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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 15 April 1944, Page 5

RECENT ENEMY PENETRATION INDIAN PRESS COMMENT S Bee. 9.30 am. New Delhi, April 14. | Editorial comment on Allied reaction l. to the Japanese penetration in India has appeared in two prominent Indian newspapers. “The Times of India” referring to the South-East Asia communique issued when the Japanese first penetrated the Imphal area says the communique described the penetration as a major offensive, and th 2 tendency since has been to treat the penetration as a rather irresponsible operation. The public should not be treated as if ! t were incapable of appreciating the military situation. r Dr. Jjnnah’s newspaper "Dawn,” re- - calling General Auchinleck’s statement 1 to the Assembly that Assam was never i in danger, let alone India, comments: . ‘ General Auchinlcck. Admiral Mount- . batten and the Viceroy, Lord Wavell. j cannot ignore the recent reverses in Assam, which must offer a disquieting I picture against the assurance of Allied might in the East. It has too often been t proclaimed that the Allies have masr lery of the air. but air mastery has . limitations in Burma and Assam. 5 Lengthening communications are not ’ always fatal. The Japanese policy of living on the land has successes to its : credit.” (Dr. Jinnah is President of the All - j India Moslem League). NO STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE CUTTING OF MANIPUR ROAD London, April 13. < There was no strategic importance in . small parties of Japanese cutting the . Manipur road (which runs along the east Assam front), but tactically it was a great nuisance, said Air Marshal . Sir Philip Joubert, Deputy Chief of Staff. South-East Asia Command, who has just returned from Burma. “The Japanese dig in like rats in the under- • brush, and their every defensive position has to be laboriously reduced,” he said. “The Burma front extends 700 miles as the crow flies, and 1000 miles as the man walks or the mule scrambles: therefore it is nearly as long as the Russian front, but it is very much worse served by communications. There are only three large districts where largescale fighting is going on. Between these districts there are vast areas where scattered patrols form the only defence on either side. “The main objective of the Japanese at present is probably the Imphal Plain, possession of which would eliminate the most serious Allied threat to the Japanese in Burma. We hold the Imphal Plain strongly with tanks and guns | against what the Japanese can carry on their backs through the forest paths. “The battle in the Arakan is being fought over an area of 50 square miles. The battle for Imphal and the Manipur road has covered nearly 300 times as much ground, thereby giving the enemy a much greater opportunity of making himself a nuisance. “Our achievements so far. if not ambitious. are solid. We have largely destroyed the Japanese air power, and we have killed a large number of the enemy and forced them to use nearly twice the number of troops they employed last autumn.” RACE WITH MALARIA The "Daily Herald’s” military correspondent says that the opposing armies are engaged in a race with malaria. With the monsoon about six weeks j away both sides are fighting to get out I . of the malaria-infested areas or drive the enemy into them. One of the "safe” areas is the Imphal Plain. He adds that unless the Japanese can keep the road to Kohima cut, which would probably mean the use of larger forces than have yet been employed, the Allies should be able to hold on. Discussing the Japanese penetration into India at his Press conference in Washington, the American Secretary of War, Air Stimson. said the Japanese ' were now attacking both Imphal and Kohima, to the north. He said it was not very difficult for troops to penetrate the hilly jungle areas. Linear defence at Imphal was impracticable, but it was possible to retain certain strong defence points, which the British and Indians so far were holding. ATTACKS AND COUNTER-ATTACKS London, April 14. A South-East Asia communique reports: "Japanese on Wednesday determinedly attacked one of our positions south-west of Buthidaung. Indian troops promptly counter-attacked against a small Japanese penetration. W 7 e repulsed an attack north of Buthidaung. The successful action by our troops was continued on the east bank of the Kalapanzin river. General Stilwell's headquarters announced that Americans have secured the Nhpumhsamshingyang area in hill country east of Mogaung Valley, Over | 200 Japanese dead were counted on one part of the battlefield so far inspected. 1 Chinese who on Wednesday, took Mungugahtawng advanced a mile southward. ; Other Chinese in the same sector also i advanced. j SURPRISE VISIT BY MOUNTBATTEN l Reuter’s correspondent reports that Admiral Mountbatten paid a surprise visit to the Imphal front on 9th April ] where he consulted with the corps com- t mander. j