Allied Forces Take Sic, Advance 3 Miles

Northern Advocate, 17 January 1944, Page 5

Allied Forces Take Sic, Advance 3 Miles

«Rec. 3 p.m.) SYDNEY. This Day. Our ground forces have taken Sio and advanced three miles,, to Vinceo Point. Solomons-based heavy units at night bombed Vunakanau, Lalanui and Rapopo aerodromes and townships, causing explosions and fires. In a midday foray, our escorted dive and torpedo-bombers attacked shipping in Simpson Harbour, scoring direct hits and damaging nearmisses on seven cargo -vessels, a light cruiser and destroyer. Some 60 to 70 enemy fighters intercepted and in the ensuing combat, 29 were reported shot down with many other probably destroyed. We lost two bombers and eight, fighters. Cur ground forces captured Hill 660, a key defensive positiion on the Bergen Bay line. At Bunabuna, New Guinea, our fighter patrols destroyed a two-masted schooner. • • i'V Fast Advance Australian troops on the Huon Peninsula have captured Nambariwa and their artillery is shelling Sio Mission, their next objective, four miles away. Main success in the air war was an attack by a Liberator on an enemy convoy 37 miles off the south-east tip of New Hanover Island at the northern end of New Ireland. The convoy consisted of throe merchantmen and the largest, a 7000 tonner, received a direct hit by a 10001 b bomb. She was left badly crippled and sinking with smoke gushing from both her sides. Occupation of Nambariwa followed a two mhe advance by Australians from Gneisenau Point. This latest success indicates rapid fording of the difficult Kapugara River by the main body of troops. Artillery, and probably tanks, were ferried in barges around the mouth of the Kapugara River and went into action with advancing troops. Sio Assault Shortly Japanese dead at Cape Gloucester increased to 2975 in Thursday’s count. Forty Japanese fighters tried to break formations of Liberators raiding Tobera aerodrome at Rabaul. Allied fighters engaged the interceptors, shooting down five and probably shooting down three others without Allied loss. Formations of Mitchells over Vunakanau aerodrome were not intercepted. They destroyed seven enemy planes on the ground and strafed six barges in Keravia Bay. Liberators made a 2600 miles round flight to the enemy oil centre of Balikpapan, in Borneo, for the fifth time from noi*th-west Australia. Explosions were followed by many fires in a refinery and lubricating plant area. Formations over Macassar in the Celebes at night shot down an enemy fighter and bombed Wilhelmina wharf area. . Fires were started at Dilli in Timor. Balik Papan Raided Oil refinery units at Balik Papan were attacked by our heavy units, according to General MacArthur’s communique. These caused explosions and fires in the plant area. A direct hit with a 1000-lb. bomb was scored on a 7COO-ton cargo ship off Kavieng. The ship was left in a sinking condition. Seven enemy planes caught on the ground at Rabaul were destroyed. Five of 40 intercepting fighters were shot down

Our ground forces at Cape Gloucester are maintaining pressure on the enemy at Borgen Bay. His casualties in dead are now 2975. Our night air patrols at Wewak attacked and damaged a small enemy cargo ship.