ENCIRCLING MOVE FRUSTRATED

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 99, 21 January 1942, Page 7

ENCIRCLING MOVE FRUSTRATED

Strong Enemy Landing In Muar Area VITAL A.I.F. SUCCESS SYDNEY, January 20. Major-General Gordon Bennett yesterday cabled the Army Minister, Mr. Forde, reporting that the A.I.F. in the Muar River sector threw back the Japanese spearheads. A.I.F. troops were rushed to the Muar River front after Indian troops had been forced to give ground under intense enemy pressure, he said. The Australians beat off repeated Japanese attacks, and were holding the position. Yesterday’s action near Muar was one of the most vital battles of the whole campaign, says the official Australian war correspondent in Malaya. The enemy had effected a landing in some strength with tanks, and if he had succeeded in advancing he would have cut the main road running to our forward troops further north. . „ The action proved a triumph for the anti-tank gunners. Contact was first made with the Japanese by infantry' at dusk on the night of January 17. Artillery kept up a fire on the roads, holding the Japanese stationary till dawn, when light Japanese tanks came down the road. Ten Tanks Destroyed. Anti-tank guns, which were placed in position dominating a cutting in the road, held their fire till the first of six tanks was only 30 yards away. A direct hit caused it to burst into flames, and the other tanks, piling up behind it, were hit one after another. As what members of the tank crews were left alive got out of their burning tanks, supporting Australian infantry picked them off. Meanwhile four more tanks, some distance behind the original six, were knocked off, making a total of 10 destroyed. Artillery in the meantime was putting up a huge barrage along the road, making it impossible for the Japanese to get any transport forward. However, their troops came on through the rubber trees, and toward 10 a.m. it was realized that the Australians were more or less surrounded. Behind them the Japanese felled trees, blocking the road and preventing our carriers from coming forward. There was little actual hand-to-hand fighting in this period, but there were frequent exchanges of mortar and artildery fire. About 4 p.m. the roar of Bren carriers told of reinforcements. Behind the carriers came fresh infantry sweeping through the rubber plantations and mopping up the Japanese. Preparing For Next Phase. LONDON, January 19. The Australians are no longer thinking iu terms of delaying actions, but are uow bent on holding up the Japanese in preparation for a new phase of the buttle iu Jahore, says the Associated Press correspondent in Singapore. The R.A.F. attacks on Japanese transports on January 10 must have done terrific damage, probably effectively delaying enemy movements with large numbers of wrecked lorries choking the principal roads. The continued activity of our air forces undoubtedly is the greatest tonic to the troops. If only we had more squadrons it would be devastating. The Japanese news agency claimed that the Japanese on the west coast of Malaya were under 25 miles from Singapore. It also claimed that the British fighter force had abandoned the Tengah and Selatar aerodromes, and taken refuge iu Sumatra. 191 CASUALTIES Sunday’s Attacks On Singapore LONDON, January 19. The Far Eastern Command announces that during yesterday’s raids on Singapore a third enemy aircraft was shot down in addition to the two previously reported. Casualties reported during yesterday’s attacks are 56 killed and 135 injured—mostly civilians. JAPANESE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG NEW YORK, January 19. Tokio radio announced that the Emperor Hirohito had appointed the former Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, Lieutenant-General Rensuke Isogai, to be Governor-General of Hong Kong.