HISTORIC EVENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 106, 1 November 1943, Page 3

HISTORIC EVENT

STORMING THE BEACHES

(N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent.) TREASURY ISLAND, October 27. A milestone in the Dominion's military history was established when men of the 3rd New Zealand Division stormed Treasury Island in the grey dawn. To New Zealanders fell the proud privilege of being the first Em-: pire troops in this war to retake a British island wholly occupied by the enemy. The fact that Treasury Island is only ten minutes by air flight from Bougainville and the operation was therefore extremely hazardous added to the inspiration felt by every man who shared this historic occasion. Also for the first time in this war, New Zealanders made a full-scale opposed assault in amphibious operations. History was also made in the fant that never previously had New Zealand ground troops been supported by air cover provided by our own fighter squadron, which during the whole of the first day patrolled the skies, effectively stopping Japanese bomber efforts to approach the scene of the attack. New Zealanders were proud, too, to be associated with the American specialist detachment in the first of such combined operations. Mutual appreciation among the personnel of American Navy, American ground detachments, and New Zealand troops was a notable feature of the campaign. The assault was made by a brigade group commanded by an officer who took part in the original Gallipoli landing in 1915. HEAVY OPPOSITION. Though' the naval escort's preliminary barrage before dawn chased many of the enemy from the beaches the New Zealanders met heavy opposition as the landing boats tore into the milelong strip of coast. The sky was lit by the ■brilliant flashes of naval guns and the orange streamers from tracer bullets. Sturdy gunboats, steamed slowly inside the harbour entrance belching shells of all calibres into the jungle, while New Zealand and Allied aircraft kept off enemy bomber interference.

An American specialist unit accompanied the New.Zealand storm troops into this inferno of noise and flame, taking mechanised equipment ashore to smash the way for following guns, munitions, and stores. Japanese earth pillboxes sniped.many men before and after they landed. An American bulldozer driver headed his huge machine for a pillbox, smashing obstacles aside and screwing a ninety degree turn on \ top of the trapped enemy. This courageous act eliminated a dangerous post of resistance, killing and burying five Japs in one swoop of the vast bulldozer blade. Despite mortar and mountain gunfire from Japanese positions inland not a man faltered. The assault, which was an inspiration to all who shared in it, revealed the New Zealanders at their aggressive best. The chance to beard To jo within sight of the shores of Bougainville was one the New Zealanders had awaited for months. They made the most of it, pushing the enemy i;back to the jungle,' where he was relentlessly pursued during the whole of the first day. In fifteen minutes the troops established a strong beach-head from which they enlarged their perimeter rapidly. By the end of the first day the situation was well in hand and the New Zealanders had woven another splendid part into the~*<lorious history of the Dominion's figh.~>*<rnen. CLEARING PILL-Bo^S. The bayonet, automatic rifle,^"*"""^ grenade came into their own in tnv. liquidation of several dangerous enemy strong posts that in the early stages escaped the naval barrage and inflicted damage and casualties along the landing beaches. C>n the coast bordering the native village of Falamai, which served as the Japanese headquarters, the enemy had dug deep earth pill-boxes from which poured a stream of rifle and automatic fire. A small party of troops, passing one pillbox, and attacked from behind, wheeled and charged the enemy post. Five Japs were found inside. Two were immediately killed with tommy-gun bursts, and the other three anticipated their fate, blowing themselves up with their own grenades. A few snipers were cleared from foxholes and bushes at the point of the bayonet. The greatest achievement of the patrols was the elimination of two mountain gun posts and one heavy mortar position. These had been causing devastation in pattern shelling along the beach during the landing and for a few hours later. To silence them destroyers stood off shore, while patrols worked through the bush to the gun posts. In a, short savage attack the New Zealanders cleaned one crew up with cold steel, and moved to the second, killing the crew with grenades. The third crew fled, but were overtaken in a hide-out with enemy command post personnel and duly liquidated. The enemy positions had been behind the New Zealanders' left flank, ranging some thousand yards on to shipping and working parties. Their elimination was one of the best pieces of work of the day, preventing great delay in unloading and possible heavy damage to ships.