HOLDING THE JAPS.

Grey River Argus, 26 March 1943, Page 5

HOLDING THE JAPS.

NEED OF AIR STRENGTH To Match Enemy’s Increase (Special to N.Z. Press. Assn.) (Rec. 11.0.) ' SYDNEY, March 25. Allied pressure is increasing against Mubo, the advanced base for the Japanese forces in the Sala-maua-Lae sector of New Guinea. On Wednesday, for the second successive day, low-flying Beaufighters and Boston bombers subjected the area to a terrific hammering. Mubo is a jungle base. From there the Japanese started out late in January to attack the Wau aerodrome. Their thrust was made by a force estimated at three thousand. It was checked. Then it was beaten back by Australian troops, who inflicted heavy losses Although no official reference has been made to recent land fighting around Mubo, it is believed that patrol clashes have been continually occurring since the major battle at Wau, with our forces always holding the initiative. Our ’planes in raiding the Mubo-Salamaua-Lae area have met with no enemy air interference in the past few weeks, and the Japanese supply organisation is believed to have been considerably embarrassed by our attacks. Cargo carrying submarines are supplying the enemy’s main northern New Guinea bases, arid the Japanese have distrbiuted their stores by the use of a coastal barge transport system, which, is centred in a labyrinth of mangrove-hovered lagoons at Labu. The enemy’s steel barges are usually about thirty feet long, and are capable of carrying at. least thirty troops. Our continued hammering of their supply lines is having a serious cumulative effect on the enemy garrisons in this area. “The liveliness of the air war on the South-west Pacific front continues to supply the best evidence for the case for the Allied aerial reinforcements in this region,” says the Sydney “Herald” to-day in an editorial review of recent air activities, with particular reference to the record concentration of Japanese combat . aircraft that was attacked at Rabaul on Tuesday morning. “The aii' strength required for success in our “holding war” cannot possibly; be arbitrarily fixed by Staff calculations at some time past, but it must obviously be depended upon to force the enemy to bring strength inlo this theatre. Here would seem to be an obvious basis for the reoresentations now being made in Washington-” A message from Mr Frank Trema’ine, the American United Press correspondent at Pearl Harbour, says: “There are indications that a new' phase of the Pacific struggle may open shortly.” Mr Tremaine suggests that the Japanese air conicentration at Rabaul was offensively designed.