TOLL OF DISEASE IN PACIFIC

Waikato Times, Volume 132, Issue 22063, 14 June 1943, Page 2

TOLL OF DISEASE IN PACIFIC

Casualties caused by disease in the Pacific Islands campaigns are more than four times greater than those suffered in battle, according to Dr. H. V. Evatt, Australian Minister of External Affairs, who has concluded a tour of the United States. Apparently there are no reliable statistics regarding the susceptibility to disease of the Japanese forces —at least none have been made public—but the lack of activity on the part of the enemy in the past few monhts suggests that he also has experienced difficulties in the island jungles. The Japanese soldier certainly has existed on a much lower standard of living than the American or Australian or New Zealand soldier, but there is no evidence that he is any more immune from tropical diseases or any better fitted physically to withstand their ravages. It is questionable, moreover, whether the Japanese are able to relieve their troops after a period in the tropics as readily as are the Allies. This heavy drainage on Allied manpower in jungle fighting is another strong argument in favour of the employment of naval and air strategems rather than attempting to drive the Japanese out of one country after another by fighting in the fevered jungles. Some months ago it became evident that progress island by island back along the long road which the Japanese covered in their sudden sweep southward would be a slow and painful process. In New Guinea and in Guadalcanar it was clearly demonstrated that the Japanese form of defence presented grave difficulties, especially where climatic conditions made it impossible for troops to remain at the front for more than a few months at a time without relief for recuperation. Since then a new strategy has been conceived. Clearly it is the intention to strike at the heart of the new Japanese empire. This can be done through China and by air and naval forces, causing the Japanese perimeter defences to collapse inward.