The Dominion WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1942. ON THE PACIFIC FRONT

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 263, 5 August 1942, Page 4

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1942. ON THE PACIFIC FRONT

The confidence expressed by the Prime Minister that a successful offensive could, and would, be undertaken in the Pacific is shaied by most people. Where and when the movement should be made is a matter for the strategist. It would be. in many respects, a strange campaign involving the co-ordination of sea. land and ait fences. to an unprecedented extent. There are no lands where an extensh e campaign could be conducted, but instead innumerable islands ranging from coral dots on the ocean to New Guinea, such a mountainous and bush-clad island that land operations on any great scale would be impossible. But the groups of islands are regarded by many American writers as stepping-stones. New Guinea is nearer to the Philippines than is either Java or Sumatra, and it is the reoccupation of the Philippines that the Americans ardently desire. It seems evident that in any offensive movement the great superaircraft projected in the United States would be invaluable for the transport of both men and supplies. They could provide a service which the Japanese could not hope to equal, and patrol by naval units would place a tremendous strain on the enemy’s resources. It has been stated, bv those who have given careful' study to the position, that Rabaul is’the key to the position north of Australia. It would, in Allied hands, make the fate of the Japanese forces in the Solomons precarious and afford a base for intensive action against enemy posts on the northern coast of Papua. These are among the many matters keenly discussed by the amateur strategists, especially in the United States, where the Pacific islands are regarded as a screen being used bv the enemy to keep active- operations away from Japan itself. The area over which the Japanese have spread their forces is much larger than that of the other Axis Powers, and theie have been predictions during the past few weeks that it will be further enlarged —in a northerly' direction. To hold it all in strength would be a task of the greatest magnitude and the Japanese have to do more than that. They, must attack and consolidate their gains before their enemies can mobilize their forces for an effective counter. The interest that attaches to Mr. Fraser’s brief statement is the belief that the counter-move will be carried through successfully. He has been in close touch with and felt the confidence of the leaders in Australia and has also sensed that public opinion there favoured an aggressive policy. These are pre-requisities for successful action, for they ensure that once the attack has been launched every ounce of .national energy will be directed to the defeat of the enemy in the Pacific.