PACIFIC WAR

Evening Star, Issue 24989, 7 October 1943, Page 5

PACIFIC WAR

AN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE MAJOR ALLIED MOVES EXPECTED LONDON, October 6. Field-Marshal' Lord Birdwood, in a speech in London, said that a major action against the Japanese by the British and American fleets could be expected any day. It was earlier announced that United States naval chiefs had held a conference at Pearl Harbour to discuss plans for the prosecution of the war in the Pacific. The conference was attended by Admiral E. J. King, United States Commander-in-Chief; Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific; and Admiral W. Halsey, Commander in the Southwest Pacific. New York correspondents say that the conference was a sequel to the Quebec discussions. It was the first meeting between the three admirals and the principal members of their staffs since the war began. It is recalled that Admiral Halsey's trip to Australia for a conference with General McArthur preceded the New Georgia landings. The correspondent of the ' New York Times ' says it is logical to assume that the conference discussed a major move against the Japanese bases in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, which are a constant threat to the supply line from Hawaii to Australia. President Roosevelt, at a_ Press conference at Washington, said he detected signs of Japanese weakness in the entire Solomons and New Guinea areas, where the enemy was being defeated and was retiring. The President mentioned the great destruction •of Japanese barges as proving their weakness in the zone, as these craft represented the only means of island-to-island transport. Great numbers of barges had been destroyed in the last 30 days. The United Press, in a table, gives the figure as 400 in three months.