U.S. HOLD IN PACIFIC

Grey River Argus, 18 August 1944, Page 5

U.S. HOLD IN PACIFIC

EIGHT MILLION SQUARE MILES

Many Jap Islands Blitzed

(Rec. 10.0) WASHINGTON, Aug. 17. A Pacific Fleet communique reports: American bombers continue to pound Japanese-held islands m the Central Pacific. Army Liberators on Sunday dropped fifty tons of bombs on Eten and Moen Islands, in Truk Atoll. Eight enemy fighters intercepted. One was destroyed. Three were damaged, AU our "planes returned. Several were damaged, but had no .casualties. Venturas bombed airstrips on Nauru Island on Sunday and Monday. A Catalina attacked Wotje and Maloelan on Sunday. Dauntlesses and Corsairs hit coastal defence positions on Mill Atoll on Monday, and Mitchells struck at an airfield and gun positions on Ponape Island. All the planes returned. The Acting-Secretary of the Navy, Mr Bard, reviewing the Pacific war, said that American naval forces were hitting the Japanese on a 3500mile front, in the western Pacific and hold virtual control of eight million square mifles .■ of .Paaiiic waters and islands once dominated by the enemy. He described the western naval front as extending from Paramushiro to the Bismarck Sea Another naval front stretched 2400 miles from the Marshalls to New Guinea. Naval forces throughout these lines, some under Admiral Nimitz and others under General MacArthur continued a constant harassing of enemy positions. Mr Bard reported that approximately 11 000 enemy dead were counted on Guam Island, bringing the known enemy losses in the Mariana Islands campaign to at least 40,000. Undoubtedly Japanese losses, considerably exceeded that figure, he said, because they conducted mass burials. In addition large numbers were sealed up in caves and pillboxes. The total American losses, including wounded, were much lighter. Mr Bard said there was ample evidence from Japanese broadcasts that American successes in the Marianas had been a severe shock to Japanese psychology. It was not known whether the absence of a final Japanese suicide attack on Guam was due to the enemy’s will failing, or whether the iimpaqt of American forces unbalanced him. In the Solomons and Bismarck, the enemy was still trying to keep his remaining forces alive. Light naval forces conducted frequent bombardment of enemy positions, and these steadily destroyed such little barge traffic as the enemy was able to carry on.

Philippines Now Main Objective

MACARTHUR’S PLANES THERE AGAIN.

(Rec. 9.50) SYDNEY, Aug. 17. General MacArthur’s bombers again attacked Davao, the most southerly island of the Philippines. Tokio radio said yesterday the Philippines were now the focal point' of the Allied operations in the Pacific. The latest raid on Davao was on Sundav night. The wharf area was pounded. Halmahera, a stepping stone between Dutch New Guinea and Mindanao, has taken another hammering in daylight, on Tuesday. The raiders met intense anti-aincrafit fire, but no fighter opposition. They destroyed or seriously damaged 11 grounded planes, .and sank a small freighter and several coastal vessels. Off Boeroe Island, west of Ceram, a 3000-ton Japanese freightertransport was left dead in the water after two direct bomb hits. Bigger Air Job in Pacific BY THE AUSTRALIANS (Rec. 11.0) MELBOURNE, Aug. 17. Australia will cease sending the .R> A A.F men of all categories overJia will'be on the basis of the retraining for the R.A.A.F. in Austraquirements for the South-west Paciseas, and in future the aircrew fie area. Announcing this the Commonwealth Air Minister, Mr Drakeford, said that no more pilots would leave Australia for Britain, the Middle East or India, but small drafts of trained navigators, wireless operators and air gunners would be sent to these areas until the end of the year. Mr Drakeford added that the last draft of R.A.A.F. men for training in Canada will leave Australia shortly. All these decisions, said the Minister, had been made by the Commonwealth ’after idiscusson with the British, Canadian and other Dominion Governments. They were made because of the accumulation of British, Dominion .and . Allied air crews in Britain. These development would also involve a. reduction in the number of the R.A.A.F. volunteers undergoing training for air crews in Australia. Because of the satisfactory overseas position and of a comparatively sudden reduction in the Air Force requirements, the R..A.A.F. *n.ad la considerable number of air crews at various stages of training, who were a surplus to the immediate needs in the Southwest Pacific. Mr Drakeford said Australia’s Pacific requirements took threel-fii'ths ,of ’ihd R.A,‘A.F.’s normal output of trained men. Australia was facing an expanding war effort in the South-west Pacific area, and was forming new squadrons, so that she would be in a position to continue to play a prominent part in this theatre. The R.A.A.F. however, still had overseas approximately 25,000 men. JAPAN’S VICTORY PLANS (Rec. 11.50) NEW YORK, Aug. 16. Tokio official radio says that a Japanese Army spokesman. Colonel Nogai, said that Japan plans to fight a decisive battle for victory along the arc linking Japan with the Philippine Islands, where a grand scale American offensive will eventually be aimed. Colonel Nogai acknowledged that Japan’s air power only was roughly one-third of that of the enemy, but added: “In spite of this inferiority, we have absolute confidence in our victory/, (because the decisive battle undoubtedly will be fought on the arc where Japan has undisputed .air control.

FUTURE OF PACIFIC WELLINGTON, Aug., 17. Mr Roosevelt’s references to the Pacific in his recent broadcast were of great interest to New Zealand, said Mr Fraser to-day. There would be a cordial endorsement in New Zealand of his statement that the other United Nations in the Pacific who were working so well with the Americans in the war will be glad to join with the United States against aggression. “As I have already stated on a number of occasion, especially before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, when referring to bases and civil aviation, there is no question relating to the United States and ourselves which cannot be settled by friendly arrangement,” added Mr Fra'ser. “New Zealand, and I am certain Australia, also will weldome co-operation in such matters with Britain, the United States, the Netherlands and France.”