FORCES CORNERED AT BUNA AND GONA

Grey River Argus, 24 November 1942, Page 5

FORCES CORNERED AT BUNA AND GONA

REINFORCEMENTS LANDED IN MODEST STRENGTH

Enemy Suffering Heavy Losses

SYDNEY, Nov. 23. Australians ;and Americans are smashing through the Japanese triangular perimeter defences m tne Buna-Gona-Soputa area. Allied forces have captured Soputa, the in and apex of the triangle. An Allied force broke important Japanese positions at Soputa, which is six miles inland from Buna on the Giriwu River. At Gona an Australian force is attacking,- and heavy Japanese resistance is reported. Buna is l^ ein » tackled mainly by United States troops, who are converging on tne airfield three miles from the port. The Allied forces are attacking the enemy at five points within then narrow beach-head. Soputa' was heavily defended with mortars, ma-chine-guns, fixed and anti-aircraft defences, but fell after a heavy twoday fight. The Japanese defenders have withdrawn to link up with their main force at Buna, where the Americans are attacking at three separate points. The Americans are now on three sides of the Buna airfield and its capture is regarded as imminent. Australian units attacking Gona are reported to have inflicted substantial casualties on the Japanese. It is revealed that on Saturday the Japanese suffered the heaviest pounding from the air since the Papuan campaign began. More than one hundred American-Australian bombers and fighters harassed the closely knit enemv positions, dropping more than twentv-thousand lbs. of bombs and firing many thousands of rounds or cannon and machine-gun ammunition. Wave after wave of these attack planes struck orincipally at the Japanese positions in the Buna area.