The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1942. AUSTRALIA ON THE DEFENSIVE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 8, 26 January 1942, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1942. AUSTRALIA ON THE DEFENSIVE

WITH the attempted conquest of New Guinea,, occupation of the Solomons, Japan appears to have spread, her armed forces still further and further apart, lhe great question which now arises, is 'What are the Anglo-American fleets doing:?' Naturally enough for strategical reasons we have no idea, but we caan depend upon it that they will not be idle. The counter-blow when it does come will be something worthy of the vast striking force of the two greatest democracies en earth. A brief survey of the Japanese position reveals the fact that considerable armies are already engaged, in China (possibly over two million), the Phillipines (say 150,000), Malaya (say 200,000), Borneo (say 25,000), Burma (say 100,000), Guam, Midway, Wake and other islands (25,000) and now in New Guinea say a further 100,000 men in readiness or actively participating. It must be remembered also that each of these forces demand that a section of the Imperial Japanese Navy, be diverted for defence and convoy. Munitions and supplies must also be forwarded continually from bases or direct from Japan herself. Thus it will be seen that Japan must already be carrying the enormous burden of something over 3,000,000 fighting men, all engaged in foreign wars, who must be maintained, sfrmed and supplied from the resources of far off Nippon. If Germany cracked under the burden of two separate fronts how c!an Japan expect to successfully carry the fight, on six. Granted her enemies (except China) were considerably weaker than the Soviet, but the fact remains that Japan cannot maintain her war on so many fronts without drastically weakening her own defences at home. A nation, of sixty million cannot maintain the pick of her fighting men overseas, with naval and air support without allowing her own defences to weaken. Where the pending Anglo-American blow will fall, of course cannot be foretold, but it would appear that a swift deadly thrust at the very heart of the Japanese Empire would have a devastating effect upon a country so hopelessly divided. Weakened by reason of its widely deployed military forces, by its scattered naval strength, and by its limited aero arm, such a blow would have the. most deadly consequences, while the effect upon the fighting men already engaged in strange countries thousands of miles away can be better imagined, than described. Where will the blow fall when the fighting forces of America and Great Britain have been moulded into an instrument worthy of a real test of arms with militant Japan?