New Zealander Sees Action on Bougainville

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 66, 22 March 1944, Page 5

New Zealander Sees Action on Bougainville

AMERICANS HAVE POSITION WELL IN HAND (Official War Correspondent. N.Z.E.F.) SOLOMONS, March 21. A New Zealander who spent an afternoon, night and morning .on Bougainville found the Americans and New Zealand Air Force personnel going very calmly about their duties in the perimeter despite the incessant barking of American and Japanese artillery In a seemingly interminable duel and ragged bursts of small arms fire from the perimeter as both sides there toos potshots at each other. The Americans had scored a good win in retaking Hill 260, an outpost beyond the perimeter and holding it against a Japanese counterattack. In the fight to regain the hill the Americans got to the top first in force and dug in while the Japs dug in at the foot of the hill. When reinforcements arrived the Japs launched heavy attacks up the hill. The Americans waited until they were very close and then opened up with flamethrowers, killing approximately 60 Japs before the enemy fell back. As a safeguard in case of a sudden breakthrough units with duties inside the perimeter had been assigned sectors to defend and two New Zealand Air Force ground units have one sector. They have dug foxholes and gun positions. On the morning of the New Zealander’s landing a Jap plane had dropped bombs in the camp area. Jap artillery fire had been severe and there had been an earthquake. But the visitor was invited to go for a swim before lunch and he was enjoying a swim when shells landed in the sea 50 yards away. The American guns were adaptable. One 90-millimetre ackack battery was in use as ordinary artillery and between 8.30 and midnight fired 300 rounds. For a few days a considerable haze hung around Bougainville, probably due to the activity of the volcano. This was impeding the spotting of the Japanese gun positions from the air and the Japs have added to the difficulty by lighting many fires around the gun positions designed to conceal gun flashes and smoke.