TRAIL WIDENED IN RANGES

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 305, 23 September 1942, Page 6

TRAIL WIDENED IN RANGES

Japanese In New Guinea HEROIC DEFENDERS (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Special Australian Correspondent.) (Received Sept. 22, 11.15 p.m.) SYDNEY, September 22. The Japanese have widened parts of the trail across the Owen Stanley Ranges and, though harassed by continual Allied air attacks, are steadilv moving up supplies. As well as quick-firing mountain guns, they have also succeeded in bringing 75 millimetre artillery to their forward positions. Other weapons be; ing used by the enemy include longrange .92 heavy machineguns. ■ While renewed pressure by the Japanese is expected, the latest communique from General MacArthur s headquarters reports that no change has yet occurred in the land fighting. Great gallantry is being shown by Australian, patrols who have made the enemy advance expensive. On Sunday, a small party ferreting out enemy gun positions, discovered a mountain gun in charge of an officer and six men. Though they heard a large party of Japanese approaching, they attacked the gun-crew. The officer was killed and then the patrol picked off the members of the crew. The Australians escaped into the jungle without loss. A war correspondent says that courage similar to that shown by the Anzacs .in storming the heights of Gallipoli is shown again and again :n New Guinea. He reports that when a platoon of Australians, attacked a strong-ly-held Japanese position, they were pinned down by withering fire from heavy machineguns. Though many of his comrades were killed, one Digger refused to be stopped. Three times hit in the chest, he crawled along a steep slope till he was able to, throw hand grenades into the machinegun nests. Some of the enemy gunners were killed and with a tommy-gun the Australian kept the remaining machineguns silent while his battered platoon reformed for a successful attack. Many other stories are told of offensive and defensive gallantry which cost the Japanese heavy casualties and shved the Australians many lives. One Bren-gunner whose position was overrun by the Japanese,-refused to withdraw, and remained at his post, till -his ammunition’ was expended, delaying the main Japanese advance long enough for the Australians' to form new defensive positions. Supply Routes Pounded. The Allied air force continues to give' close support to the ground troops. Further offensive sweeps have been made by fighters along the BunaKokoda supply route. A headquarters spokesman said that six tons of bombs and 15,000 rbuuds of ammunition were used on Sunday’s.aerial strafing. On Monday, the wire. rope bridge over the Kumusi River, below Kokoda, was destroyed. The bridge was previously destroyed by the Australian forces before they retired, but was restored by the enemy.

After a long lull, the Japanese air force on Monday resumed their ineffectual offensive in New Guinea. They sent 27 heavy bombers with an escort of 10 Zeros to attack the area northwest of Port Moresby. Their bombs dropped harmlessly in scrub 32 miles from Port Moresby. No damage or casualties resulted. The nature of the enemy objective has not been stated. The last previous-large scale <>neniy air atttek' on Port Moresby, was on September 8 when 26 bombers, with fighter escort, made a raid which caused little damage.

Medium bombers of General MacArthur’s command have made a further night raid on the enemj' aerodrome at Buka in the northern Solomons, but the results were not observed.

LESSONS FURTHER STRESSED

Question Of Leadership

(Received September 22, 11.55 p.m.) NEW YORK, September 22.

The “Herald-Tribune” in an editorial declares that Majdr Eliot’s impatience with the management of the defence of Port Moresby 4s a feeling which every' reader shares,: but. .which . the layman is naturally loath to express. “No one doubts the courage and individual resourcefulness of the Australian and American soldiery or has much faith in the superlative cleverness of the Japanese. Wherever they have won victories, it was by’ doing the obvious thing with great courage after intensive training in the job—no more than that. Where the victories were easy it was because good soldiery were led against them by commanders lacking in the imagination to see the obvious, and lacking the gumption to adjust themselves to it. '“The only thing' in doubt at Port Moresby is the leadership of the forces which surrendered the strong defensive positions on the high ridges in the Owen Stanley Ranges to the Japanese, who were able to .keep their supplies moving swiftly to the front lines over all geographical obstacles. One gathers from the complaints about the frightful terrain difficulties that were encountered in keeping the defending forces supplied that this is what their commanders failed to do, Japanese Method “Eschewing the open road on which the supply trains would be exposed to a superior air force, the Japanese moved equipment through swamps and jungles and over precipitous heights by sheer manpower. To the Oriental commander, accustomed to Rising twolegged beasts of burden, this is the obvious thing to do. It means transport in bad country, at which the Japanese are painfully inferior to the Chinese, who move artillery over the roughest country’ by coolie power 20 miles a day. “But in the conflict with the mechanized Occident, the Japanese are superior. After five years as onlookers, and after seven months of distressing first-hand experience, the Occidental commanders are still surprised into forfeiting one advantage after another by the enemy’s ability to keep moving where trucks and tractors are useless.”

“As Major Eliot suggests, no explanation would be good enough to excuse the loss of Port Moresby. The best manpower in the world is there and also the equipment and air power. The only thing that could cost the United Nations their hold in New Guinea would be lack of adaptability to the tough environment in the quarters where the thinking is supposedly done If the United 'Nations cannot get into the habit of dealing with that kind of shortage till after each disastrous, humiliating setback, this will be a long war indeed.”