BRITISH FORCES DIVE-BOMBED

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23535, 13 January 1942, Page 3

BRITISH FORCES DIVE-BOMBED

RETREAT IN CENTRAL MALAYA JAPANESE SUFFER HEAVY LOSSES (Received January 13, 2 a.m.) .SINGAPORE, January 12. While they are retreating in Malaya the British defenders are inflicting almost unbelievable slaughter on the Japanese, says a correspondent of the British United Press in a dispatch from Kuala Lumpur. The British are greatly outnumbered by the enemy with heavier mechanised forces. The correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” at the front says the British falling back along the central Malayan highway and railway are harried by waves of dive-bombers. The Japanese are also landing reinforcements on the east coast for the troops filtering down the coast, although the Royal Air Force is bombing their transports. The Japanese are now sending tank forces ahead of their troops to open the way for the advance, says a correspondent of the “New York Times” with the British near Kuala Lumpur. Formerly, the enemy infantry was accompanied by a light tank mounting two machine-guns or an occasional 12ton tank. The tank thrusts are now supported by dive-bombing and machine-gunning of the British positions. The well-developed roads round Kuala Lumpur give greater scope for tanks than any territory in which the enemy has advanced. Occasionally, Japanese officers dismount from their tanks and direct a column like traffic policemen. These are always promptly shot by the British. . The Japanese Domei Agency says that Australian troops bore the brunt of the Japanese attack on Kuala Lumpur. but were forced to retreat. The Columbia Broadcasting System in New York discloses that the British authorities in Singapore have banned its broadcasting correspondent, Cecil Brown, from the air on the ground that “Brown’s broadcasts were detrimental to local public morale and the manner of his broadcasts led the authorities to regard him persona'non grata.” It is noteworthy that Brown is noted in New York for his pessimistic reports and comments from Singapore and also for his occasional bitter anti-British remarks.