ALLIED ADVANCE IN NEW GUINEA

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23799, 19 November 1942, Page 5

ALLIED ADVANCE IN NEW GUINEA

Japanese Aircraft Destroyed NO OPPOSITION ON LAND (Special Australian Corresp., N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 12.30 a.m.) SYDNEY. Nov. 18. The Japanese have attempted to bring air support to aid their harassed land forces in New Guinea. Their gesture has proved expensive, costing them 15 bombers and fighters—l 4 on the ground in a surprise Allied raid on Lae, and one which attempted to intercept the raid. The raid on the Lae aerodrome was sharp retaliation for a coastal attack made by 18 Japanese aircraft in the Buna sector on Monday, when two of our trawlers were sunk. Attacks were also directed against Allied ground troops. . , Meanwhile, both the Australian and the American ground forces continue to advance towards Buna without opposition. The Allied forces are stated to be moving towards their objective by jungle trails, as well as by roads levelled and regraded by Japanese engineers, An effective air supply line from Port Moresby is maintaining a flow of vital stores and equipment. The Japanese .forces, under Lieuten-ant-General Tomatore Horii, are reported to be seriously, disorganised. Lieutenant-General Horii, a former infantry commander of the Japanese 55th Division, was transferred to the command of the Nankai detachment, with which he occupied Rabaul in January. He organised both the enemy’s successful drives against Port Moresby. It is now revealed that he took a re' ;- ment (equivalent to a British brigade, about 2600 men) aefoss the Owen Stanley ranges in his second abortive thrust. It is evident that the majority of this force lost their lives. Malaria and other tropical diseases are assisting to increase the toll of those killed in action. No large-scale contact has yet been made with Lieutenant-General Horii s remaining forces, although the Australian troops ar? believed to have caught up with and disposed of a few stragfilers. The Allied a;r forces continue to attack the retreating Japanese without respite. Our marked air superiority should give considerable added value to the occupation of Buna, which has areas smtabl-i fox aerodrome construction. Apart from Buna’s value as an operational base against Lae, Salamaua, and Raboul, Allied occupation of the area will enable us to obtain more accurate information for air operations. ~ ~, The Prime Minister of Australia (Mr J. Curtin) has revealed that the Allies in New Gu.nea are now in greater strength than the Japanese. He has pointed out, fo r >, that the Solomons and. New Guinea victories are merely part of widei Allied successes, “In 'every theatre of war the enemy has had a battering,” he f.aid. “Nowhere can I see' the enemy in the ascendant. On the contrary, I see Allied plans, long matured, behig carried into effect. Problems of , organisation are being overcome and events are all combining to-day to give us a greater measure of hope than at any time since the war began."