THE PHILIPPINES

Grey River Argus, 1 March 1945, Page 5

THE PHILIPPINES

ENEMY GARRISONS Being Wiped Out (Rec 8.40.) LONDON. Feb. 27. General MacArthur’s communique on Tuesday stated: American forces completed destruction of the Japanese garrison on Verde Island, Forces of our Sixth Division, clearing the Manila watershed, captured Mount Mataba eastward of San Nateo, ana secured western and southern slopes of Mount Acwaban. Our first cavalry division continued to attack Folo, against heavy Japanese mprtar and artillery, and machine-gun fire. our advancing troops either captured or destroyed large quantities of enemy equipment. Our 25th. Division, pushing northwards into Caraballo Mountains, captured Carranglan. Our 40th. Division continued mopping up in the Zambaleis Mountains. Cur troops, who are completing destruction of the Corregidor garrison, have- forced final remnants of the enemy to the easternmost tip of the island. Heavy bombers with 155 tons of bombs struck troop concentrations and supply dumps in the Marikina watershed on Luzon Island. Attack bombers swept Echgue airfield in the Cagatan Valley. Other aerial targets included aerodromes and installations on Cebu and Negros Islands, Zamboangaairfield on Lilo Island, chemical plant, barracks and fuel storage areas at Takao in Formosa; coastal freighters in Formosan waters; small craft in C'amranh Bay, coastal vessels between Hainan and Amoy and aerodromes in'Borneo. A United Press correspondent at Manila reports: Japanese in eastern Corregidor yesterday blew up an underground powder magazine ana ammunition dump, causing a crater 13 feet bv seventy feet, and thirty feet deep? Thusfar, 1,500 Japanese bodies have been found. Several Americans on the surface were casualties. One American tank was blown ninety feet into the air. DAMAGE IN TOKIO 240 CITY BLOCKS BURNED OUT (Rec. 11.56) NEW YORK, Feb. 28 The Guam correspondent of the Associated Press of America says:— Reconnaissance photographs revealed that two hundred Superfortresses on Sunday last burned, out 240 city blocks in the heart of Tokio, including factories and business districts. Remarkable results were achieved by the use of precision instruments, the bombing being done through thick clouds. The devasated area of over six hundred acres extended to the waterfront from a sector eastward of the imperial Palace.. ADMIRAL NIMITZ’S COMMENT. (Rec. 1.29). GUAM, February 28. Admiral Nimitz, acknowledging congratulations from Marshal Chiang Kai-shek and China’s ,War Minister, Chencheng, upon the successful carrier attacks on Tokio, replied: “It is our steadfast purpose to attack Japan with increasing power frequently, until Asia’s suffering peoples are liberated and Japan's fighting capacity is destroyed. Your plans for Chinese co-ordination will verv much hasten the inevitable victory.” JAP. SEA LOSSES. US ’PLANES CUTTING OFF , SOUTH-EAST ASIA. (P.-ec. 9.30.) MANILA, Feb. 28. Miliary observers told a United P'ress correspondent that ’planes from Philippine bases are rapidly cutting Japan’s ocean lifeline to South-east Asia. They were attacking shipping daily from the Ryukyu Islands to Indo-China, thereby full - ling one of General MacArthur s stated aims when he landed on Leyte on October 20 last. In two General Kenney’s ’planes had sunk or damaged 113 Japanese ships in the sea lanes linking Japan with her conquered possessions. The first attack was on December 31, off Formosa. Since then, attacks had grown in intensity, the range including Okinawa, the Pescadores, Amoy, Swatow, Hong Kong, Saigon and Ph an rang.

S.W. Pacific Operations (Rec. 9.40) LONDON, Feb. 28 General MacArthur yesterday reported: Our heavy and medium bombers dropped forty-eight tons pi bombs on supply areas near Wewak. An additional 364 enemy dead have been reported in this area. . Ground patrols have killed an additional in New Britain and in Bougainville. IRN.Z.A.F. Official News Service] (Rec 1.0.) BOUGAINVILLE, Feb. 26. The bombing of Japanese jungle hide-outs on Bougainville is being reduced to a precise science as advancing Australians whittle down the area of enemy-held territory. As a result there is'a daily increase m the targets destroyed by New Zealand aircraft. On Sunday, twenty New 1 Zealand Corsairs were guided by an Australian Wirraway and smashed a jungle covering from a Japnese hut and transport concentration at Waitai, south-east Bougainville, where Australians are advancing. Mattea foliage almost completely concealed the ’ targets. The Wirraway almost perched on the tops of trees to mark the targets for the Corsairs The first two Corsairs blasted sufficient jungle to indicate a number- of trucks and huts about six hundred feet p.wav. A second force of Corsairs, led by Pilot Officer V. C. Duckmanton (Gisborne) was directed to thi? taro-et The huts were all destroyed Sr damaged by 1,000-pound bombs. Pilots then strafed the area. Photographs showed several huts as wiped out and others as badly damaged. Five trucks were smashed, one being in flames. A command car was flattened and another knocked about. Supplies were blown up. A number of Japanese ■ were killed.