US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

256 Amphibians Came To Conquer
no less so, and is certainly the more urgent—it must be faced now. Quite apart
from any idea of future advance in this theater we must see to it that we
are actually able to maintain our present positions. We must not permit
diversion of our forces to any proposed operation in any other theater to the
extent that we find ourselves unable to fulfill our obligation to implement
our basic strategy plan in the Pacific theater, which is to hold what we have
against any attack that the Japanese are capable of launching against US.SO
E. J. KJNG
The Japanese occupation of the Southern Solomons had taken place during
the same period when they made an unsuccessful attempt to occupy Port
Moresby in Southeast New Guinea only 500 miles north of Townsville,
Australia. Air reconnaissance units operating from Tulagi and Port Moresby
would have brought all of the Coral Sea and northeastern Australia under
their conquering eyes.
GENERAL MAcARTHUR HELPS THE NAVAL PLANNERS
General MacArthur, after the 8 May 1!242 Battle of the Coral Sea, which
had luckily turned back the Japanese Port Moresby Invasion Group, joined
forces with the Navy Planners in plugging for stronger action in the Pacific.
His despatch of 23 May 1942 read in p~rt:
Lack of sea power in the Pacific is and has been the fatal weakness in our
position since the beginning of the war.
Continuing, he was so bold as to suggest that the Indian and Atlantic Oceans
be stripped of sea power so as to combine British and American naval
strength and to overwhelm the Japanese Navy:
Much more than the fate of Australia will be jeopardized if this is not done.
The United States will face a series of such disasters.d”
This despatch struck a rtiponsive note with Admiral King since an
appreciation of the realities of sea power was not always displayed by Army
Planners at lower levels in Washington. The next day, 24 May 1942, Admiral
King sent to General Marshall a paper which he proposed should be
transmitted to the Combined Chiefs of Stall by the Joint Chiefs of Staf-F.
In this paper, Admiral King stated that the Japanese were devoting “practically
their entire naval strength, plus a great part of their air and army
strength for offensive action against the Australia—Noumea—Fi ji—Samoa
mCOMINCH, memorandum, 5 May 1942.
mAustralia Dispatch 199.