ENEMY TENACITY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24270, 11 May 1942, Page 5

ENEMY TENACITY

FLEET NOT BBOKEN TASK FORCES ENGAGED PRELUDE TO GREATER ACTIONS (Reed. 12.10 a.m.) NEW YORK, May 10 Commenting on the Coral Sea battle, Mr. Hanson Baldwin says: "A clear picture of the battle is not yet available, but, judging from fragmentary reports, the action was not fought between the main bodies of the opposing fleets, but between large task forces. The battle seems to have been a prelude to greater actions, since official comment stresses that there is no ground for hope that the strength of the Japanese fleet has been broken. "Japan will probably reinforce her naval units; in the Coral Sea. One Japanese characteristic is tenacity. They will keep trying until they win or die. For them there is no middle ground. "Meantime, the Japanese are still lighting in Burma and southern China and also menacing India. With typical Hitlerian technique, they are threatening everywhere, thus masking their real intentions, but the naval battle in the Coral Sea may soon force them to show their hand. ,: In Europe, Hitler still marks time as the ground dries on the eastern front, but this is an indivisible war, and what happens in Russia is closely linked to what is happening in the South-western Pacific. The wrecks of Japanese ships littering the waters of the Coral Sea may typify the wreckage also of Hitler's hopes." Most .papers somewhat disregard General Mac Arthur's warning against excessive optimism. An instance is a banner line on a front page, "Japanese Fleet Smashed in Great Victory." A World Telegram commentator savs: "The battle will probably decide the fate of the South Pacific. Moreover, it will affect naval strategy building everywhere."