OUTNUMBERED AND OUTGUNNED

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 4, 30 September 1943, Page 5

OUTNUMBERED AND OUTGUNNED

Japanese At Finschhafen

(deceived September 29, 10,30 p.m.) SYDNEY, September 29. The Japanese have suffered heavy casualties in sharp fighting in the region of the Bnmi River, south of their base at Finschhafen, in New Guinea. Australian losses are light. Our forward elements have advanced to Llebbe Creek, west of Finschhafen township. These developments are reported in today’s communique from General MacArthur. The Japanese are outnumbered and outgunned and the fall of the 'base is inevitable, writes an Australian war correspondent. Haste is being subordinated to a policy of tightly pegging the costs of the campaign. Our forces are steadily crowding on the enemy defence line. The close dispositions have .greatly limited Allied air support for the ground forces. It is more likely that the enemy’s defences will crumble suddenly than that the campaign will develop into a slow and methodical whittling down of Japanese strength. Japanese aircraft on Monday made sporadic raids on Allied beach positions and the aerodrome in the Finschhafen area, but inflicted only light casualties and caused no material damage.