The Solomons Victory
The great naval and air battle which began in the Solomons shortly after midnight in the morning of November 13th was fought in successive stages until the morning of November 15th, when the battered and diminished Japanese force withdrew northwards. It was a victory on a great scale for our American allies. The object of the enemy was to bring large reinforcements to the army attacking the Americans in Guadalcanal, for which purpose they had a fleet of transports escorted by battleshipai-eruisers and destroyers. In the first phase of the battle their warships were thrown into confusion and driven off by the American surface-ships. In the second phase their transports were heavily struck by American aircraft. In the third and fourth phases the battle between surface- ships was resumed, and four beached Japanese transports were attacked by air, land artillery and naval gunfire. Resultant enemy losses were one battleship sunk and one damaged, five cruisers sunk, five destroyers sunk and six damaged, and twelve transports sunk or destroyed—this for the loss of two American light cruisers and six destroyers. Nor is this the full tale of Japanese losses. Such a victory is a shattering blow to the enemy. It seriously diminishes their total naval strength, and postpones and may altogether frustrate their attempts to win back the southern Solomon Islands, which are so important a link in American communications, and—with New Guinea, the scene of Australian successes—are the potential stepping- off point for the Allied offensive against japan. The threat to Australia recedes. The tide is turning in the Pacific.
