The Southland Times TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1942. Good News From Milne Bay

Southland Times, Issue 24837, 1 September 1942, Page 4

The Southland Times TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1942. Good News From Milne Bay

TO be able to welcome a military success instead of inquiring into the reasons for a reverse is an experience which comes like a glimpse of blue sky on a grey day. . The battle at Milne Bay could not be described as a major operation. And the victory just achieved by Australian troops was strictly a defensive action. Yet it was a significant reversal of fortune in an important strategic zone. The Japanese were attacking, as they have attacked so often before, with determination and resourcefulness. They were feeling their way towards Port Moresby, striking to obtain positions from which that important base could be taken in a frontal assault. The landings at Buna were followed by an advance which so far has been checked in the Kokoda area. It is too soon to decide that the Japanese cannot be reinforced here, although Allied predominance in the air is making it hard for them to land any forces except small detachments. At the same time there are reports of patrol activity in the Bulolo area, which means that the enemy is attempting to move along the difficult Markham River Valley from Lae. Wherever a track, a river, or a mountain pass breaks the screen of jungle that covers the rugged face of New Guinea, the Japanese are sending out their trained guerrilla fighters. But this sort of warfare will bring no decisive results until sufficient numbers can be thrown against the anchorages which remain in Allied hands. An overland infiltration is more difficult in New Guinea than in Malaya, and the Japanese must bring their reinforcements in ships. Milne Bay is one of the few strategic positions that can be attacked from the sea. The enemy avoided interception by waiting for bad weather, and earlier reports (which were curiously misleading) gave the impression that he had succeeded in gaining a foothold, and that the battle was going in his favour. Yet this time the Australians were ready. The secrecy and thoroughness of the preparations gave the defenders an advantage which they used to good purpose. Veterans of the Middle East, supported by Militia formations and by a small number of American troops, inflicted upon the enemy a crushing defeat. His supplies and equipment were destroyed, and the survivors of the invading force were driven back to positions which they cannot hope to hold more than briefly. Meanwhile the neighbouring waters are again being watched • by Allied bombers. The Japanese may hesitate to risk a new convoy in this area. Their defeat will not have a decisive effect upon the whole campaign, but it has closed a gap in the defences of Papua, and it has shown the world that the Japanese can be stopped. They will continue to probe and creep towards Port Moresby. But when the success at Milne Bay is placed alongside the American occupation of the Solomons it begins to seem certain that the enemy must face a major sea battle before he can resume his southwards advance.