SURPRISE RAID

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 254, 27 October 1942, Page 5

SURPRISE RAID

KAIM A I HOSTILITIES VALUABLE AIR STRAFING ; ' ,;i MATAMATA. this day. |M •' -niiish-.-ind-cnib raid on ■ •< i" ■' ' : 1'• i ( l'|u,il'tf'rs yesterday aftern""M i;itf <Jll air strafe, two ' 1111 1' 1 '""' invnders claimed a I"" : " ii l( (--.s in the battle of K 111 " ' v - ,n "'' I'll' 1 claim is that ' < " lIL- '"apttired wore the comrni'i'l'iiu* lu'iu'adicr of the New Zea- ' '' 1 '"' '' a iid I liroc colonels. Pend- : -'I'cri of the umpires the ' • ■" ■ 1 1' 'In. c.innrii be checked. A ! -' ! ' admitted is that the raidround the left flank no'--!!' ■■ "I the brigade position, suri" : 1,1 '! : " 1 captured a rear post i; m:;. .i ii\ an olliccr and 27 men and ri;' .i l ciiinninnications. Defence " t' were in touch with the r'c.T ) Ml-It ions only by wireless last mulii I lie attackers claim that eap111'1 1 1 '"I'"' 11dicers were on their «■<■« l >• ii 'he track. I'et.'uce head(|iiarters sav the true h ' n 'hat following the capture of 'he 1 ' P ,wt a counter-attack was '.mm lied b\ ihe company defenders. 1 I u as a stalemate when Mi'' bri'.'.'dn and colonels came on the m fii" ,\> the hour was late and i' l " ' 1 1 ;1, ' i-.ers were short of food and ,A;| \ from homo the brigadier off.-ied t heni ,i hot meal and free pass tiii'HiL'h the defence lines back to ih< ir own headquarters. The a.tai Im'i - came from the Kiwi divi.-i"n .i battalion of which had made it.. : ascent tip a long disused luisli railway some distance to the left of the old Maori track up which 'he other branch of the attacking lone had made their wav. Their penet rat ion through to join up with i lie re -1 oi ihe force was a good piece ut work and a new success, and is applauded, as this battalion has had the hardest going of all. The raid was made through the most difficult country.

Philips Swoop to .Attack It has taught a further lesson to the defenders, who were considered to he in an almost unassailable position, spread out as they were in a circle of strung points" across the track wiili an outer ring of patrols. The defenders, too. were stronger in number.-, than the attacking forces. Throughout the past three davs smoke from the fires has given away the defence of the brigade area, and the attackers took advantage of air reconnaissance reports to iaunch a full-scale aerial attack on the position. Through army air support, control it was arranged for bombers, dive-bombers and fighters to strike at a certain time. In the meantime the attacking force sent out a series of patrols with instructions to penetrate round on all sides of the defensive position. The exercise went perfectly. The patrol lighted smoke candles, which sent up a thick column of smoke, thus marking out the limits of the defence position.

With these as a guide the planes swept in and bombed and strafed the area unmercifully. To those below the noise of the planes was terrific as Siant shapes roared across, just clearing the tree tops. Sandbags, flour hags and small containers of aluminium powder were dropped as bombs .mrl the damage woulri have been heavy. The invaders' raiding partv. which followed, would probably have iound some confusion. Arcnrac.v Of Bombing Two parties of prominent, military visitors on the way to visit, different areas of the fronts were among those who would have been numbered as casualties. Proving the accuracy of bombing was the fact. that, ''one bomb" landed on top of a car used by a well-known A.S.C. lieutenantcolonel. Though division headquarters for the purposes of the exercise are listed as neutral territory, the pilots were apparently unable to resist, the temptation to pay a visit. In line astern, a formation of three big bombers and a supporting fighter swooped down on a tented area, roared over about 100 feet and dropped aluminium bombs, one of which landed just beyond the officers' mess tent. Aerodrome Mmanhed The finale of this part of the exercise was an attack nv New Zealand planes on an aerodrome listed as being used by the invading "Japanese" It was from this aerodrome that, the attack would have come on defending brigade headquarters. The tactics of the attacking planes were well thought out. and completely successful. Warned by intelligence of the impending attack, "Japanese" fighters took off and hid in the clouds. The bombers swept in on a run across the air field and scored many hits on runways and hangars, and drew down on them the full force of the enemy fighters, who were led in dog fights well away from the aerodrome. The fighters, who had made their approach over cloud cover, then dropped down like plummeting birds to dive bomb and rake the airfield with machine guns, unmolested.

While the air support has worked in perfect co-operation with the army on this exercise, it is difficult to make an accurate estimate of the results. The same planes have been working for both sides, and they have boon opposed by anti-aircraft fire, as would have been normal in actual warfare. over the bush, where anti-aircraft operations would have been next to impossible, much bombing would have had to be from much higher !evels than has been the case. The past two days' intensive operations will, however, have been a useful lesson to troops who have not shown sufficient readiness to respond to air attack with offensive action from small arms and machine guns. The planes were vulnerable, this to some extent on low level attacks. Exercise Ends To-Night Midnight to-night will see the end of the exercise, which in its objectives of testing the tactics, equipment and stamina of the troops, has been most revealing Mistakes are rapidly admitted by the controlling officers and their' revelation encouraged. Mm h will lie learned as a result. What ].■ beyond criticism is the spirit, of the men, who have been sorely tried. Whatever role these men are called on to fill in the future they will equip themselves in the best tradition of the N.Z.E.F.

To-morrow will be a day of as many problpms as the opening days of a brief campaign. What has been taken into the bush will now have to br- taken out, but the difficulty will he lessened to some extent by the work of the engineers. Except in the area of bush dividing the opposed forces an excellent punga track has been laid down across the plateau. On the steep track down this traffic has not. been wholly possible, and stores and equipment will have to be man-handled out down through ilio and slippery mud. With iho incentive of a shave, bath, hot, full ration meals and comparatively comfortable beds ahead of them, the troops will make light work of this. Men who can sing round the campfires in such conditions as they have endured will not find the way out a burden.