Evening star., 1943-03-05
The Bismarck Sea Victory

The Bismarck Seq Victory
The best summary of what has
Just happened in the South Pacific
is General Douglas MacArthur's crisp
communique: The Battle of the Bis
marck Sea now has been decided. We
have achieved victory of such COM
pleteness as to assume the proper
tions Of a major disaster to the enc
my. His entire force was practically
destroyed"
The Bismarck Sea is the stretch of
water lying north of New Guinea
and New Britain. It's name is remi-
niscent of the days when those lands
were German colonies, transferred
after the First World War to Aus
tralian control Overwhelmed by the
tidal wave of Japanese conquest
year ago, the allied American and
Australian forces are slowly and
painfully working northward up the
New Guinea coast as prelude to
an attack on Rabaul, the main Jap
anese base on the tip of New Britain
island Having rooted out Japan's
southernmost outposts of Buna and
Coma, the intermediate bases of Sala-
maua and Lac are now being softened
and isolated by the same methods.
To relieve those beleaguered garrl-
sons. drastic measures had to be
taken.
Accordingly, a Japanese fleet OF
twelve transports laden with supplies
and $4,000 troops sailed from Rabaul,
escorted by 10 warships. The normal
voyage was only some SO hours, and
it was timed under cover OF a tropi-
cal storm front" with its protective
cover of cloud and rain squalls. But
bad weather did not conceal the
maneuver from the lynx eyes OF Al
lied reconnaissance planes, and the
instant word was flashed back, squad
rons of bombers and fighters dashed
forth to find their quarry. Caught
in the narrow strait between New
Guinea and New Britain, the con-
voy continuously was attacked, Jap
anese air protection was beaten down,
and the helpless transports were
smashed, their crowded thousands of
soldiers sent to drown or feed the
swarming sharks and barracudas.
This crushing victory is important
from several aspects. Locally, it
leaves the japanese garrisons on New
Guinea unsupplied and presumably
in imminent danger of being over
whelmed by the Allied forces closing
in upon them. The heavy losses OF
warships, troops, and merchant ton
mage must seriously dislocate Japa-
nese strategy in this area. Further
more, this clear-cut triumph OF air
power is a grim warning to the Jap
anese high command, since the Al
lies have generalized air superiority
in this entire region. After this dem
onstration, Japan's hold on Rabaul
becomes increasingly insecure. TO
hold it firmly, reinforcements OF
ships, troops and planes must be di-
verted thither from other areas. That
is a drain which may be felt seriously.
Apparently, the japanese were
planning nothing more than
strengthening of their New Guinea
footholds. While strong, the convoy
was small compared with the vast
armada of nearly 100 warships and
merchant vessels with which the
japanese struck southwark almost a
year ago in what was obviously an
invasion move against Australia. That
vital thrust was parried and broken
in the epoch making battle Of the
Coral Sea. Japanese losses on that
occasion were not so complete as In
this later conflict. Yet it was IN
the Coral Sea that the Japanese tidal
wave seems to have reached its crest.
The battle of the Bismarck Sea is
evidence that the ebb tide of Japa-
nese aggression in the South Pacific
has set in.