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Show the near future. Japan has too much at stake to gve it up without with-out a super-effort and that will involve the bulk of the main fleet. American naval officers, it is admitted, ad-mitted, are pressing forward rn the hope that they can entice the Japanese battle fleet into a decisive deci-sive action. Russians Slow German Drive . . . News from Russia, while subordinated subor-dinated to the other offensives, continues exceptionally good. The first flush of the German drive around Belgorod has failed to produce pro-duce promising results to the Nazis Na-zis and Moscow reports that heavy tank and plane losses have been sustained by the Germans. It is a bit early to conclude that the Russians have definitely put aside the danger of a third German Ger-man offensive but certainly the Axis finds the pickings harder to get in Russia. The confidence that is felt in London and Washington as leaders survey the war scene, is also shared by the leaders of Soviet Russia. i I 'liiliili.liiliil.il i:..ii:M.ii:I...iIiiI:.i:I ' 1 : 1 1 . . I ; : lit FORWARD MARCH By H. S. Sims, Jr. Hill III l I I I I' i i i i ii' 1 1 1 INVASIOX OF SldLY SLCESSFUL AS PACIFIC NAVAL VICTORIES THREATEN JAP SUPREMACY The United Nations have scored major successes on two widely scattered war fronts during the first part of July, with every indication in-dication that our enemies are in for heavy losses. Naturally the invasion of Sicily stands out as men of the army, navy and air corps of Great Britain Brit-ain and the United States give the world an almost perfect exhibition exhibi-tion of coordinated action. Regardless Regard-less of what happens later the first week of the operations in Sicily were almost without flaw. Sea And Air Power HELP . . . The bombing of the island prepared pre-pared the way for the actual launching of the invasion forces, which were transported and protected pro-tected by warships that contributed contribu-ted tremendous fire-power to safeguard safe-guard the beachheads gained. Time and again the guns of the fleet flamed in support of the ground troops, leaving no doubt as to the value of sea power in amphibian operations. As British, Canadian, American and French soldiers worked their way to appointed goals, despite one or two desperate counterattacks, counter-attacks, they were sparked by concentrated air power overhead and the comforting assurance of the big guns of the warships which pounded enemy installations along the coast. After five days it was apparent that the landing was a success, that men and supplies had been put ashore in such volume as to prevent disaster and that the enemy ene-my was having a hard time consolidating con-solidating his forces for effective resistance. About one-fifth of the island was dominated in the first week of operations. Invasion An Outstanding Success . . . The fighting forces of the United Unit-ed Nations worked together as a single team. In the air, on land and at sea there was unity and coordination. While American troops battled on the left flank, Canadians moved forward in the center and British veterans of the Eighth army moved northward on the right flank. There is much cause for encouragement encour-agement in the business-like execution exe-cution of the first large-scale invasion in-vasion of Axis-held territory. Sicily, Sici-ly, while an island, is an integral part of Italy, separated from the mainland by a two-mile strait of water, It had the support of mainland main-land airfields but the course of the fighting demonstrated the power of the Allied army and the wisdom of its strategy. May Result In Another Tunisia . . . It may be that the Axis will recover re-cover from the initial compact but unless the invaders are checked there is a possibility that Sicily will be soon isolated from Italy proper... Without reinforcements, especially of oil and munitions, the campaign may develop into another an-other Tunisia, on a more important import-ant scale. Certainly, the invasion of Sicily has demonstrated that the Allies can effect a landing on a hostile coast, after a deep-sea crossing several times as long as the English Eng-lish channel. It augurs well for future undertakings and adds to the mounting confidence of the people and leaders of the United Nations. Naval Victories In Pacific ... The news from the South Paci fic also brought good cheer to the Allied peoples. Details of the two naval engagements fought in Kula Bay, emphasize the superiority of the American Navy, which inflicted inflict-ed a double-barreled defeat upon the Japanese, with comparatively! minor losses. Meanwhile, steady progress of our troops, attacking the Jap base at Munda, indicated the capture of that position without excessive losses. The Japanese forces were completely isolated, thanks to the naval victories and overwhelming American forces acquired positions posi-tions that doomed the defenders to death or surrender. Jap Communications Threatened . . . By this time, it is clear that the Japanese must discover some way to maintain effective communications communica-tions with their isolated garrisons or they will suffer the fate of Guadalcanal. The heavy losses inflicted in-flicted upon the Japanese fleet, In the first nineteen months of the war, have created a problem for the Tokyo high command. It is apparent that the Japanese fleet must move out of its great base for the purpose of protecting Japanese holdings. Unless It throws greater strength against the American units the huge empire em-pire wrester from the Allies in the first few months of the conflict will wither and fall apart. The course of the struggle in the Far East suggests the probability proba-bility of a great naval battle In |