied Supreme Commander in South-east Asia. "Vinegar Joe" is a colourful character and one of the most capable tacticians in the American Army. When he was sent home last year to become commander of United States ground forces it was freely admitted that a clash of temperaments had made the change necessary, but no one had anything but praise for the military capabilities of the man whose genius made possible the training of the divisions which were later incorporated in the Chinese Combat Command. General Stilwell is an authority on China. As long ago as 1919, when he was a young captain in the regular Army, the general began learning the Chinese language, and fifteen years of his life have been spent in China. His new appointment is, to say the least of it, significant.

With the capture of Okinawa the preparatory stages of the final drive may be said to be complete. General Mac Arthur and Admiral Nimitz are now in the happy position of being able to provide land-based air cover for any task force they send against the main islands of Japan or the China coast. The strategy of by-passing large enemy elements, leaving them isolated and impotent, has been brilliantly successful, and the two great leaders of the American Pacific forces must feel well satisfied with their progress during the last twelve months. The Tokyo war chiefs, by the same token, are showing their nervousness in daily outpourings over the Japanese domestic radio. They know the Allies will invade Japan, and they are preparing their people. No doubt there will be a hard struggle when, the invasion does begin, but it should be remembered that while Japanese in caves and dug in on the tops of cliffs are hard to root out, they have never really mastered the principles of the modern war of manoeuvre, and no matter how invincible the spirit human flesh cannot withstand the shock of high explosive or the blast of the flame-thrower.