FUTURE MUST STILL BE REGARDED GRAVELY

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 37, 7 November 1942, Page 7

FUTURE MUST STILL BE REGARDED GRAVELY

Final Vital Factor In Solomons Sufficient

SEA, LAND AND AIR STRENGTH

Notwithstanding the recent successes of American forces in the Solomons, states the Press Association correspondent at .a South Pacific port, the future in the area must continue to be regarded gravely. Having regard for all the circumstances, the defenders of this most important of Pacific spearheads have achieved what many observers will consider to have been a miraculous feat of- arms. Their success has had a super-human quality, and so long as super-human efforts are needed to protect and consolidate the gains won in August, there can be no room for complacency.

The see-sawing statements of American and Japanese successes should not be allowed to draw attention away from the few fundamental necessities upon which depends the retention of areas now in American hands. Sea control is first and foremost of these. It means not only aircraft, but also ships. While they have done much toward regaining their former ability to call the tune, the Americans are obviously not yet in complete control of the situation. This happy stage, with its consequent comforting assurances for New Zealand and Australia, can only be reached when the Americans are able, by reason of their unchallenged power in the area, to deny the enemy any opportunity to move against them in. force. In fact, it presupposes the advancing of the present front line beyond Guadalcanal.

Tlie most significant feature of the operations now continuing unabated in the Solomons is the bombardment by day of the Japanese positions on Guadalcanal by American warships. This means that the United States naval forces have wrested from the Japanese a degree of naval control even greater than that enjoyed by the enemy when they were recently subjecting American land and land-based air forces to’ nightly shelling throughout this period. The Japanese did not attempt daylight shelling from the sea, the reason for this undoubtedly being their fear of United States aircraft on Henderson Field. The ability or decision of the Allies —and there has been no suggestion that Admiral Halsey can or will immediately be given the wherewithal to counterbalance the local Japanese naval ship superiority—to throw in a sufficiency of sea, land and air strength is the final vital factor. Breathing Space. The early loss of the Canberra, three United States Astoria class cruisers and the aircraft-carrier Wasp, was a blow ■which obviously seriously handicapped further offensive operations, forced a pause in naval attack movements and threw on land-based aircraft extra responsibility for the prosecution of offensive and defensive actions Clearly till naval strength can be rebuilt to superiority over very powerful forces being pledged by the Japanese —and it would be wrong to regard the latest Allied successes as winning more than a breathing space —the future of the islands must be touch and go. In realizing this, says the correspondent, it must be realized also that the United States is committed not only in the South Pacific area but also in the Atlantic, North Pacific, and on many other supply lines. It is therefore possible that some time may have to elapse before she can, or determines to, concentrate sufficient preponderance of power in the Solomons to place the issue beyond all doubt and to permit further offensive moves in this area. Similarly, claims for men and aircraft for the Solomons are being disputed by numerous other fields in which the United States is directly engaged or assisting.

All the evidence since the Japanese reclaimed local naval superiority in the group has testified to the almost miraculous achievement of the Allied sea, land and air forces. In an area against a foe which, like auts, lias kept and will keep on coining, no matter how heavy its losses with what appear to have been comparatively scanty reinforcements and completely out of their normal role, Marines are still clinging tenaciously to and even advancing their Guadalcanal gains. The air forces continue to score the most spectacular successes ‘of the whole campaign. The position is illumined by courage and achievement, but is nevertheless still grim.