CAMPAIGN IN PAPUA

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 124, 21 November 1942, Page 7

CAMPAIGN IN PAPUA

ALMOST AT END

(By Telegraph—-Press Association—Copyright.) (Special Australian Correspondent.) (Rec./ 12.30 p.m.) SYDNEY, November 21. The expulsion of the Japanese from Papua is now at hand, according to the Australian Army Minister, Mr. F. M. Forde. The capture of Buna and Gona appears imminent. An advanced Australian column which pushed forward with remarkable speed is engaging the enemy on the outskirts of Gona. The American troops, in action for the first time in the New Guinea war, are making an assault on Buna. , The main bodie*s of the Allied .forces are in close support of the advanced units. The latest news is that they are within two miles of Buna. The American column, driving east along the coast, struck Japanese machine-gun and artillery positions two miles east of Buna. JAPANESE OVERCOME. A second American force, advancing from the south, met mortar and machine-gun fire, but quickly overcame these enemy outposts. While one Australian force is attacking the defences at Gona, the main Australian force is driving against Soputa (10 miles from Buna), where the enemy is believed to have his main defences. Some units of the Australians and Americans are reported to have joined up for a. combined assault. .

The Australians have taken 56 days to reach their objective. They began the offensive on September 25. _