ALLIED ARMADA

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20861, 13 August 1942, Page 3

ALLIED ARMADA

150 SHIPS IN FLEET SOLOMONS BATTLE DESPERATE FIGHTING U.S. MARINES SPEARHEAD (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Special Australian Correspondent.) (10.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, Aug. 13. Fifty Allied warships and 100 transports carrying troops and equipment are believed to be engaged in the battle for the Solomons. Official reports are expected to reveal that the attacking fleet is the largest yet employed by either side in the Pacific war. Fairly heavy losses are expected. United States Marines have opened the door to an Allied offensive in the south Pacific, says a statement by Marine Headquarters in Washington. The Marines have been practising invasion tactics day and night as a prelude to the Solomons landing, including intensive jungle warfare combined with landing exercises. Marines specially trained in amphibious operations are now engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese in the Solomons. The Navy Department says .that while the action in the Tulagi area continues, nothing further is able to be .reported at the moment.. The-latest Washington messages published here indicate that the Allied land forces have gained some success in the face of strong Japanese counter attacks. United States Marines, now supported by United States Army troops, have been engaged in desperate hand-to-hand fighting on the beaches and in the jungle hinterland of the southeast Solomons. The enemy airfields on Tulagi and Guadalcanar are believed to be the primary objectives. With these airfields in our possession, Allied land-based aircraft would make it costly for the Japanese at an attempt to bring up reinforcements. Fierce Japanese Resistance Reports from Hawaii state that the Japanese are fighting fiercely to retain their positions, realising what a heavy blow the loss of these islands would be to their Pacific strategy. Further bombing attacks on enemy shipping off Timor are reported in a communique issued from General MacArthur's Headquarters yesterday. The sinking of a Japanese cargo ship in this area on Monday afternoon was confirmed by the pilots who took part in Tuesday’s raids. The latest attack in the Timor area was carried out by Allied medium bombers, but the results are not known. Medium bombers also scored direct hits on the wharf and buildings at Toleal and Kei Islands about halfway between Timor and the southwestern coast of New Guinea. Two of seven Zero fighters, which attacked an Allied bombing force north of Samarai, New Guinea, were shot down. We lost one plane. Others were damaged. The offensive against Rabaul was continued in a night raid on an aerodrome. Bombs fell near the runway ” Australian newspaper correspondents in the United States say that this first sea-borne offensive in America’s history has sent a wave of confidence through the country. There is an optimistic note in all the newspapers. Although the public is reconciled to heavy losses, it is keenly gratified to know that the Allies at last have gone after the- Japanese and are hitting hard. Encouraging Reports The Solomons battle is known to have been discussed at yesterday’s meeting of the Australian War Cabinet. The latest despatches are said to be “encouraging but give no cause for premature rejoicing.” Australia is prepared for losses among her naval units engaged. No Australian troops are taking part in the operations. Allied aircraft of the South-West Pacific Command are maintaining their attacks on enemy Shipping and reinforcement bases. American war correspondents in Australia, in messages to their papers, continue to be cautiously guarded in assessments of the value of the present operations. “Although the offensive continues over a 1000-miles arc, it cannot be considered as approaching a second front conception,” says Mr. Lewis Sebring, of the New York HeraldTribune. “A limited offensive is a more accurate description.” Mr. Bryon Darnton, in the New York Times, draws attention to the restricted supplies reaching Australia. “Some may have thought the news of an offensive contradicted the news of the Australian equipment position. However, the Solomons offensive is being run by Vice-Admiral R. Ghormley, commander of the South Pacific area, and not by General MacArthur. The announcements setting forth the equipment position in General MacArthur’s area were factual.”