12

A Review of the Paci

fic Battlefronts

Allies Winning Ajir S

A noted Soviet military writer,
Colonel Tolchonov, comments here
on the fighting in~the Solomons,
New Guinea and the Aleutians

HE last six weeks of war in
operations have not been m

the Pacific theater of military
arked by any particularly out-

standing events. The belligerent sides continue their main
efforts on the approaches to Australia, where operations are
being conducted in two directions—for possession of the Solo-
mon Islands and for the eastern part of New Guinea.

The landing of American troops
on the Andrejanoy Islands is of
interest. Another interesting cir-
cumstance is the fact that the Al-
lied air forees are gradually in-
ereasing, and the growing might
of the air fleet is making itself felt
to an increasing extent lately on
all the sectors of the Pacifie thea-
tre.

In the course of the war the Aus-
tralian continent has served as 2
base from which the Allies have
succeeded in checking the offensive
of the Japanese armed forces. The
growing might of the Allies’ air
forces in the southwestern part of
the Pacific has made possible the
use of aircraft on a wide scale to
fight the Japanese troops on New
Guinea. This to a certain extent af-
fected the success of the Japanese
offensive.

The active operations of the Al-
lied air forces have seriously in-
terrupted the supplies of the Jap-
anese troops and prepared favor-
able grounds for offensive opera-
tions by the land units. It is not
precluded that the Allies, relying
on their strong air force, will be
able to follow up their success.

e

ESPITE the certain success of

the naval battle in the area of
the Sclomon Islands the Allied com-
mmand has nonetheless failed to solve
the essential tasks for the given
sector, namely, to prevent the land-
ing of Japanese troops.

The heightened possibilities of the
Allied air forces are most strikingly
reflected in the vicinity of Aus-
tralia, this highly important sector
in the Pacific theatre. Air superior-
ity makes it possible for the Allied
command to successfully counter
all offensive operations of the Jap-
anese troops.

Military operations on the ap-
proaches to Australia continue. The
Japanese armed forces are within

such proximity to the Australian

continent that this cannot be dis~
regarded by the Allied command
which is urged to hurl back the
enemy. As for the Japanese, they
have to strain ever greater efforts
to hold the territory captured by
them. The struggle on the ap-
proaches to Australia will continue
to bear a violent nature as was
proved by the naval engagement
in the vicinity of the Solomon Is=
lands on Oct. 26.

HE situation in the area of the
Ajeutian Islands has undergone
no changes within the course of
four months. On Oct. 4 American
troops occupied the Andreajanov Is-
lands. Thus the Japanese bases in

| the Kiska and Attu Islands are now

even more exposed to attacks by

| the American air force. American
airfields have been established close

enough to the’ Japanese bases that
bombers taking off from these
fields are able to carry out their
raids escorted by fighters.

The position of the Japanese in
the Aleutians is growing more dif
ficult and under present conditions
the Americans apparently will fol-

low up their success and completely

clear the islands of the enenty.
Military operations on the rest

of the sectors of the Pacific are
confined to air raids. The Japanese
armed forces are holding the vast
territory
fully aware of the difficulties lying
ahead, are not launching any wide-
spread offensive operations.
Allied forces,
considerably,
successfully
sive of the Japanese troops. At any
rate,
steadily winning one of the most
important conditions for success—
air superiority.

captured by them and,

The
which have grown
are in a position to
eounteract the offen-
air forces are

the Allied

HEN American troops o

ecupied the Adreanofs in the

Ww Aleutian Islands recently the
moved into a strategic position from which to block any attempt by the Japanese, fo |

—YVancourer Sun PF :

q

lowing the tactical pattern of their South Pacific conquests, to use the Aleutians as steppir
stones to the Alaskan mainland. From bases such as that shown here American bombe

and fighters no

pied by the Japanese earlier t

w harass the Japanese at Kiska, one of the three westernmost islands oc
his year. When the Japanese first landed at Kiska, Toky

radio boasted that Jap planes could now raid not only the Alaskan mainland but Seatt
and Vancouver too. Recently, however, American raids have kept them so busy that the
were forced to abandon Attu and Attatu, although they are now reported to have reocc:

pied the latter island.

British Coalminers Answer Churehill’s Ple.

By Garry

DIRECT appeal by Prime

A

Allaghan

LONDON.
Minister Winston Churchill to

British miners at an off-the-record conference in London’s?

