The Wanganui Chronicle. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1943. THE GILBERT ISLANDS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 279, 25 November 1943, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1943. THE GILBERT ISLANDS

■yHE attack on the Gilbert Islands marks another Allied slop forward in the .South Pacific <nrea and also evidences the decision of the Allied command to operate on a wider scale than has hitherto been envisaged. The present stage of the conflict can best be understood, by first making a recapitulation of the plans of campaign that have been followed by the contestants. The line of action which the Japanese followed was dictated by consideration of its major strategy, which in turn was fashioned in. order to secure her economic needs. Japan’s main objective in entering upon the campaign was to curtain off the whole of China and then to subdue the people of that ancient land in order to compel them to fit in, in a secondary manner, to the industrial development of Nippon. In order to achieve this curtaming-off process it became necessary for the Japanese to stop up every outlet China had with the outside world. To block the route to Russia was an impossibility, but with that country embroiled in a life-and-death struggle with Germany this open route did not matter very much. The demands of the Japanese objective took her armies down the east coast of Asia to Burma and in her way the naval base of Singapore, Malaya, Siam and French Indo-China were gobbled up. The secondary gains for Japan were considerable in both a. positive and in a negative sense: for the tin, oil, rubber and rice which she needed became available for the taking and were denied to Japan’s opponents. These secondary gains, too, had to be protected, and consequently the Japanese contrived to eliminate from the Western Pacific all establishments of the Allies that would be useful in any assault on the Japanese forces. The assault on Peart Harbour was a logical step in this policy. The occupation of the Aleutian Islands of Kiska was equally so. and the capture of New Guinea, would have been of like nature. Had this outer fringe been secured the conflict could have been sustained until the Allies, wearied by efforts in Europe, gave up the exhausting struggle and accepted the fait accompli with whatever grace they could put upon their realistic policy. Japan’s aims therefore inevitably led, step by step, to Port Moresby, hut here a check to their progress was administered. The expansionist movement, however, was being carried a step further by the sending of a force to occupy either the New Hebrides or New Caledonia, or both. That would have curtained off a considerable portion of the east coast of Australia and would have brought the invaders to Fiji, which is the doorway to New Zealand. The defeat of the Japanese in the Battle of the Coral Sea put a definite stop to the Japanese surge forward. Gradually strong-point, after strong-point has yielded to Allied pressure, and Rabaul. the enemy’s advance base in the South-west Pacific, has been brought within effective range of Allied striking power. This has been a relatively long and painful military operation. but the tempo of Allied success has been rising consistently all the time. The situation therefore has shown a progressive measure of improvement as more and more troops and equipment becomes available. The attack upon "Rabaul is obviously the next step in the campaign and the landing on the Gilbert Islands is part, of that next step. The link that connects Rabaul to the Japanese perimeter of defence is the fortified island of Truk, which lies some 875 miles directly north of Rabaul. The Gilbert Islands are almost duo east of Truk but some 1600 miles distant. The position of the Gilberts is important, the distance from Truk is significant. The. development of an Allied base in the Gilberts places a threat upon the Japanese flank which lhe enemy cannot afford to ignore, but which is of itself too distant to be regarded as an immediate danger. The Gilbert Islands are a potential danger to Truk which,.when developed, is likely to be used to break the nexus between the enemy in the Malayan Peninsula and Archipelago and the Solomons group. While, then, much may be expected eventually from this wide sweep—taken in conjunction with other actions elsewhere—too much must, not be. looked for immediately as the outcome of this new and wider movement.