Final Collapse of laps at Lae Imminent

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 222, 18 September 1943, Page 5

Final Collapse of laps at Lae Imminent

Terrific Blitz at Bum Suggests Invasion Received Friday, 10.10 p.m. SYDNEY, Sept. 17. The Allied forces are steadily converging on the Japanese base at Lae in the Iluon Gulf area of New Guinea, and the final collapse of enemy resistance is expected shortly. The Japanese are apparently not prepared to throw their lives away as in some of the other campaigns in New Guinea and are only ready to fight up to a certain point. Those who attempted to stem our advance in the Markham Valley for more than a few hours suffered heavy casualties before finally abandoning their positions. General MacArthur’s communique today reports that the centre of resistance at Edwards plantation on the Markham road five miles from Lae was overcome with heavy loss to the enemy. To the northeast Allied forces seized Malahang anchorage just south of Malahang aerodrome. Heavy bombers attacked enemy installations at Chinatown with 16 tons of bombs, causing explosions and silencing a five-gun antiaircraft position. Fighters shot down an enemy reconnaissance plane over Malahang. The air offensive against Bougainville Island, the most powerful Japanese base in the Central Solomons, has assumed proportions suggesting that Allied invasion is imminent, says the Sydney Sun’s South Pacific war correspondent, Winston Turner. The Bougainville airfields are strongly garrisoned—estimates of the enemy strength run as high as 40,000 men. The blitz is similar to that which preceded the invasion of New Georgia. Recent intermittent harassing raids on Bougainville have developed into daily poundings of the big airfields by Halsey’s naval bombers, General Harmon’s Thirteenth Army Air Force and the New Zealand Air Force. The Japanese are rushing in air reinforcements but we are destroying the planes on the fields as soon as they arrive. The quality of the Japanese airmen is deteriorating fast and their fighter pilots are showing increasing reluctance to intercept. Our planes are taking a beavy toll of enemy shipping attempting to reinforce the forces on Bougainville. To-day’s communique from General MacArthur’s Headquarters states that 6trong forces of heavy, torpedo and divebombers with fighter escort carried out successful attacks on enemy aerodromes in the Buin area on Bougainville Island throughout Wednesday. The enemy base of Vila on Kolombangara was bombed by medium units.