LUZON AIR RAIDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 November 1944, Page 5

LUZON AIR RAIDS

JAP. ENORMOUS LOSSES

440 PLANES—SEVERAL SHIPS WASHINGTON, November 8. • “Hellcats, fighters, and Avengers on Sunday continued the attacks on Southern Luzon,” says a Pacific Fleet communique. “Preliminary reports show that additional heavy damage was inflicted on the enemy’s air strength, shipping, and ground installations. In addition to 191 aeroplanes destroyed on Saturday, 249 enemy aircraft were destroyed on Sunday. Many others were damaged on the ground. . , “The number of enemy aircraft destroyed in the two-day strike totals 440, of which 113 were shot down, and 327 destroyed on the ground. The largest concentrations of enemy aero.plaries were found at Nichols Fields, Clark Field, Nielson Field, Lipa Field, Tarlac Field, Ba'mban Field, and Mabalacat Field.

“Enemy ground installations were heavily damaged during the attack on Sunday. Three oil storage areas blazed north of Clark Field when a fire resulted from a tremendous ex-? plosion. A railway engine and five tank cars were destroyed north c« Malvar. “Shipping in Manila harbour sustained damage in the air raid on Sunday. Three cargo ships and an oil tanker were sunk, a destroyer was probably sunk, and two destroyers, two destroyer escorts, a trawler and several cargo ships were damaged.” FIGHTING ON LEYTE. WASHINGTON, November 7. “On the 10th Corps’ sector on Leyte (Philippines) units of the 24th Division are engaged in sharp fighting on the Ormoc road, to which the enemy has rushed reinforcements,” .says General MacArthur’s latest communique. “Elements of the Ist, 30th, and 102nd Japanese Divisions, in addition to remnants of the 16th Division, are now identified in that line. Three strong counter-attacks were repulsed with heavy loss to the enemy. Our longrange artillery firing on installations in the Ormoc and Valencia area, heavily damaged warehouses and supply dumps, starting large fires. Elements of the 96th Division reduced several enemy parties in the hills near Patok, four miles to the north-west. “Locally-based fighters dive-bomb-ed enemy communication lines and bivouacs near Valencia and Palompon, on the west coast. Numerous barges and small craft in Ormoc Bay were damaged. Enemy air activity is negligible. Since October 20 our anti-aircraft guns have shot down 144 aircraft.” JAP. CITIES EVACUATED. (Rec. 10.20 a.m.) LONDON, Nov. 8. The Tokio radio stated: “Anticipating enemy air raids, the Government has ordered young, old and pregnant women to leave 11 major cities and live with country relations.” The Associated Press comments that already 1,000,000 people are reported to have evacuated Tokio. Important industries, Government offices and schools were also transferred, and whole blocks of houses were levelled as an air raid precaution. JAPANESE COMMAND CHANGE

NEW YORK, Nov. 8. The Japanese War Office, according to the Tokio radio, has announced that General Tomoyuki Yamashita has been appointed commander of the Japanese forces in the Philippines. " The United Press says Yamashita, who conquered Singapore and completed the Philippines campaign with .a ruthlessness winning him the name of “Butcher of Bataan,” has been serving as commander of the Japanese forces in Malaya. The United Press adds: “The appointment apparently means that Yamashita succeeds General Rhigenqri Kuroda as. commander in the Philippines, but FieldrMarshal Huichi Terauchi, whom General MacArthur listed as his opponent, remains, it is believed, as commander-in-chief of the Japanese forces in the southern regions. In addition to Yamashita, the Tokio.radio announced that Admiral Denshichh Okuchi was appointed Commander of the Naval Force, vice Admirals Shigeu Fukutome and Takijiro Onishi as joint Commanders of the naval and air units and LieutGeneral Yasuji Tominago as Air Force Commander. All the appointments are in the Philippines.

RUSSIA’S ATTITUDE

NEW YORK, November 8. “Military, naval, and diplomatic observers have greeted Mr. Stalin’s address approvingly, and it is felt that the Japanese have cause for worry over the section of the speech linking them with the Nazis as aggressors,” says the Washington correspondent of the “New York Times.” “Military experts point out that Mr. Stalin does not intend to plunge Russia into a disastrous two-front war at present. -Indeed, the United States does not want him to take this step at a time when the primary concern is to end the European war speedily. However, the experts say, Mr. Stalin’s carefully-worded reference is an ominous reminder to Japan that the Japanese may have to face a powerful and traditional enemy at the end of the European war. Russian air bases, as well as military and sea power, would be of enormous value in hastening the end.” JAPANESE ATROCITIES. LONDON, November 8. Japanese soldiers poured petrol over a thickly-populated village in Sumatra before setting it alight, and villagers who tried to escape from burning houses were machine-gun-ned. „ A statement issued by the Netherlands Forces Headquarters in Ceylon says: “The Japanese are employing ‘Lidice’ technique in the Netherlands East Indies. A village in Java was set on fire with incendiaries as a preliminary to machine-gunning the fleeing villagers." An official document entitled “Japanese Atrocities in Occupied Netherlands Indies” also details savage Japanese maltreatment of prisoners of war and civilians. The document says: “The brutality practised by the Japanese in their administration of the Netherlands East Indies in appalling. The razing of one Sumatran village was provoked when a newspaper criticised the Japanese. The writer of the article was executed. Another atrocity followed the refusal of Javanese villagers to give up their third crop of rice after the first two had been seized for Japanese consumption.” N.Z. AIRMEN IN SOLOMONS (R.N.Z.A.F. Official News Service) BOUGAINVILLE, November 7. New Zealand Corsairs are playing an effective role in the steady elimination of the Japanese forces remaining in the Solomons-Bismarcks area. Strafing attacks on personnel have brought satisfactory results, and the records show that the enemy is still putting up a fight, ancT is damaging aircraft, and sometimes shooting them down. New Zealand Corsair pilots are still finding good hunting in the Shortlands area. Strafing runs sent the tally of enemy killed up to about 200 in one week recently, and • a number of barges were sunk or damaged. Another target which is being I given close attention by New Zea-

land fighter-bombers lately is a newly discovered enemy bivouac area at Numa Numa, a few miles outside the Allied perimeter on Bougainville. It is possible that the enemy has moved his supply headquarters from Porton, where supplies for Northern Bougainville were landed by submarine till the end of June, to Numa Numa, in the hope of escaping attack. However, strikes are being made against this area, and already many hits and fires have been reported.