BATTLE IN NORTH NEW GUINEA

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 95, 16 January 1943, Page 5

BATTLE IN NORTH NEW GUINEA

Enemy On Defensive

(By Telegraph.—press Assn.—Copyright.) (Special Australian Correspondent.) (Received January 15, 11.40 p.m.) SYDNEY, Jan. 15. - Australian troops, thrusting through the jungle in northern New Guinea toward the Japanese outpost bases round palamaua, have launched their first big attack. General MacArthur s headquarters today released a story of the storming of Mubo, the enemy village strongpoint about 1 5 miles south of Salamaua. The fighting in the area began on Tuesday and was continuing late on Wednesday, when 1 1 6 enemy dead had been counted.;

The indications are that the-action is much more intensive than the earlier patrol sorties. For several days past an Allied air force has been “softening up” the enemy positions in the area, mid reports have been made of strafing sweeps along the track between Salamaua and Komiatum, which is about half-way to Mubo. In. one raid our bombers destroyed a vital bridge, thus hampering the passage of enemy supplies. The Japanese occupied Mubo late last August, but .their inland drive toward Wau was checked by an Australian force, which has been hiding in the jungle for some months. It is still tod early to discuss the implication of this latest attack against the enemy positions in north New Guinea, but at least it proves that the Allies are determined to maintain the offensive initiative in this theatre.

suggests that recent writings of her experts carry a tacit admisson that Japan required at least 20,000,000 tons of shipping to construct and develop her “prospenty sphere”—which* is another way of telling the Japanese people that they cannot hop®, fully to exploit their conquests. The recent fortnight’s bombing attacks on Rabaul cost the enemy 150,000 tons of shipping, representing about onequarter of Japan’s annual building capacity. This realization of Japan’s vulnerability in her shipping artery has been an important reason prompting the Australian insistence on the need for increased air striking power in the .South Pacific. An Allied offensive directed toward Rabaul would force the enemy to continue to jeopardize irreplaceable shipping resources, and its success would secure a naval base from which to move the sea war closer to Japan. Such an offensive against Rabaul, the London “Times” suggests, must be co-ordinated with the re-opening of Chinese communications to India. The lastiplans also would have the object of bringing the Japanese army in Manchuria to battle, and of penetrating the positions on the east coast of Asia from which to menace Japan itself.

Lae Destroyed. The heaviest air sweeps which have yet been made along the coast have accompanied the latest Allied land attack, and Madang, Finschafen, Lae and Salamaua all felt the weight of our bombing and strafing attacks yesterday. Lae, tlie main base of the Japanese in New Guinea, is a smoking ruin after a week of unrelenting bomber raids. Harbour installations, stores and aerodrome buildings have been destroyed in the raids, which followed the landing of an unimown number of . Japanese troop reinforcements in the area last week. Significantly, there was no attempt by the enemy at fighter interception in our latest raid, which was made by Mitchell medium bombers with Lightnings as escorts. The building area round the new aerodrome which the Japanese are constructing at Finschafen has again been bombed and strafed. In New Britain the enemy aerodrome at Gasmata has been under atack by Liberators.

No new developments are reported from Sanananda, where, in spite of continued heavy rains, the Allied ground forces are steadily increasing their pressure. Havoc attack planes yesterday made 16 strafing runs over the jungle at the mouth of the nearby Kumusi River, where the remnants of routed Japanese detachments may be hiding. Small parties of the enemy are known to have established themselves at isolated points, and every target of suspicion is being strafed and bombed.

In Timor Beaufighters again attacked the new enemy aerodrome at Fuiloro, and positions at Laga, on the north coast east of Dili, were bombed by Hudsons.