GREAT RAID ON SALAMAUA

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24027, 16 August 1943, Page 5

GREAT RAID ON SALAMAUA

Centre of Town Demolished HEAVY BOMB LOAD DROPPED (Special Australian Corresp.. N.ZP.A.) (Rec. 9 p.m.) SYDNEY, Aug. 15. Brilliant new records were established by Allied airmen operating in the south-west and south Pacific areas when the greatest weight of bombs ever dropped in 48 hours on any objective in these war zones devastated Salamaua, the threatened Japanese base on the north-east New Guinea .coast. Under attacks on Friday and Saturday, when 349 tons of bombs were rained on the enemy base, a portion of Salamaua “virtually ceased to exist.” Salamaua is being menaced by Australian and American ground forces and it is under fire from Allied artillery. The central. part of Salamaua has “virtually ceased to exist” following the heaviest Allied air raids ever made in the south-west Pacific area, states General/MacArthur’s communique. In the last two days 349 tons of high explosives have shattered this enemy base, towards which Australian and American troops are slowly but steadily driving. Friday’s attack, which was a record, saw 177 tons of bombs dropped. On Saturday the target area was again shattered by 172 tons of bombs. Friday’s raid was also the second heaviest attack made on a single objective by the combined south-west and south Pacific air forces, including airmen from 4 Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The record raid was on July 13, when 186 tons of high explosives were dropped on the beleaguered Munda airfield, in New Georgia. Previous Raid The previous heaviest raid at Salamaua was on August 11, when 142 tons of explosives were dropped on the town, which was already within range of the Allied artillery. Friday’s great attack on Salamaua, which dramatically broke the aerial lull caused by bad weather, was made by Flying Fortresses, Liberators, and Marauders, and was concentrated into 45 minutes.- The Japanese did not attempt interception and their anti-air-craft fire was lighter than usual. These features of inadequate enemy defence were again evident, in Saturday’s attack. Liberators initiated Friday’s blasting of Salamaua by bombing the peninsula in the early morning. They' left flames rising 500 feet. A second force of Liberators struck against the aerodrome and isthmus. Later the group of Liberators, Flying Fortresses, and Marauders ultimately blotted out the target area under a pall of smoke and dust, so that accurate estimation of the results was impossible. One terrific explosion sent smoke rising 6000 feet. Full details of Saturday's attack are not yet available but General MacArthur’s communique to-day reports that the bombing, was concentrated against the enemy’s forward areas, the aerodrome, adjacent villages, and the ground defences near Bobdubi. The dock on the west shore of the isthmus was destroyed and explosions and fires were observed throughout the target area. Enemy positions on Bobdubi ridge were demolished. GROUND FORCES MOVE UP BATTLE FOR MOUNT TAMBU ROOSEVELT RIDGE ATTACKED (Special Australian Corresp., N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 0 p.m.) SYDNEY, Aug. 15. The Australian forces co-operating with the Americans in the drive against Salamaua are fighting grimly for possession of Mount Tambu. The mountain is the key to all the low-lying ground south of the Francisco river. Experienced army officers say the struggle will develop into another as fierce as the Buna campaign. The precipitous nature of the country increases the difficulty of the fighting. To-day’s communique also reports that the Allied forces advancing against Salamaua in the Tambu Bay area successfully attacked the western end of Roosevelt ridge, wiping out enemy pillboxes and inflicting many casualties. When six Japanese aircraft attacked Allied artillery emplacements after dark they caused no damage. “Our men are living like mountain goats on precariously steep slopes,” writes an Australian war correspondent from a forward area. “Theirs is a life of continuous hardship—clothes sodden from never-ending rain and only an occasional hot meal to break the monotony of operational rations. Yet their morale could not be higher. They are seasoned campaigners, many of them back from the Middle East, and they have a genius for improvisation and for contriving to make themselves relatively comfortable in their rare moments of rest. They are fighting on tortuous trails and in mud up to their knees. The natural obstacles they have to overcome are unbelievable,” the correspondent says. These troops are known as the “miracle men” of New Guinea, and they have beaten the Japanese whenever they were met. More than 1000 of the enemy have been killed since the opening of the present phase of the campaign. Allied mountain guns relentlessly hammer the Japanese in their foxholes and pillboxes on the scarps of Mount Tambu, Artillery is playing an important part in the duel for this high ground dominating Salamaua. The Japanese customarily retire into their foxholes during the shellings, emerging speedily to man their weapon pits when threatened by direct infantry assault. Mount Tambu is just six miles south of Salamaua. Full Allied possession of Mount Tambu would be a major step in forcing the Japanese back to the Peninsula of Salamaua itself. The peninsula area is said, by some commentators, to be unsuitable for a prolonged defensive stand, R-BOATS ATTACKED BY FLEET AIR ARM (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON. Aug. 14. Albacores of the Fleet Air Arm, operating with the Fighter Command, discovered three R-boats (fast motor vessels armed with torpedo tubes) just off the French coast, when on patrol over the Gulf of St. Malo one night this week. One pilot went in to attack in the face of flak from two of the R-boats and scored a direct hit on the leading boat. It burst into flames, which lit up the sea for at least four minutes, while the pilot was making a wide sweep to observe, the results. New Netherlands Minister—Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands has appointed Jacob Burger, a Minister without portfolio. The new Minister, who, by nature of his position and activities in the occupied Netherlands, has a full knowledge of conditions in the home country, has been entrusted with a special task in connexion with the present preparations for a return to the Netherlands.—London, August 14. _