JAP NAVY

Grey River Argus, 19 November 1942, Page 5

JAP NAVY

Still the Stronger AUSTRALIAN ESTIMATES. [Special to xN.Z. Press Assn], (Rec. 11.32.) SYDYNEY, Nov. 18. “A smashing—but not a crushing victory” is the general Australian view of the outcome of the second round in the Battle for the Solomons. Although the United States' is now believed to hold local sea superiority, as well as air superiority in the southern Solomons.. Japan’s Pacific Fleet is acknowledged' to be still in greater strength than the Fleet Oi the Allies. > ■ In the face of Japan’s heaw additional losses, this greater strength >s undoubtedly a dwindling superiority, and Japan must move quickly, if she is to exploit her remaining advantage. Australian observers view the Americans’ great naval success, together with the expected earlv fall of Japan’s Buna-Gona bridgehead in Northern Papua, in terms of an opportunity for extending an Allied offensive in this theatre. The latter Buna-Gona action should he followed, logically, by attempts to reduce the Japanese Northern New Guinea bases of Salamaua and Lae. From these points, and from the American-held Solomon Islands, pincer drives should, eventu-| ally be possible against Japan’s most important advanced base in the South Pacific American as well as Australian observers feel that this shakeup in the Japanese naval command may not be unrelated to the outcome of the second round of the battle for the Solomons. CAN JAP NAVY GO ON? (Rec. 8.30) LONDON; Nov. 17. The London “Daily Express” naval commentator writes: “The superh victory at Guadalcanar will not de.cide the domination of the South Piacific, but it is likely to prove a tremendous factor. Three months campaign of naval attrition in tne Solomons has now reached a stage when the Japanese, despite their large secret reserves, cannot hope to go on.”

AN ENEMY COME-BACK.

EXPECTED BY COL. KNOX

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17.

Col. Knox, Navy Secretary, to the press: “The United States clearly won round two in the Solomons, and we now have naval superiority around Guadalcanal” He added . a warning that there may be a third round. He said: “This was a major action, but the Japanese forces may regroup and return.” Although the Japanese suffered severe losses in ships and personnel he declined to say the enemy fleet had been crippled. He paid a tribute to Admirals Nimitzz, Halsey and Callaghan. “Not only did they meet a drive from a numerically superior enemy force, but they also employed the most darin gtype of action.” Asked how many rounds there might be, Col. Knox replied: “The only safe assumption is the Japanese will return. That is what we are planning for.” He added that the Solomons were of first-class importance to the United States, since they flanked the lines of communication and supply with Australia. From the Solomons, the Japanese could make direct attacks on those lines. This Solomons battle was the greatest surface action in the war, and apparently the greatest since Jutland but it was not greater than Jutland. The “New York Herald-Tribune’ says: The Solomons victory brings an indescribable sense of relief. Dispatches from Casablanca describing lhe damage inflicted on the Jean Bart by American 16-inch shells, suggested to anyone knowing how few 16-inch gun battleships we have that the South-west Pacific position was being risked for the -‘North African offensives. Such risks are legitimate and necessary in war, but cause anxious moments. The Allies achieved great successes in the Far East, the Mediterranean, and the Caucasus, but successes aren’t 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’ great struggle. To translate its brilliant promise into actually still calls for everything we Wave to give.”