THE BATTLE FOR JAVA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24855, 3 March 1942, Page 4

THE BATTLE FOR JAVA

It was in the first week of February that the- Japanese began their attacks against J ay a, the main ob - jectives being the aerodromes in the eastern quarter of the island, and Surabaya, the main naval base in the Netherlands East Indies and headquarters of the Dutch Navy. The damage that was then inflicted by them was apparently not extensive; but there was a considerable loss of life, this being an inevitable result of, the nowaccepted Axis policy of indiscriminate terroristic assault upon civilian populations. The attack at that time was interpreted, as now is revealed, correctly, as the prelude to an invasion of Java. This development, however, has been delayed for nearly a, month, partly, pterhaps, because the enemy desired to effect a landing first on Bali, to the east, but also because of the very severe mauling that his convoys have experienced in Indies waters. The battle between Japanese and Allied naval forces which, directly preceded the landings that have been effected in Java provides further encouraging proof of the strength of the opposition which the United Nations are assembling in the Pacific danger zone. Those weeks which the Japanese lost between the premonitory bombing of Java and the present invasion operations have .not been wasted by .the defenders. The forces which are now meeting the invaders include British, Australian, and United States units, which, it may be presumed, have quite recently established themselves in the territory to augment the Dutch forces. The strength of the defenders is given as 100,000 men. This figure will, of course, be' inclusive of the native army under

Dutch control, which is a welltrained force. It is, on the most optimistic enemy claims concerning the number of troops that may have run the gauntlet of Allied naval and air attack, a force superior to that , which the Japanese have disembarked on the island. It is supported by a combined Allied navy of substantial proportions, and by a Dutch air force which is strong and well-equipped, and will have been complemented by planes and personnel of the other United Nations. As the struggle in Java enters its vital phase, it is not one which will yield a, quick or an easy decision. It is, in fact, the crucial struggle in the phase of war in the Pacific which began with the loss of Singapore and the Japanese bombing attacks on Port Darwin. Should Java fall, the Pacific war would in very truth become a battle for Australia and New Zealand. But the defence of Java is in strong hands, and there is no occasion for that type of progressive pessimism which has become too apparent as one island outpost after another in the vast area of disputation has fallen to the Japanese aggressors.