Evening star., 1944-06-23
Second Midwoy

Second Midway
There is striking similarity be-
tween the action Just fought in the
waters between the Marianas and
the Philippines and that whicn oc-
Cured two years ago off Midway Is
land. In both instances it was a
contest between planes and war
ships. In neither case did the fleets
themselves come within striking
distance of each other. But In both
cases our air arm scored Furnishing
blows, whereas the Japanese air arm
inflicted relatively slight damage.
The strategic motiyations of the
two actions are quite different and
reveal the basic change in the Pa
cific war picture during the past
two years. At Midway the japanese
high command sought, somewhat
tardily, to reap the fruits of their
sneak punch at Pearl Harbor by
taking the outpost OF the Hawaiian
Islands as prelude to a general
offensive all the way from Alaska to
the Panama Canal. The blasting of
their carriers and attendant loss of
their air coverage forced the Japa-
nese fleet to beat a hasty retreat,
and Tokyo's strategic offensive was
never resumed The battle of Mid
way was thus a major turning point
in the Pacific war.
Although we took the initiative
shortly after Midway by our attack
on Guadalcanal In the Solomons,
this was more preventive defen-
offensive than an aggressive
move. Our true strategic offensive
did not get going until last Novem-
ber with our operations against the
Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Since
then. however, our offensive has
made prodigious strides along the
whole vast Pacific front, and until
last Sunday the Japanese have not
ventured to react in a big way
against our growing preponderance
Of naval and air power. Our strike
at the Marianas and invasion of the
key island OF Saipan did, however,
provoke the reaction we had antici-
pated and hoped for. The Marianas
are the keystone of the whole Japa-
nese defense system in the Pacific.
They could not let 1t 60 by default
without risking a major counter
move, even against long odds.
Accordingly. q large portion of the
Japanese high seas fleet moved into
the waters between the Marianas
and the Philippines, loosing a big
air attack on our fleet of Saipan
from their carriers. Last Sunday,
hundreds Of Japanese planes came
over In successive waves, only to be
blasted wholesale, especially by our
magnificent fiak system, with minor
loss to our naval units. Simultane-
ously, our air reconnaissance spotted
at least one large segment of the
Japanese armada. and on Monday
our air squadrons attacked at dusk,
getting through the enemy fax and
sinking or disabling many units, in
cluding carriers, a battleship and
lesser craft. Only the coming of
darkness saved the japanese from
further damage and enabled them
to escape toward their, inner bases
on Formosa and the Philippines.
The Japanese probably gambled
on Gripping our feet from the air
and then closing in for the kill with
their naval squadrons lurking be-
hind. That hope Is shattered. Their
air arm must be Seriously crippled,
their feet has been badly damaged,
and we can now presumably finish
our conquest of the Marianas, rela-
lively undisturbed. The alternative
is an all-out attack by the japanese
Navy under circumstances so un-
favorable that it might be tanta-
mount to suicide.