Two Important Towns Captured

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 110, 12 May 1942, Page 5

Two Important Towns Captured

x BRITISH AVOID TRAPS

LONDON, May 11.

North-west of Mandalay, General Alexander's men retiring up the Chindwin Valley have so far escaped every Japanese attempt to entrap them.

It is officially announced, from New Delhi that enemy planes yesterday raided a small country town in eastern Assam; Military and civilian casualties wife, moderate, and the material damage slight. . v !• T_h|;Gbyerrior, of. Burma, Sir Reginald '. Dbrman'-Smith,' stated today that" he was anxious to jjilace in correct' perspective'reports ; that in Burma the Japanese had been greatly helped by the co-operation of Burmese. The number of Burmese who had v gone over to the enemy from political motives, he said, was infinitesimal.

Today's Chungking communique confirms the capture by the Japanese of Bhamo and Myitkyina, two important centres of communication in northern Burma. Myitkyina is the terminus of the 300 miles of railway from Mandalay to the north, and is the starting point of two possible roads into India. From Bhamo, 85 miles soufri of Myitkyina, a motor road runs east to join the Burma Road near the Chinese frontier. The fall of these two towns means that the Japanese now hold every important town in Burma .except Maymyo, 45 miles east of Mandalay, which the Chinese recaptured last week. There is no official news from the Mandalay sector, but Chinese forces were reported last night to have reached the outskirts of the city. It is suggested in London that these 'troops are possibly guerrilla units who have fought their way north from Taunggyi. "