Westminster Central Hall, has resulted in an immediate increase

in coal production.

Seven thousand miners, employed =
in seven colleries in Fifeshire, Scot-
land, haye informed the Scottish
Mineworkers Federation that they
will work 12 days a fortnight in-
stead of the usual eleyen, The pit
production committee in the big
Gleneraig colliery, Fifeshire, has
agreed that the miners shall work
an extra shift per week, clean out
all coal faces every day, and en-
tirely eliminate absenteeism. “The
magnificent stand of the Russian
people at Stalingrad demands it,”
the chairman of the committee said,
“and we can do it.”

From South Wales, Yorkshire,
Durham, Lanark and other coal-
mining centers stories are coming
in of individual workers pledging
to increase their output. Jimmy
Booth, 45, who has worked in the
Cannock Chase colliery for nearly
thirty years, has smashed previous

| ily

records for hand-dug coal by min-
ing 52 tons in a week. Booth is also
on duty for four hours every day as
a member of the Home Guard.
The recent conference, first of its
kind in British history, was called
in an effort to overcome the stead-
deepening coal erisis, which
threatens to hold up the nation’s
war production. The 3000 delegates
from 1300 pits, fully 95 per cent of

lwhom were digging coal less than

eighteen hours earlier, were ad-
dressed by General Smuts, South
African prime minister; Major Gwi-
lym Lloyd George, minister of fuel;
Sir Stafford Cripps, lord privy seal;
and Will Lawther, president of the
Miners’ Federation of Great Brit-
ain, as well as by Churchill.
Brought in special trains straight
from the pits, many of them wore
the traditional handkerchief knot-

<

\ted around the neck in place of a

collar and tie and cloth caps.

“JT have never seen our men So
deeply stirred,’ Lawther said aiter
the conference. ‘“‘They'll take Chur-
chill’s message back with them to
all our members, and coal produc-
tion will greatly increase as a Te-
sult.’ Arthur Horner, president of
the South Wales Miners’ Federa-
tion, said: “Churchill’s direct ap-
peal-will convince our members of
the urgency of the situation. Pri-
vate interests must now be subord-
inated to the immediate task of
mining more coal, needed to make
arms for the second front.”

Seriousness of the coal situation
was stressed in parliament last
month by Fuel Minister Gwilym
Lloyd George, who revealed that
there would be a deficit of 14,500,-
000 tons in 1942 production. The
arms industry needs 25 per cent
more coal this year than in the
post-Dunkirk period, when an all-
out production drive was under
way, he said. Electricity needs 40
per cent more coal, gas 15 per eent
and the railways 13 per cent. With

17,000 more miners, weekly coal out-

put is 70,000 tons below the pre-
|-war level, due to bad nutrition, war
strain, and the fact that the ay-
erage age of miners is now 37%
‘years. “Absenteeism is not to
blame,” he said, “since 85 per cent
of the miners have excellent at-
tendance records.”

In the proposals it advances for
solving the coal problem, the
Miners’ Federation is insisting that
owners operate their best seams, in-
stead of keeping them intact for
the post-war periods. The Federa-

ed demands by trade unions and

tion wants greater participatio:

the workers in management, —
on pit production committees ©
on the regional boards set up

der the government's new ~
plan; and it is asking for imn
ate coal rationing.

Due largely to action by
pressure groups as the Tory
CGommittee, on which the coale
ers are heavily represented,
government has consistently re.

Labor Party for coal rationing |

To Study Works Of

School children in Britain are to
study textbooks written by Lenin
and Stalin, if “recommendations
made by the Board of Education
are followed out. In an effort to
teach the children more about the
Soviet Union, a list of forty books,
dealing with Russian history, biog-
raphy, geography, the arts and lit-}
erature have been recommended to
schools in London and the Home
| Counties, and it is expected that

Schoolehitidren In Britain

Lenin, Stalin

clude the whole of England. |
tures will be given by teachers
have had a course of instructior
life in Russia.

Some of the books recommer
are Dr. Hewlett Johnson’s “So.
ist Sixth of the World,” “Sele”
Works of lenin,’ Stalin’s *
Foundation of Leninism,” the ¢
cial “History of the Civil Wa
the USSR,’ and “A Short His
of the Communist Party of the

the scheme will be extended to in-

viet Union.”