MacARTHUR MOVES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 301, 20 December 1943, Page 3

MacARTHUR MOVES

Contact With Ground Forces

On Bougainville

ENEMY GUN POSTS SMASHED

Rec. 11 a.m.

SYDNEY, this day.

Patrol contacts with Japanese ground forces in all sectors of the American beachhead at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville Island, are reported in General Mac Arthur s latest communique. Allied air attacks have smashed several enemy gun positions on Buka, on the northern tip of Bougainville. Liberators of General Mac Arthur's command have again reached out over Borneo and Celebes to batter oil refineries at Balik Papan and the harbour area at Macassar. These areas were last raided on Decembei 11 Adverse weather hindered observation of results in the latest attacks. At Lautem, Timor, R.A.A.F. Beaufiehters scored eight direct bomb hfts on a 4000-ton transport which sank almost immediately. /Jjf Hermit Islands, New Guinea, a Libprator sank a 2000-ton tanker, smashing its stern with 10001b bombs. The vessel caught fire and sank within an hour. The United States has airfields on ■Rnnta Island and Betio Island, m the Tarawa atoll, also on Abemama atoll in the Gilberts, according to the Navy Department. Another airfield is being completed on Makin Island The authorities indicate that some of the Gilberts aerodromes will be used by bombers as well as fighters All the fields will be useful to attack the Marshall Islands.

U.S. TORPEDO BOAT

SHOOTS DOWN JAP. SEAPLANE

Rec . 9.30 a.m. SYDNEY, this day. The most unusual detail of operations reported by General MacArthur's week-end communique was p successful attack by an Allied motor torpedo-boat against a fourencined Japanese flying-boat south of New Britain. The torpedohoft shot down the .aircraft This is not the first occasion on which our tnrnedo-boats have defeated Japanese o?rpraft Several were similarly successful during the Philippines campaign.