Evening star., 1942-08-28
Reds Halt Nazis Near Sta|ingrad;
Allies Pressing New Guinea Fight
After Japs Withdraw in So|omons
50 Enemy Ships
Reported Sunk
Or Damaged
By the Associated Press.

% tiie hsSOCidtSu
A raging battle to break a
japanese grip in Southeastern
New Guinea developed swiftly in
crocodile-infested swamplands
today as American naval and air
forces emerged apparently vic
torious in the second round of
the Solomon Islands conflict.
In Washington one of the highest
Government authorities advised
against any description of the cur
rent operations in the Solomon Is
lands as having brought the United
Nations a major victory. He said
the latest japanese movement on
American-held islands in the Tu-
lagi area was a reconnaissance in
force and not a full-scale offensive
Jap Toll Put at 50 Ships.
However, in London the Evening
Star reported in a dispatch from
Selwyn Speight, its Sydney, Austria
liza, correspondent, that japanese
losses in the last fortnight totaled
so ships sunk or damaged, and that
the Japanese fleet latter shatter-
ing defeat at the hands of Allied
sea and air forces in the Solomons'
was withdrawing to the inundated
islands to the north.
The Speight dispatch described
the japanese as failing in their last
minute effort to take control of the
Southwest Pacific in one knockout
blow, and said such a failure would
mean the most crushing defeat in
the whole Pacific war for Japan"
Authoritative United States
sources in London said no informa-
ton on the Solomon operations was
available in London other than that
announced from Washington, and
expressed doubt that any additional
facts were available in Sydney.
Two Phases of Jap Activity.
The Washington authority who
warned against exaggerated evalua-
ton of the Solomon Islands results
said there actually had been two
phases of japanese activities since
American forces established them
selves in the Southwestern Pacific.
And he said he was worried lest the
press lead the country to believe a
great, smashing victory had been
achieved. ....
The first phase, he said, was the
landing of TOO Japanese, who were
wiped out, on Guadalcanal Island.
and series of smaller attacks by
planes in which we came off pretty
well, destroying 80 or 80 Jap aircraft
and losing four.
The second phase, he said, should
not be called a full-scale offensive
but reconnaissance in force. This
was the movement on the Solomons
OF units Of the japanese fleet.
This reconnaissance force, the au-
thority asserted, has withdrawn. We
hit some ships, he said, and we hope
we sunk some, but he would hate
to have the people get the idea that
a major victory was scored.
Fight Temporarily Narrowed.
Disappearance of the battered
enemy fleet from the United States
controlled Tulagi area of the Solo,
mons temporarily narrowed the
struggle in the Southwest Pacific
to two japanese footholds on New
Guinea.
Enemy forces which landed two
days ago at Milne Bay, some 225
miles from the strong Allied New
Guinea base at Port Moresby and
42O miles from the Australian main
land, were pounded by an Allied
land-air attack that destroyed JAP
anese planes, troops, supplies and
fuel dumps.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur's Aus.
tralian headquarters reported that
(See SOLOMONS, Page A-l8D