ENEMY ABANDONS PUSH TO MORESBY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 206, 1 September 1942, Page 3

ENEMY ABANDONS PUSH TO MORESBY

NIGHT departure

Major Success For Allied

Forces

Special Australian Correspondent Lmted Press Association—Copyright Rec. 1.30 p.m. SYDNEY, this day. Japanese forces trapped in the corner of the northern peninsula at , -^ ay ' at . the south-eastern tip of New Guinea, are being systematically and rapidly exterminated by Australian troops. High officers do not expect the surrender of the remaining enemy troops but believe they will offer bitter resistance to the last. • The sudden dramatic change in the situation was revealed in a statement to war correspondents, which read as follows:—"The Milne Bay area is rapidly being cleared of the enemy. Australian combat troops, ably commanded by Major-General C. A. Clowes, brilliantly supported by American and Australian air units, have thrown the enemy back into the narrow confines of the peninsula north of the bay, where they are being rapidly reduced. Their losses have been heavy. "Some remnants of the Japanese force were probably saved from destruction by evacuation in naval warcraft under covcr of darkness. All the enemy heavy supplies and equipment, including tanks, were lost. "The greatest Japanese effort in the New Guinea offensive was to turn the right flank by the surprise attack at Milne Bay. The move was anticipated, however, and prepared for with great care. With complete secrecy the position was'occupied by ouri forces and converted into a strongpoint. The enemy fell . into-the trap, with disastrous results." Commentators express surprise at the evacuation of the Japanese forces, presumably by enemy warships which left the bay on Sunday. It is pointed out that the invariable Japanese military policy -is to fight to the death against any odds in order to gain their objective. Some observers connect the disappearance of the warships with the battle for the Solomons and believe the ships may have joined a great enemy naval concentration which will make a bid to shatter the Allied ieet and land reoccupying forces on the six islands now heid by the Americans. Whatever the reason for the Japanese departure from Milne Bay, an important strategic gain, as well as a tremendous moral victory has been made by our forces. Capture of Tanks The mention of the capture of tanks is the first official revelation that the Japanese had landed armoured fighting vehicles in New Guinea. The use of tanks emphasises that the enemy move on Milne Bay was intended to be a major holding operation. The considerable part played by the Allied air forces in the Milne Bay operations is now being revealed. The Australian troops, who on Sunday trigged through heavy mud and dense jungle in the Rouble Mission, where the enemy made their initial landing on Wednesday, found only one live Japanese. He was seriously wounded and his since died. Scores of dead Japanese were found by our advancing troops as evidence of the success of the continued strafing by Kittyhawks flown by Australian pilots-

The Australian land forces also found abandoned tanks which were used by the Japanese for night fighting. They protected enemy macjhinegunners, who approached the Australians' prepared positions with each tank. Then the tanks turned glaring lights on our troops while the machine-guns opened fire at short range. "Surge of Relief Felt" The victory of Milne Bay has been described as '"sending a surge of fierce joy throughout Australia." The Sydney Morning Herald savs: "Transcending even the relief at the removal of the new enemy threat to Port Moresby, and thus to the mainland, is the feeling of stern satisfaction that the measures which the Japanese, arrogant and pitiless in their conquests, have meted out to a succession of unprepared opponents. has at last been aealt out to one of their landing forces in New Guinea."

It is regarded as certain that the Japanese will throw new forces into the New Guinea struggle. Many observers suggest that the present fighting in New Guinea and the Solomons throws into bold relief the need for a unified command in the South-west Pacific.

Byron Darnton, the New York Times war correspondent, emphasises the weaknesses of the system under which General Mac Arthur and Admiral Ghormley operate as commanders in adjacent areas. He adds: "I do not say whether it should be General Mac Arthur or Admiral Ghormley who receives the unified command, but somebody should."