BANDOENG FACING SITUATION CALMLY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 56, 7 March 1942, Page 7

BANDOENG FACING SITUATION CALMLY

MAW BATTLE AHEAD

Vi..;i Cargo Of Aircraft Destroyed Off Coast

("nrnipfl Prf>ss Aswwfcawon.—nopyrleftt. rtrc. 1.30 p.m. LONDON, March 6. Bandoeng underwent several air raid alarms. Japanese planes flew i to other objectives and did not drop bombs. The situation at Bandoeng is fairly quiet and the population are going about their work normally. The Government has ordered the destruction of liquor stocks in towns where Japanese oct upation is imminent. The order will prevent the invaders imbibing and causing disturbances.

The only British correspondent remaining in Java is Mr. John Findon. of the Daily Express. He states that the decisive phase of the Battle of Java may begin in a day or two. General ter Poorten's stubborn little army has yielded m*re ground in the west, centre and east. It is impossible to establish a regular front at any point. This is a war in which the enemy moves from tree to tree and plantation to plantation, not along roads which can be protected. The Dutch troops. he adds, say they get a glimpse of the enemy if they are lucky, but usually they are attacked from three sides without catching sight of the little yellow men with Tommy guns. A report from Batavia states that a shipload of aircraft from America was destroyed while off the coast of Java. Resistance in Other Islands

It is pointed out in authoritative circles in London that although there may be no news of fighting in other islands, such as Sumatra, Borneo, Timor and Celebes, it should not be inferred that no fighting is going on. Although the Japanese claim to be in control of these islands they speak only of ports and aerodromes, but the Dutch and their allies have by no means thrown in their hands. When the troops take to this type of guerilla fighting news is difficult to obtain, as any wireless sets they possess would not have the range to give details of what is happening. For the first time since the in\asion it is now possible to get a Hear picture of Japanese intentions, hays the Dutch journalist Paul Krische. The Japanese will try to cut communications between Batavia and Bandoeng, and then turn round for the main attack in the south, where the main body of the Dutch army is waiting in the mountains. The fact that Surakarta has been Decupled shows that the enemy is well on the way to cut Java in half. Broadcast Resented The omission of any reference to the Netherlands East Indies in the broadcast on Wednesday by Sir Stafford Cripps, Leader of the House of Commons, says Mr. Frische, has caused astonishment in Bandoeng. Public comment generally is bitter. lr ia felt that, in the very hour in which Dutch and Allied troops are lighting stubbornly to stem the Japanese advance before it reaches the shores of Australia, a leading British statesman, summing up Britain s Allies, considers it superfluous even to mention Java. This, is as if he were voicing the opinion that the battle of Java is already a lost issue, i matter concerning which it is better not to talk.

It is learned in London that there will be no evacuation of Dutch men ;ind women from Java.

Although reports that a second Japanese armada is bringing troops to Java are not confirmed, the enemy i> undoubtedly bringing in rein- :• icements through, his coastal '■'iclgeheads. The Domei news agency clahns ■hartthe Japanese have occupied the i lairt-roads and railway lines in Java, ind that their motorised units have -penetrated the area *ast of Surabaya