JAPANESE STRENGTH

Grey River Argus, 30 November 1943, Page 5

JAPANESE STRENGTH

In Pacific Islands GILBERTS DAMAGE A REVELATION. [Aust. & N.Z. Press Assn.] (Rec. 10.30.) NEW YORK, Nov. 29. Frank Kluckhorn, a “New York Times” correspondent at General MacArthur’s Headquarters says: The maintenance by the Japanese of a considerable naval force at Rabaul and the continued replacement there of Japanese ’planes indicate that the American Navy’s offensive in the Gilbert Islands has not altered General Tojo’s determination to prevent us from removing the southern barrier to the Japanese base at Truk, in the Caroline Islands, north of the Equator. Among the Australians, who know what it is like fighting against the Japanese, as well as among the American forces in Australia, there is intense admiration for the heroic mass sacrifices which the United States Marines have made on the Tarawa atoll in the Gilbert Islands. It is thought that a frank, revelation of what has occurred at Tarawa will have a sobering effect upon those Americans who 1 think that Japan will be a “push-over” after Germany is defeated.

“The landings made in the Gilberts have merelv brought us into the outer* perimeter of the Japanese defences. It must be remembered that the Gilbert Islands were only occupied oy the Japanese after their attack on Pearl Harbour, whilst the Japanese bases in the Marshall Islands have been built up over a period of years.

COVERED WITH DEAD

Betio Island WORST SLAUGHTER OF PACIFIC WAR. NEW YORK, Nov. 28. A “New York Times” correspondent with the American forces in the Gilbert Islands says: The battle of Betio Island, in the Tarawa atoll was the bloodiest mess of the Pacific war to date. Officers who went through all the great United States campaign of the last war, as well as Guadalcanal*, Dieppe and Salerno, say that in their experience nothing approaches Betio for carnage. Twentyfour hours after Betio was taken the :dead of both sides lay all over the island. Out from, the beaches in shallow water, dead Marines hung over barbed-wire barricades. Beneath one long pier, where Marines crawled ashore under cover of woden planking, corpses of men who did not make it, still clung to barnacled crossbeams. The Japanese defences included 500 pillboxes, so ingeniously staggered, that when one was knocked out, the Marines met converging fire of two inner pillboxes. Natives said the Japanese estimated it would take one hundred thousand Americans to capture Betio. “Before the Americans landed 3000 tons of shells and bombs were directed against known objectives on Betio which was only two and a-h.alf miles long, and 800 to 900 hundred yards wide. A handful of Japanese who finally surrendered, were members of the non-combatant working parties. The garrison fought to the death. One hundred of them armed only with sabres, made a suicidal counterattack They were led by four officers in full parade dress, wearing medals with feathers in their hats. Machine-gun fire killed and wounded most of the attackers. The few who reached the American posts were killed in hand-to-hand fighting. Lieutenant-Colonel James Roosevelt, son of President Roosevelt, who took part in the landing, says the Japanese intended to construct a submarine base on Butaritari Island, south of Makin. They had taken there 100,000 barrels of oil. The American bombardment set some on fire and the remainder was salvaged by Marines.

PACIFIC OFFENSIVE

An. Advance of Air Bases U.A. AIR COMMANDER’S COMMENT. (Rec. 6.30) SYDNEY, Nov. 29. Lieutenant-General Kenney, Commander of the Allied Air Forces m the South-west Pacific, told war correspondents: “The Japanese pilots we are meeting now are definitely second rate, and they will . probably stay that way. I am satisfied that the Japanese do not give their air personnel nearly as much training as we do.” He added: “They just send them ou t—and if they lose them there are plenty more. Japan can . produce second rate pilots in unlimited numbers, and even if five of them are killed to bring down one of our bombers, the Japanese consider that they are still ahead in the game?’ . General Kenney described the Pacific offensive as a forward movement of air bases, with the Allies continually thrusting new .aerodromes against the Japanese. In an undeveloped country, this meant special problems of construction and maintenance, and it imposed heavy burdens on the engineers.

Japan’s Weak Spot

AIR FORCE UNEQUAL TO ALLIES’ (Rec. 10.50) NEW YORK, Nov. 29. The “New York Times’ m an editorial, stated: The Gilbert Islands’ offensive has enormously increased pressure which can be applied to Japan’s farflung Pacific defences. But it is likely that an appreciable breathing spell must pass before the next blow falls. Nevertheless, our swift, though costly, victory seems to show that Japan no longer has an air force which can successfully meet, us at all points of attack. If a Burma .offensive begins, a weakness in Japanese dispersions will be even more emphasised when the next Central Pacific blow falls. It is .unlikely that the Japanese will be able to oppose it with strength brought from other points. They are too heavily engaged-

JAPS SEND MORE PLANES

TO SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC (Special to N.Z. Press Assn.) (Rec. 8.0) SYDNEY. Noy. 29. The Japanese are cont ]. null l g reinforce their air strength at their Iwses in the South-west Pacific niea. The latest reconnaissance has Shown there are more than two hundred enemv machines abound Rabaul and New Britain, and there are just, over one hundred planes at Wewak, in •north-east. New’ Guinea. More than half of the planes at each base are fighters.