THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1942 THE PACIFIC SCENE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24302, 17 June 1942, Page 2

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1942 THE PACIFIC SCENE

Since her conquest of the Dutch East Indies Japan's ventures in the Pacific have met with little success. The necessity to consolidate her gains is in sharp conflict with her imperative need to defeat the American Navy before it becomes so powerful as to be overwhelming. It was in May that Japanese naval and air forces essayed Iheir first attempt tp repeat in the south-west Pacific the successes won with comparative ease in the Far East. The Allied victory in the Coral Sea was due to superior prowess, if not superior numbers, in the air and in particular to landbased aircraft. Thwarted in their incursion into the South-west Pacific, the Japanese turned to the east and launched their most amb:.lions naval attack of the war on Midway Island. Some observers consider that the main force of the enemy's navy was concentrated in this attack, behind which troop transports lurked to effect a landing. No communique has yet been issued from Washington summarising the Midway battle, although statements have been issued both by Admiral Nimitz and Commander Arnold, leader of the bomber group which dealt so effectively with Japan's aircraft-carriers. At the least—and Japan has admitted as much—the enemy suffered heavy losses and retired from the scene of battle after losing two air-craft-carriers of the largest type. But competent authorities go further: the capacity of the Japanese to launch a new naval offensive in the Pacific was blunted, if it was not destroyed. and the initiative has passed to the United States. If this is the view of Major Fielding Eliot, America's foremost military authority, it is entitled to great respect. On top of Midway comes the news of further American successes off the Aleutian Islands. The Allies have suffered such a series of defeats since 19159 that even after the most striking successes many critics unconsciously expect bad news or disillusionment. This outlook can be adopted too often. If the United States has recovered, as Colonel Knox assures us, from the disaster of Pearl Harbour, there is every reason why Japan should fail in further offensives in the Pacific. The American Navy was reputed to outnumber the Japanese, and, allowing for exaggerations, the Japanese naval losses far exceed those of our ally. America's strength in the air is greater than Japan's ; the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway show that American pilots outvie an enemy whose skill and courage we all recognise. The reports now coming to hand from the Aleutian Islands show that the United States is fully capable of expelling the Japanese from footholds secured under the obscurity of fog while a great battle was in progress further south. The islands are an essential link between the United States and Siberia; they are a springboard for a future offensive against Japan. The enemy must be driven from them. He is now being hit hard. The military spokesman at Washington claims hits on Japanese warships in the harbour at Kiska,.the nearest American island to Japan. Lieu-tenant-General Arnold goes further and claims the sinking of a cruiser and a direct hit on an aircraftcarrier. This is heartening news. The Japanese have lost at least fifteen cruisers out of a total of 32 and more have been badly damaged. Major Eliot asserts that they have lost all six of their heavy aircraft-carriers, j although this claim is inconsistent with the published figures of only three sunk. Others, however, have been badly damaged and Japan's carrier position now appears serious. To have blunted the enemy's offensive capacity is very different from carrying the offensive to his own territory. He still holds the wealth and the enormous strategic advantages of the East Indies, not to mention the anchored fleets of the mandated islands. If shore-based aircraft mauled him from Midway he can deal us heavy blows when we venture into his own island-studded waters. The armies of the United States, Australia and New Zealand have to be trained in amphibian warfare, and the problem emphasised by Mr. Roosevelt—the distribution of armaments from the United States—has yet to be solved. Meantime, under cover of their undisputed possession of the China Seas, the Japanese are threatening Free China, not the least important of the Pacific Powers. The relief of China requires an Allied offensive in the Western Pacific. Whether that can be achieved at the present seems doubtful. Our great need, as in all theatres of war, is shipping. Equally urgent is the intensification of our military effort to produce a striking force to recover the lost territories.