ADVANCE ON TWO JIMA

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24501, 26 February 1945, Page 5

ADVANCE ON TWO JIMA

United States Marines

BITTER ENEMY DEFENCE

(Rec. 10.30 p.m) WASHINGTON, Feb. 24. “Elements of the 3rd, 4th, and Bth Marine Divisions substantially ad* vanced along the whole northern sector of Iwo Jima to-day,” says Admiraj Nlmltz's communique. “The attack was made in the face of Intense firefrom heavy'weapons and rockets, but was carried northward generally about 300 to 500 yards through a maze of interlocking or mutually supporting concrete pillboxes, blockhouses, and ■ fortified caves. All! the areas crossed were heavily mined. _ “By 6 p.m. bur units reached the middle area of /the central airfield and pushed forward several hundred yards on the west and began a drive which expanded our beachhead northward along the east coast about 600 yards. ’ i ■ ' '' ‘ ! , , ‘ln every zone the enemy resided the advance to the full extent ol 'ni? arniamerit. A bazooka type of weapon was employed against our; tanks' and the use of a 500-kilogram rocket bomb continued. ’ “Enemy ‘positions in the area through ' which our units /advanced were generally reinforced blockhouses and: pillboxfis with 4ft bulkheads. In a single'area 400 by 80S yards on the east coast our.forces neutralised about 100 Caves between 30ft, and 40ft deep. Artillery, Support “jhe immediate, result of the advance was. apparent in a marked de--crease of enemy artillery..fireYntb Hie interior area under our control 1 The attack Was supported by marinp artillery and fire from heavy units standing off Iwo Jima. Carrier aircraft continued in close support,' also! attacking Chichi Jima. „ “Marines continued mopping up. enemy strongpoints in and / around Mount SurabachL Incomplete reports indicate that 115 enemy emplacements were destroyed in that sector, A total bf 2799 enemy dead was counted. Conditions on the beaches showed a marked improvement, and the unloading of supplies was accelerated; "Army bombers on February 22 struck .the airfield and Ornura Town on Chichi Jima/and Okimbura Town on Haha Jima. Other aircraft ‘attacked the peiews, Pagan and Fulu-: wat in the Carolines, and enemy bases in the Marshalls.” A Navy spokesman said the marines had suffered-approximately 6000 casualties On Iwo Jima. This, was no more than expected. 1 In spite of .the terrible price the invasion v/as, absolutely necessary to obtain, a good; air base within fighter range of Japan and prevent Japanese attacks on American bases in the Marianas, which had burned quite a few Superfortresses. “The final all-out drive on Iwo Jima has started,” says a National Broadcasting Company broadcaster aboard the flagship off Iwo Jima. “Warships moved in closer to the island to back up the offensive. . “A naval commander after a flight over Iwo Jima said that the fighting for the Mount Surabachi crater was continuing. Marines ranged on .the rim were directing fire toward a trench inside the crater’s western edge, and a cruiser was throwing shells against caves in the side of the peak.” Enemy Counter-Attacks > The United Press correspondent on Iwo Jima says the Japanese are breaking their own backs with coun-ter-attacks. Their frequent onslaughts slow down and sometimes stall the marines’ advance, but the enemy death toll is .unprofltably high, and sometimes entire counter-attacking groups are wiped out. ’Thus the enemy garrison, which cannot be reinforced, is slowly being whittled down., Grim tales of the first throe days of the invasion were told by survivors arriving on the first navel hospital ship. Weary marines, veterans of Saipan and Tinian, said:/ They threw more at us on Iwo Jima than both those landings combined. The Japanese have a new mortar bigger than they have ever used against us. It was plain hell all the way. They let the first and second waves get on the beach and then opened up with everything they had as the third wave went in. The worst thing was that there was no place to hide, no trees, no bushes, nothing. “The Japanese in the mountain caves would take our shelling until it stopped and then pop out again .with mortars and let us have more. They were just like rabbits running back to their burrows and popping out again. Thank God we had air superiority or we would have been really badly off.”

SINGAPORE • RAIDED

SUPERFORTRESSES IN STRENGTH (Rec. 11.15 p.m.) WASHINGTON. Feb. 24. “A large force of Superfortresses from Indian bases attacked the Singapore docks to-day with good results,” reports the 20th Air Force. "Fighter opposition was weak and ali the aeroplanes returned.” The Singapore raido says the raiders caused some damage to the harbour facilities and the city proper. The Tokyo radio says that 130 Superfortresses participated in the raid, which lasted 90 minutes. Nine bombers were damaged.

Russian Writer’s Death.---The Moscow radio has announced the death of Alexei Tolstoy, the well known Russian writer and member of the Supreme Soviet.—London, February 24.