A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 17, 15 October 1942, Page 4

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Battle For Solomons THE PRICE OF SECURITY IN SOUTH PACIFIC Little by little the veil of secrccy which for two months lias hidden the events of the initial operations in the Solomon Islands area is being, lifted and we can now begin to visualize the heavy losses- which had to be accepted to foil the Japanese move against the vital tea lanes of the Southern Pacific. . . . Newspaper correspondents, writing soon after the landing, spoke of the ••terrific losses” -incurred by the United Nations force, and it would now appear that there was very little exaggeration in their words. The losses in cruisers alone must have seriously incommoded the operations of consolidation, for transports running to the occupied islands would need effective measures for their safety. It may ‘be that this is one reason why the reinforcement of the original landing force appeared delayed, and it is welcome news that the strength of the force in the area has been restored by the arrival -of replacements.

The Action Of August 9 Messages describing the engagement in which the four cruisers were sunk show that the'Japanese made a determined attack with the hope of reaching and destroying the transports and cargo ships from which the troops and supplies were landed. There is some surmising why the Japanese naval force, having gained some success in dealing with the protecting screen of cruisers, did not pursue their apparent advantage, as the transports must have been only weakly screened by destroyers as the result of the sinking of the cruisers. The reason for this may not be known till after the war. but from whatever cause the Japanese made off at high speed, a move that, proved greatly to the advantage of the operations. The reoccupation of the strategic centres of the Solomons Is considered to have undoubtedly disorganized Japanese plans in the South Pacific, but there is evidence that an attempt to regain a footing is getting under way. The new naval action reported today by the Naval Department in Washington may be an earnest of this next move. On the news at present available it.did not attain its full objective, though reinforcements for the enemy forces on Guadalcanal were got through.

Guadalcanal There seems still to he considerable confusion over the spelling of Guadalcanal, the chief of the occupied islands. It may be of- some interest to state that the final “1” is used in preference to “r” in all sailing directions in the area, and all military and naval orders also use the “I.” In addition to this, the Geographical Magazine and the National Geographic Magazine both seem to favour the same spelling. It may be that the pronunciation of the name is the cause of the confusion, for the “a” is hard, and the lilial syllable sounded as "narl.” This makes it sound “Gward-le-ca-narl.” with the final “1” almost hidden in the hard "a.”