60,000 JAPANESE

Grey River Argus, 21 November 1944, Page 5

60,000 JAPANESE

STILL NEAR AUSTRALIA ENEMY GARRISONS COLONISING ISLANDS (Rec. 11.0) SYDNEY, Nov 20 Allied planes have dropped 1,700 tons of bombs on Japanese held portions of New Guinta, New lii-e--land, New Britain, and the Bougainville Islands during the past four weeks. Hundreds of aircraft have been engaged in these operations. At the same time many thousands of Allied troops are employed as holding forces against the isolatea Japanese in these islands. These enemy garrisons are not all dying ot starvation, but in some instances they are actually colonising the territories in which they have been cut. With the Pacific War spotlight focussed on the Philippines, three thousand miles from Australia, the presence of no fewer than _ sixty thousand Japanese in these islands nearer to Australia has been temporarily obscured. Nevertheless these enemy forces must soon be met and defeated in bitter land fighting. Though they cannot escape nor be reinforced and they are receiving only limited supplies by submarine. Military intelligence reports indicate that the Japanese are still consolida-, ting ineir positions, and are extending their influence over the native populations. , Main targets for Allied air strikes in this area during the past four weeks have been Rabaul (six hundred ton), Wewak (four hundred tons), Vogelkop (two hundred tons). The recent stepping up of these attacks indicates the importance attached by the South-west Pacific Command to continued harrassing ot the enemy garrisons and blasting ot their positions in order to give them as little opportunity as possible to dig in. MACARTHUR’S REPORT (Rec. 11.40) WASHINGTON, Nov 20 General MacArthur in a supplementary communique says: Extensive air patrols destroyed or damaged three one-thousand ton freighters, and two coastal vessels. Heavy units drooped twenty tons, of bombs on shipyards at Polwali, northward ol Makassar, starting large tires. Medium bombers damaged two coasters north-eastward of Koepang. Ground forces in New Guinea have completed the. occupation of the entire Mapia Group. We have landed troops on the Asia Islands. Medium bombers hit bivouacs and supply areas in Rabaul and New Ireland with sixtyone tons of bombs, causing widespread damage. Six supp 1 1 , y " 1 f-lpa •barges and one launch were surprised while unloading and were left aflame.