Evening star., 1943-06-13
Pacific Front

Only about a month ago Prime Min
lister Curtin of Australia, Gen. Douglas
Macarthur and others concerned with
the defense of Australia and other AL
led-held areas in the Southwest Pacific
were warning of the danger to Australia
III the apparent concentrations of addi-
tlonal japanese strength among the is
lands the Nipponese now hold. This past
week Mr.. Curtin, after talk with Gen.
Macarthur, expressed the opinion that
the danger Is now over and that instead
OF the Japs attacking it will be the
American forces which take the offensive.
He said that marauding raids might
occur but that the holding war is done
so far as the Allies are concerned and
that from now on it will be the Japs
who must attempt to do the holding.
Just as the raid by Brig. Gen. Doolit-
ties flyers, for which he was later made
major general, took the pressure off
India, so has the American recapture
OF Attu taken the pressure off the South
west Pacific. TOTO and his advisers are
forced to give increasing concern to their
detenses at home, an attitude indicated
by an important shift in high command
which saw 1t. Gen. Tadayoshi Sano
named chief of staff of the home defense
headquarters. Gen. Sano's most recent
activity was in the Southwest Pacific
area where he was said to have rendered
meritorious service.
Bad news for the Japs was statement
made by Secretary of the Navy Knox in
his address to the graduating class at
Annapolis to the effect that since last
year our Navy has doubled in number
of ships and increased about two-thirds
in total tonnage. This, coupled with the
recent statement by President Roosevelt
that the great bulk of our. naval
strength is in the Pacific, bodies 10 good
for the japanese.
That something unpleasant is being
breWed was evident in a conference last
week between Admiral King, commander
in chief of the United States Fleet, and
Admiral Nimitz, commander in chief of
the Pacific Fleet.
In actual fighting the action was large
ly limited to air raids, mostly by Allied
groups. Between 40 and so Zeros and
torpedo bcmbers attempted to attack
American positions in the Russell Is
lands, but they were intercepted by
American planes which shot down 10
Zercs and damaged six more. Our losses
were listed as seven, although the Japs
later claimed that they had destroyed 40
American planes with the loss of but six
of their own.
The most effective raid of the week
was one on Nabire, in Dutch New Guinea.
During the course of reconnaissance
fight, the flyers decided to try out a
couple Of large buildings of unknown
purpose and dropped two 5O0-pound
bombs, which hit the buildings squarely.
So great was the explosion which fol-
lowed. the planes, miles up in the air,
were badly rocked by the blast which
rushed upward. Smoke rose 5000 feet
in the air. 1t was assumed that the
buildings had been used to store am
munition and powerful lot of it went
up in the blast.
The Chinese victory over the advance
forces of the Japanese attempting to
move up the Yangtze River from Ichang
toward Chungking was hailed last week
by both Secretary of War Stimson and
Secretary Knox as the greatest Chinese
victory in six years of warfare. The
Chinese, however, are not resting on
their laurels, but are continuing their
attack, moving down the north bank
OF the river toward Ichang and attacking
the Japs south of the river where the
defense line was broken southeast Of