JAVA’S STUBBORN LITTLE ARMY

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 138, 7 March 1942, Page 7

JAVA’S STUBBORN LITTLE ARMY

Forced Back Toward Main Centres JAPANESE TACTIC (By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Received March 6, 11.10 p.m.) LONDON, March 6. Lieutenant-General ter Poorten’s stubborn little army yesterday yielded more ground in the west, centre and east, says the Bandoeng correspondent of the “Daily Express.” “It is impossible for the Dutch to establish a regular front at any point,” he writes. “This is a war in which the enemy has moved from tree to tree, from plantation to plantation, and not along the roads which can be protected by anti-tank barriers, armoured cars or tanks. Dutch troops who have been in the forward positions say that they see the enemy if they are lucky, but usually they have been attacked from three sides without catching a glimpse of the little yellow men with tommy-guns.” There are indications this morning that the position of Batavia, the capital from which the Government recently moved to Bandoeng, is serious. Japanese troops are menacing the city from two directions, and the latest Bandoeng communique stated that the enemy had captured a town 10 miles from Batavia, while the Japanese claim to be even nearer. Two towns between Batavia and Bandoeng have been occupied. In the east the enemy are believed to be 40 miles from Surabaya. The thrust near the centre is approaching the south coast.