Evening star., 1942-09-21
Drive on Port Moresby
Held Serious Threat
Military Writer Warns Loss
Of VituI Air Bose Would Be
Grove Blow to Allies
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot.

The Japanese advance across the Owen
Stanley Range in New Guinea is serious
matter and offers a definite threat to the
United Nations position at Port Moresby.
The loss of Port Moresby would be a
grave blow to the Allied cause. Port
MOI esby is our principal advance air
base, by means of which our long-range
aviation based on Australia Is able to
strike directly at the japanese positions
in New Britain and on the northeast
shore OF New Guinea. 1t was air Coop
Grafton from Port Moresby that made
our capture of the Southeastern Solo
mors possible by preventing the Jap
anese from reinforcing their endangered
garrlsons.
To lose Port Moresby would mean al
most certainly the loss of our hardly
won footholds in the Solomons. and the
disappearance of the bright hopes we
have entertained of ejecting the Japa-
nese from all this part of the Pacific.
The sacrifices that have already been
made would have been made in vain
A position highly unfavorable to the
japanese ana one promising even
greater things for the future would be
reversed with the loss of our last foot
hold in New Guinea; for the japanese
would be able to convert that island into
a base of operations against Australia
and to resume their offensive across
the Coral Sea directed toward our lines
of communication in the Southwest
Pacific.
There is something ominous about the
TACT that it now appears that the jap
anese are In greater strength than our
commanders in that area have supposed
and that they have succeeded in crossing
huge mountain range and penetrating
the dense jungle beyond by the use of
the same outflanking and infiltrating
tactics already made painly familiar to
us in the Philippines and Malaga 1t is
time that the answer was found to this
sort Of thing unless we are to admit that
the japanese are just smarter than we
are and that there is no help for it.
Writing of the Malayan campaign.
contributor to Far Eastern Survey bit
terly admits:
THE one thing shining through this
campaign that we haven't yet written
about is the cleverness of the Japanese.
They had air superiority granted, but I
think we had superiority in artillery and
certainly in Malaga we had superiority
in numbers I heard one officer, quail
fed to speak, say: "A Japanese army
half the size Of our own, riding stolen
bicycles, using captured artillery, drove
us down Malaga and out of Singapore
without fighting a single pitched battle
That's an exaggeration. But there is
this truth in it: The Japanese out
smarted us. They were clever: they
used noise, they used fire crackers, in
filtration. camouflage. politics, every
thing-they just outwitted u.s."
There seems no escape from the con-
clusion that New Guinea is likely to be
a testing ground of the japanese ability
to continue to outWit us. We have had
plenty of time to get ready; the threat
to Port Moresby has long been recog-
nized The terrain favors the defense
We have strong and well-equipped
forces at hand. We have local air
superiority and local command OF the
sea. We have had ample opportunity
to study Japanese methods and tactics.
We have available in Australia leaders,
both American and Australian. who
have fought the Japanese in Malaga.
Java and the Philippines. Both Ameri-
can and Australian troops have demon
strated that in personal fighting quail
ties they are at least equal TO the
Japanese.
If we lose Port Moresby there will be
no possible alibi. There will be no eX-
cuse 1t will be failure of leadership,
of resourcefulness, of imagination.
Again to quote Far Eastern Survey:
"It was personal vigor and imagination
and improvisation that won Malaga for
the japanese. 1t is the sources of vigor
and Imagination and improvisation that
count in this war" 1t Is impossible to
believe that Port Moresby will be lost,
because the implications Of its loss would
be SO serious reflection upon the quail
ity of our leadership and, indeed, upon
the quality of our own sources of vigor
and imagination and improvisation.
Copyright, 1912, New York Tribune. Inc.
Praises Historical Articles
BY Sunday Star Writer.