MARIANAS LANDING

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 June 1944, Page 5

MARIANAS LANDING

U.S.A. FORCE’S ADVANCE

GOOD PROGRESS MADE WASHINGTON, June 15. “Assault troops have secured bnnrhheads on Saipan, in the Marianas and are advancing inland Gainst artillery, mortar, and ma-chine-gun Are,” says a United States Pacific Fleet communique. “Virtually ail heavy coastal and antiaircraft batteries on the island were knocked out by naval gunfire and bombing. - j A “Our troops have captured AginPoint. Brisk fighting continues fn the town of Charan Kanoa. The enemy attempted several counterattacks with tanks, which were broken up by our troops, with the support of ships and aircraft. In o-eneral, the fighting is heavy, but “ood progress is being made against well-organised defences 1 .” The landing forces are described i in Washington as Strong. They went ashore under cover of a heavy bombardment by battleships, destroyers, and cruisers. This is the biggest penetration so far of Japan’s ring of island bases. Saipan is about 1300 miles from is the first large island attacked in the Central Pacific, thus our offensive leaves the phase of atoll warfare and for the first time encounters the problems of land, masses,” says the correspondent of the “New York Times” with the United States forces attacking the Marianas. “It can hardly be expected that the capture of Saipan will be a brief operation, such as the seizure of the low sandspits of the Gilberts and Marshalls.. “The attack is plainly an example of our leapfrog or bypassing technique as opposed to island-hopping. The capture of Saipan will cut off the Carolines from their supply line, thus ending the enemy’s southwards aerial traffic.” WELL-TRAINED FORCE (Rec. 9.10 a.m.) NEW YORK, June 16. The force which landed at Saipan is described by Admiral Turner, Expeditionary Force leader, as the most experienced amphibious war fleet in the world, says the Associated Press Pearl Harbour correspondent. Training for the move began at Attu and has continued ever since. American battleships and cruisers opened up with guns after the carrier planes had knocked out the Southern Marianas’ air force; and silenced most of Saipan’s coastal batteries and flak positions. Warships’ shells and rockets from planes and landing craft effectively curtained the troops moving towards the shore. The Americans moved from the beaches against mortar, machine-gun, and artillery fire. JAPANESE CLAIMS (Recd. 10 a.m.) NEW YORK, June 16. The latest Dome! version of the Saipan landing claims that about one division is involved. Domei reiterated the claim that two landing attempts were beaten off and added: Then enemy has not yet succeeded in landing on Tinian Island. Domei said that long-range guns on Tinian bombarded the American force off Saipan, and heavily damaged and set on fire one battleship. JAP. REINFORCEMENTS NEW YORK, June 16. The “New York Times’s” Pearl Harbour correspondent states that Saipan Island is believed to have been reinforced with men and material in recent months. The Japanese obviously were aware of the stakes involved, and are expected lo defend the large island bitterly as

they are in a position to inflict severe punishment on landing forces. Saipan in 1930 had a civilian population of at least twenty-five thousand, which is believed to have increased during the war. The importance of the operation is emphasised by. Saipan’s proximity to Japan and it is pointed out that victory will bring an early date to the next phase of the crushing of Japan—concentrated attacks, by land-based bombers from all sides. The effect upon Japanese morale cannot fail to be staggering, particularly in view of the superbombers’ attack from the Asiatic mainland, inasmuch as Saipan is the major base for the movement of Japanese men and materials to the Carolines in the South-west Pacific. Its fall might be the first scene in a drama of the swift collapse of enemy bases scattered over thousands of miles of the Pacific. NO HIGH MOUNTAINS.

SYDNEY, June 16

A Pearl Harbour report estimates that there are 20,000 Japanese troops in Saipan, which is 14 miles long and four miles wide. The Philippines', the China coast, and Japan itself would be threatened by the occupation of the Marianas, which lie within possible bombing range of all these areas.

Saipan is the most important island in the Marianas. There are no high mountains. Several airstrips have already been constructed. Magicienne Bay, on the western side of the island, is suitable for a naval base. The chief town of Saipan is Garapan. The island is well roaded and has about 100 miles of railway. The civilian population consists of Japanese, Kanakas, and Chamorros (a strange Christian race halfSpanish, half-Filipino). In the Marianas there are 15 islands, one of which is the former American base of Guam. The other 14 islands were part of the Japanese mandated territories gained from Germany in 1919. BOMBING RAIDS SYDNEY, June 16. The heaviest raids yet made by General MacArthur’s bombers in the central Pacific _ coincided with the American invasion of the Marianas. For the first time targets included Yap Island, 600 miles south-west of the Marianas, the most northerly blow yet dealt by General MacArthur’s forces.

Yap has been highly developed as a war base by the Japanese. It is 260 miles north-east of Pelew, 95 miles from the Admiralties, and 1250 miles from Port Moresby. Truk, 700 miles south-east of the Marianas, bombed for the ninth day running, was pounded with a record bomb load of 180 tons by two waves of Liberators in daylight attacks. About 40 fighters intercepted, nine being shot down, and a tenth probably destroyed. Woleai, between Yap and Truk, was also' bombed by Southwest Pacific Liberators. Several grounded aeroplanes were destroyed. All these raids were aimed at neutralising airfields and wiping out aeroplane reinforcements which might have opposed the American landing on Saipan. HALSEY’S FAREWELL. AUCKLAND, June 16. Admiral Halsey, the retiring South Pacific Commander, has sent the following farewell message to all ships and stations in the South Pacific area: “Proudly I send this parting ‘welldone’ to my victorious, all services South Pacific fighting team. You’ve met, measured and mown down the best the enemy had on land, sea and

ill the air. You’ve sent hundreds of Tojc’s ships, thousands of his planes, and tens of thousands of his slippery minions whence they can never again attack our flag, nor the flags of our Allies. You beat the Jap. in the grim victory at Guadalcanal; you drove him back and hunted him out; you

broke his offensive spirit in those smashing Bougainville and Rabaul blows at his .ships and planes and troops in November, 1943,‘and you’ve smeared him and rolled over him to easily occupy Emirau. And, now, carry on the smashing South Pacific tradition under your new commanders, and may we. join up again further along the road to Tokio!” N.Z. AIRMEftHFACTIVITIES. (R.N.Z.A.F. Official News Service) BOUGAINVILLE, June 10. Virtually encircled by a ring of Allied air bases, the Japanese forces in the Bougainville-New Ireland-New Britain triangle are being slowly but inexorably squeezed by the relentless pressure of the Allied forces. Rabaul is a heap of rubble, and the whole of the Northern New Britain area is littered ■with the blackened ruins of supply dumps, bivouac areas, wrecked enemy aircraft, etc. At Bougainville, a large share of the work in this squeezing process has been allocated to units of the R.N.Z.A.F. Fighters, fighter-bomb-ers, reconnaissance bombers, torpedo bombers, dive-bombers, and flyingboats, all flown from their bases in New Zealand, and manned by New Zealand aircrews and ground staff, the majority of them New Zealand trained, have been operating against the Japanese with conspicuous success. Many of them are veterans of earlier Pacific tours of duty. The campaign is not quite as onesided as it may appear. The Japanese forces are still large, and still constitute a potential danger in many areas. They have strong concentrations of anti-aircraft guns of all calibres, and their fire is often both intense and accurate. In some of these air and ground duels the losses on both sides are not light.