AMERICANS HOLD AIRFIELD

Southland Times, Issue 24888, 30 October 1942, Page 5

AMERICANS HOLD AIRFIELD

JAPANESE CASUALTIES HEAVY •

(Rec. 7 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Oct. 28. United States troops on Guadalcanar are inflicting very heavy losses on the Japanese, both in men and equipment, declares the official spokesman here. The Americans have repulsed several small-scale enemy attacks against the airfield. Up to date the American casualties have been comparatively light. No mention is made of any new sea or air action.

“No authority is prepared to hazard a guess on the outcome of the present engagement,” says the Washington correspondent of The New York Times. “Informed quarters generally agree, however, that the engagement will probably be fought to a finish and that on it will depend the course of the war in the South-west Pacific for the next year. The Japanese are believed to have thrown in the bulk of their sea-power and air-power, while the United Nations forces are not announced. Nevertheless, at present the American forces appear to be holding their own, especially in the air.” MAIN BATTLE IN AIR United States circles in London declare that if the Americans have not already achieved air superiority in the Solomons battle area they will win it eventually." While—the United States Navy at present is greatly outnumbered in this area it is expected that the numbers will be equalized before very long. Meanwhile the job of the Marines is to hold the ground they have won and this they appear to be doing. The main battle is in the air rather than on the sea. United States air-power is decidedly on the up-grade while Jaapn’s power is on the down-grade, with her construction unable to replace the losses sustained.

The statement by Vice-Admiral Edwards, Second-in-Command of the United States Navy, that the Japanese Navy now ranked second to America’s because of Britain’s war losses is not accepted in London. Competent authorities direct attention to the statement last month by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr A. V. Alexander, that Britain’s losses in capital ships, cruisers and aircraft-carriers have been made up. There is difficulty in believing, they say, that the Japanese Fleet could have been increased so greatly in view of its admittedly heavy losses. LOSS OF WARSHIPS Greater Japanese Total (8.0.W.) RUGBY, October 28. Since, and including Pearl Harbour, the Japanese have lost more than twice as many warships, sunk or damaged, as the United States. The figures are 119 Japanese and 53 American, and with ships probably damaged by near misses the Japanese figure reaches 150. The details, as compiled from Navy Department communiques, are: — American. Japanese. Sunk Dam. Sunk Dam.

In addition, the United States Navy has sunk nine ships, destroyers, auxiliaries, motor torpedo boats and a gunboat to keep them from enemy hands. The Japanese, in addition, have lost 133 transports, fleet tankers and fleet cargo ships sunk or damaged.

PACIFIC WAR COUNCIL “EMPHASIS ON REALISM” (Rec. 7 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Oct 28. At a meeting of the Pacific War Council President Roosevelt realistically reviewed the whole South-west Pacific situation. Reporters asked the New Zealand Minister, the Hon. W. Nash, if the council was at all optimistic. He replied: “No, the emphasis of the meeting was on realism, rather than optimism.’’ The council also discussed the Middle East. The British Ambassador, Lord Halifax, remained to lunch with Mr Roosevelt and was not available to the Press. AMERICAN^SUBMARINES SUCCESSES IN PACIFIC (Rec. 6.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, October 28 American submarines operating from bases in Australia and Hawaii have sunk at least 750,000 tons of enemy shipping, according to The New York Times correspondent, Hanson Baldwin, who recently toured the South-west Pacific war zone. Only three submarines have been lost, in addition to one sunk in a collision at Panama and another demolished in a Philippine dry-dock to forestall enemy seizure.

Battleships Carriers 1 3 1 1 0 5 6 8 Cruisers 5 4 25 sunk or damaged Destroyers 12 6 26 13 Submarines 2 1 6 5 Other vessels 6 2 13 7