RENDOVA LANDING

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 3, 3 July 1943, Page 5

RENDOVA LANDING

SWIFf SURPRISE BLOW

LONDON, July 2,

"The all-out American assault On the Japanese stronghold of New Georgia was brilliantly conceived and Jlirihgly executed,; and it caught the Japanese by surprise," says a correspondent of the "Daily Express" aboard the flagship of a United States destroyer division off Rendova Island. "It was dawn when the landing began and late in the afternoon before the Japanese struck," the correspondent says. "By then we were on pur way back to the base, having landed all the men and supplies. "It was conceded that the blow must take the Japanese by surprise if it was to succeed completely, and it did. The plan did not go into effect till late on Tuesday afternoon, and orders whica liad been compiled in painstaking detail over many months were distributed. .';. . •■ :'The embarkation beach then became the scene of feverish activity. AH day the beach was black .with men and trucks, and the channel in which the ships lay Was crowded with small landing craft. . , A ""It was raining and the night was pitch-black as a destroyer well ahead of the convoy, landed troops on the tiny island of Bauane Kokirana, which guards the 100 yards wide entrance to the equally small Rendova harbour. Our purpose=was to'knock out Japanese- patrols and enable the main landing to proceed immediately the trans- j ports arrived. • "Dawn was breaking as the transports swung at their anchorages outside, the harbour entrance. The Japanese soon opened fire, and salvo after salvo from our destroyers crashejl on to the shore. Meanwhile dozens of landing-j boats were running between the ships ahd the shore through the narrow: channel. ■ , _ ■ "The destroyers were under .fire three times from the Japanese batteries, but all were silenced. A few enemy planes came over, but were destroyed by our fighter screen before they were able to attack. "The job was completed by 3.15 p.m.; every man and piece of equipment was on the beach. Then 25 enemy torpedo planes, flying-low,, were reported to be approaching. Our ships opened up with anti-airrrafti fire ana two of the Japanese planes were de- ; stroyed within seconds. Most of the planes shied off from the destroyers and headed for the empty transports, while the destroyers spewed flames from their turret guns and thousands of tracer bullets flew from the automatic weapons. "The air attack lasted perhaps 12 minutes, in which 12 Japanese planes were brought down. The convoy steamed on into a slowly-gathering rainstorm as our fighter screen pursued the other Japanese planes. • "For the ships the day. was over. There were still plenty of enemy planes trying to get in, but they were beaten off by our fighters. The black night fell as we steamed back to our base." "