FINE CAMPAIGN

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 283, 26 August 1944, Page 8

FINE CAMPAIGN

Allies In South-east Asia (Received August 26. 1.30 a.m.) LONDON, August 25. The full stirring story of the Southeast Asia Command’s campaign which hurled back the Japanese from India was told, by the connnander-in-ehief, Admiral Mountbatten at a Press conference in London. Admiral Mountbatten, wiio flew to London for consultations, has now returned to his command, After commenting that the events iu south-east Asia had been crowded out by the news of the events in Europe, he pointed out that the Burma front alone extends 700 miles and is second only in length to the Russian front. The Japanese forces iu Burma had been more than doubled since the formation of the Southeast Asia Command; the Japanese were fighting on interior lines of communications, while the Allies were fighting on the most difficult lines of communications in the world. , „ r The communications were built for tea gardens, not for total war,” be said. “There is no scope for the deployment of armour or great encircling movements. You move along the axis of your supply line, building the road behind you. Assam is a logistical nightmare. “In vifiw of my original association with combined operations, mauy people myselff included, jumped to the conclusion that large-scale amphibious operations in south-east Asia would immediately be the order of the day, but it now need be no secret that all the landingships and craft originally allotted had. to be withdrawn for more urgent operation in the west, and the order to us was to carny on with what we had left,” he said. “i am proud to report to you that the order has been carried out in the last seven arduous months iu a manner reflecting credit on all the forces of the United Nations engaged.” In the theatre of the South-east Asia Command Hie Japanese bad been practically driven from the skies, and the navai balance was being steadily redressed. , , , . The Allied forces tins year hart lost 10,000 men killed and 3000 missing., and 27.000 had been wounded. In addition, the sickness casualties had amounted to nearly a quarter of a million.