FIERCE JAP ATTACKS

Grey River Argus, 23 May 1944, Page 5

FIERCE JAP ATTACKS

ON NEW GUINEA COAST Fail Against Americans (Special to N.Z. Press Assn). (Rec. 9.55.) SYDNEY, May 22. ' There have been fierce Japanese counter-attacks on the western perimeter of the American beach-head on the Sarmi coast of Dutch New Guinea. The attacks have been smashed after two days of bitter, fighting. Enemy forces tried to destroy the Americans’ bridge-head across the Tor River. So far 111 Japanese dead have been counted. This action was fought last Friday and Saturday. It was the Americans’ first major mainland clash with the Japanese since their landings in the Sarmi-Wakde Island area last Wednesday. The invasion troops had speedily advanced five miles west from their landing point at Arara to the Tor River, and established a bridge-head across the river against only slight opposition. The Japanese then opposed the Americans in strength. They made a particularly strong counter-attack before dawn on Saturday, employing mortars, ma-chine-guns and grenades. Kittyhawk fighter-bombers gave close support to the American ground forces, and assisted to smash the Japanese attack. Later reports said that, on Saturday afternoon bridge-head was still under enemy machine-gun and sniper fire. / The number of Japanese dead on Wakde Island has risen to 676. The Americans wiped out the enemy garrison, which refused to surrender. The Americans had to storm an intricate network of concrete and coconut log bunkers. At, Hollandia and Aitape beachheads established on April 22, enemy casualties now total 3,042. In scattered patrol actions not previously reported, 436 Japanese were killed, and forty-five taken prisoner.

Despite an unusually high number of prisoners taken in these areas, New Guinea war correspondents report that only about one in ten of the Japanese remnants fails to fight to the death.

American patrols from Aitape now control about eighty miles of coastline, having penetrated thirty miles to the west towards, Hollandia, and fifty miles to the east towards Wevvak. The latter area, where many thousand Japanese troops are believed to be concentrated, is under incessant air attack.

General MacArthur’s bombers with fighter escorts have maintained strikes against Japanese bases in Western Dutch New Guinea. At Manokwari on Friday, five coastal vessels, averaging about a thousand tons, were destroyed A Solomons-based Liberator patrolling over the Western Carolines on Thursday last destroyed nine float’planes at Lamotrek, where the fuel dump was also set on fire. At Nomoi, 540 miles to the east, an enemy freighter and escort vessel were damaged by an air patrol which shot down one of four intercepting fighters. Abandoned Jap Bombs CAUSE AMERICAN CASUALTIES. (Rec. 10 n.m.) SYDNEY, May 22. Japanese bombs have caused American casualties as well as losses of stores at Hollandia. Australians advancing .up the New Guinea coast from Alexishafen have alsp had to conduct careful “delousing” operations as they progressed. The ticking of a time mechanism enabled Australians at the Alexishafen airstrip' to discover an explosive charge placed in a dump of 3,200 lbs of bombs. More than 160 mines and bombs were found around Alexishafen’s two airstrips. For . their traps the Japanese used three inch mortar bombs, hundred-lb anti-personnel bombs, and 200-lb aerial bombs. At Holla'ndia bomb explosions during cleaning up operations have done more to imoede Americans’ progress than any direct Japanese opposition. On Friday a bomb burst after it had been struck by a bulldozer working, on a beach. * The bulldozer was hurled' into the air, the driver was killed, and several soldiers were wounded bv shrapnel fragments. This explosion also set off nearby ammunition dumps, causing heavy damage among supplies. Two 500-lb bombs exnloded in a fire. They caused casualties among soldiers and natives. The total American casualties at Hollandia is negligible. About fifteen hundred Jananese have been killed. More than four hundred were taken prisoner. A book found at Hollandia throws an interesting light on abortive Japanese plans for the invasion of Australia. It is a manual of several hundred pages, printed in Japanese, and giving detailed, information about harbours and ports on the Australian east coast. Obviously the book was intended to be a guide to invading forces. It contained a wealth of information, even about the smallest. centres, together with illustrations, evidently intended to assist in identification of landmarks.