"Greatest Activity Since Pearl Harbour"

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13056, 26 January 1943, Page 5

"Greatest Activity Since Pearl Harbour "

BOMBERS AND SHIPS RAID JAP. BASES

IERICAN ADVANCE ON GUADALCANAR

DESTROYER AND SUPPLY SHIP HIT

London, Jan. 25. 1 leanar in the Solomons 'U.S. forces have captured On Gua a ' c ese positions west of the airfield. The Japanseven iwP 01 ™ resistance and 200 were killed. The Americans ese offere? ■. of enemy stores and equipment. seized aqn . . be - c i ea red of all effective enemy opposition.. G SSese remain alive out of the 15,000 originally landed only 4oUU Y Unit ed sta tes forces have killed 8000, and a further on the isla "./ d from W ounds, disease and starvation. 3000 have rg have been disclosed by an officer of the United fr!,ws Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis Puller, in an officially States Ma^ ter ' vieWi Colonel Puller, who left Guadalcanal* on New sponsored in _ "The Japanese forces on the island are through years *>*?> fi „ htms; force is concerned. I expect we won't have en far as a ie<u n D IltiX & ~ I trouble clearing up the rest. _ • m Tit colonel added that he did not regard the enemy air base at l New Georgia, as a serious threat, and added that the JapJlunaa, any effective bases south of Buin, and Bougain-

Tioanese positions on the island of New Georgia have been , j\i anc j bombarded by U.S. air and naval forces. The official announcement from Washington states that big fires 1 heavy explosions in fuel and ammunition dumps indicated that f enemy-held area had been completely burnt out This and the air activity over New Guinea, said a U.S. Naval Jkesraan constituted the greatest air activity in the South and and South-west Pacific since Pearl Harbour. A lar°'e Japanese destroyer and also a cargo ship were damI by US aircraft in an action off Shortland Island. The Japanese in north-west New Guinea area are making sava,e attempts to discourage the presence of Allied aircraft over Wewak about 200 miles north of Madang. Here the Japanese are doing their best to keep up their fighter strength. Heavy Allied air attacks on this base have accounted for 17 enemy fighters m the last four days.