LIMITED THURST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20859, 11 August 1942, Page 3

LIMITED THURST

AMERICAN VIEW VALUE OF~SOLOMONS FUTURE SPRINGBOARD (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Special Australian (10.30 a.m.) ■ SYDNEY, Aug. 11. With only limited news available of the Allied combined operations against the enemy-occupied Solomon Islands, Australian news com-, mentators are cautious in assessing the likely results of the present offensive. The magnitude of the task ahead is generally stressed, and there is an evident wait-and-see flavour about the comments. General MacArthur’s Headquarters contributes little to the news of the operations, though it is confirmed Allied land forces are playing their part in the attacks. Australian troops are engaged. American comment on operations is widely featured. Washington officials say the offensive is likely at present to be limited to the Solomons area, but they do not deny the possibility that the Allies intend to retake Jap-anese-held posts, one after another, in the entire north of Australia. The capture of .the Solomons, they say, would give the Allies an ideal springboard for an offensive which they • admit -is likely, to prove a long, and costly one. There is no disposition yet in Australia to regard the attacks on Tulagi as preliminaries to the opening of a second front in the Pacific —though the eventful importance of the offensive is in no way discounted, “The action is a limited one,” says the Daily Telegraph in a leader. “We must not over-estimate it as .the beginning of a general offensive towards Tokio. When we will be able to start on that road back must seem obscure to those who have studied last week’s revelations about the strength of the aid coming to this theatre.” May Ease the Danger The Sydney Morning Herald says: “Given a reasonable measure of success in the present operations, Australia can look to a notable easing of the danger which lately has arisen in the New Guinea area. “These operations, however, have much more than a preventive purpose, ” it continues. “They constitute the first Allied attempt to oust the Japanese frem any of their conquered territory. Considered in conjunction with the simultaneous action against Kiska, in the Aleutians, they are a heartening indication of the increasing strength of American naval air forces in the Pacific relatively to Japan’s. But elation at the thought that the Allies have at last taken steps to turn back .the Japanese tide of conquest should not blind Australians to the difficulties of the enterprise. “Mention in the communiques of the opposition from the enemy’s landbased aircraft is a reminder that the advantage the American forces possessed at Midway now lies with the Japanese” Some observers suggest that the immediate objective of .the Allied forces is Guadalcanal Island which the Japanese occupied in June with the evident intention of preparing an air cover for another move out into the Pacific along the line of the New Hebrides and Fiji. The Sydney Morning Herald’s military coi'respondent calls the Allied offensive a “most welcome development if only because, when combined with the action of the task force against Kiska, it points the way'to the course of a future action on a concerted plan.” Flank Attack Necessary He points oat that to relieve the Japanese threat to Port Moresby any counter-a.ttack had necessarily to start on the flank because of the difficulties of frontal action in New Guinea. The attacks on the Solomons would relieve the strain on Port Moresby and ultimately point the way to Rabaul. “But the negative forcing back of .the enemy from the nearest points .to Australia are not sufficient,” he declares. “Reoccupations can have a meaning only if .they are part of a wider and permanent scheme of counter-attack through the south-west Pacific zone.” In the third day of attacks against potential enemy air reinforcement points for the Solomons, Allied air raids on Sunday lost nothing of their intensity. Rabaul was again the main target, day and night attacks being made on the aerodromes in the area. Many direct hits were scored on the runways, and five intercepting Zero fighters were shot down in combat. A communique from General MacArthur’s headquarters yesterday makes no mention of the Allied losses. Gasmata, also in New Britain, figured in Sunday’s attacks, an Allied heavy bomber unit raiding the landing ground. Allied medium bombers strongly attacked the building area and harbour installations at Salamaua. A supply ship received two direct hits and was left burning. A landing jetty was hit, several buildings demolished, and an anti-aircraft position was silenced. All the aircraft returned. The communique also reports that ground patrols in the Kokoda area in Papua have inflicted casualties on the enemy.