"ON MILK-RUN BASIS"

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 84, 8 March 1945, Page 5

"ON MILK-RUN BASIS"

CARRIER ATTACKS ON JAPAN NEW YORK, Feb. 7.

Aboard his flagship in the Western Pacific Admiral Mitscher told the Associated Press correspondent that there had definitely been a change in the pace of the war against Japan. "The carrier attacks against Tokio were evidence of this, and' anything can happen in the next six months. "Because' the enemy has not attacked us with the vigour he displayed previously, this does not mean that the Japanese navy and air force are defeated. He still possesses strong naval and air forces but has not used them this time. That alone is evidence of a change in. tactics." Admiral Mitscher told the United Press correspondent that American carrier planes could bomb Japan successfully for days and weeks at a time. He added: "Carrier attacks against Tokio, Yokohama, and Nagoya could be put on a milk-run basis."

"The Japanese navy is scheduled to play an important part in the approaching Japanese offensive," reports the Domei News Agency quoted by the ToUio radio: "The navy's recent failure to fight does not mean that it is anxious to avoid battle. The combined Japanese fleet is awaiting the completion of its strategic framework before attacking.

"Japanese garrisons by-passed in various Pacific islands constitute a continual threat to the Allies and will provide strong rallying points for the next Japanese offensive."