MacArthur Got There First

Manawatu Times, Volume 67, Issue 209, 2 September 1942, Page 5

MacArthur Got There First

AND JAPS MARCHED INTO HIS TRAP Received Tuesday, 9.40 p.m. NEW YORK, Aug. 31. The New York Times, in a leader, says: "The Japanese have taken another haro blow In their defeat at Milne Bay. Their landing waa an attempt partly to retrieve their expuleion from Tutagi by establishing a new bridgehead for a two-way offensive against Port Moresby and eventually againet Australia itself. Now the Japanese have been driven into the They have lost the initiative in the New Guinea area and the waters washing its eastern chore. "A Japanese base at Milne Bay wouio command the approaches to Rabaul, threatsn Torres Strait and menace Port Moreeby, but General MacArthur foresaw the%e stratsgic possibilities even mors dearly than the enemy. When the Japeneee landed troops and tanks on the bsaohos thoy were already surrounded by Australian veterans hidden in the undergrowth at the foot of the mountains. The Invaders hoped to take advantage or the tropical storms which kept -our planes away, but they marched into a trap. "Yesterday the Tokio radio broadcast pleasant items about an art exhibition at the capital and a new Japanese swimming record, but there has been no reference to Milne Bay."