PEARL HARBOUR AVENGED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 30 July 1945, Page 5

PEARL HARBOUR AVENGED

LATEST BLOW AT JAP FLEET BRITISH AND U.S. PLANES SWEEP INLAND SEA Rugby, July 29. Admiral Halsey’s British and American carrier aircraft have avenged and eclipsed Pearl Harbour with their latest blow at the Japanese fleet in its own harbours of Kure and Kobe, says a Guam correspondent. Pilots of the Combined First, sweeping over ports in the Inland Sea all yesterday reported flames shooting from two battleships, the Haruna and Ise, and also three cruisers. The battleship Hyugo, struck on Tuesday, is resting on the mud with her decks awash. The raiders sank three submarines and damaged four destroyers, two destroyer escorts, two medium transports, three small freighters and one unidentified vessel. They also wrecked 94 Japanese planes, and damaged 56 more. Blockade aircraft over the Japanese water way system, choking the homeland food and commercial supply routes, sank nine more coastal cargo vessels and scores of small craft. All 10 battleships with which Japan started the war have been knocked out, writes a correspondent of the Associated Press of America with Admiral Halsey’s fleet.

ASSURANCE BY SUZUKI NO CHANGE IN WAR POLICY ALLIED ULTIMATUM IGNORED New York. July 29. The promised radio address by the Japanese Prime Minister, Admiral Suzuki, last evening failed to materialise. American monitors could not find a further word about it. Tokio radio says Admiral Suzuki told a press conference that Japan would ignore the British-American-Chinese ultimatum which was merely an expansion of the Cairo Declaration. There was no change whatever in the Government’s fundamental war policy. The Premier, when questioned on the bombing and shelling of the homeland, said: “I leave this with absolute confidence to our strategists.” He added: “The Government will do its utmost to increase food production. The recent 10 per cent, ration cut in staple foods has been made to prepare ourselves for a long war.” Admiral Suzuki said: ‘Japanese aircraft production has far exceeded expectations. We would have avoided causing much worry to various circles if the production quota had been completed earlier. However, with our underground plants there is no further need for concern.” General Jiro Minami, president of the totalitarian political party, told the Domei agency that the Japanese nation was ready to talk peace only when the whole of East Asia had been freed from British and American colonial exploitation and Japan and the other nations of the world assured of a peaceful life based on justice and equality. He admitted that Japan might be overwhelmed by armed force, but said this would involve the sacrifice of millions of human lives and huge quantities of materials, taxing the Allied national j resources to breaking point. The Allied; people’s war weariness would not permit them to stand such great sacrifices. The Japanese Christian leader, Toyohiko Kagawa. in an English-language broadcast, said that in spite of America s horrible cruelty to Japan, a reconciliation was still possible if the United States would free China, liberate the Philippines, cut off India’s iron chains, and give Indonesia its independence. Home Minister Abe. after completing a tour of Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka, soi the people of central Honshu were determined to defend their land to the I bitter end. LIST OF CITIES GIVEN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE Guam, July 27. In an unprecedented move. General Lemay broadcast a warning to Japan announcing the cities on the list for destruction within the next few days, reports the Associated Press correspondent. Lemay advised civilians m the cities named to flee to safety and restore peace by demanding new good leaders, who would end the war. Sup-er-Fortresses showered 60.000 warning pamphlets on each of eleven cities. Ichinomiya, Tsu. Uhiyamada. Nagaoka, Nishinomiya, Aomori, Ogaki, Koriyama, Ywajima. Kurume and Hokkaido. Lemay said: “We cannot promise only these cities will be attacked, but , eleven will be destroyed and at least j four of them very soon. So heed this ! warning and evacuate immediately.” j FIREBOMBS ON SIX CITIES New York, July 28.1 Between 550 and 600 Super-Fort-1 /esses early to-day dropped 3500 tons I of incendiaries on Ichinomiya, Uhiya- j mada, Tsu, Ogaki, Aomori and Ywajima, which were six of the eleven \ cities showered with leaflets by the Twentieth* Air Force. Super-Fort-j resses also bombed Shimotsu oil re-j finery. Part of the incendiary force for! the first time fuelled at Iwo Jima! and then bombed Aomori, the most* northerly city Super-Fortresses have! yet attacked. Fuelling at Iwo Jima means that! all Japan is within range of SuperFortresses. Colonel John Fowler, j commander of Iwo Jima staging, centre, raid: “Japan’s notoriously bad; weether now has three hours less ■ to go sour from Iwo Jima. We can! hit Japan between bad weather l spells. Super-Fortresses have re-1 turned without suffering losses. Opposition is normal in spite of advance varnings.” CANNIBALISM IN LUZON REPORT OF ENEMY PRACTICE Ne w York. July 28. N A Manila message says the former Japanese war correspondent. Ameri-ern-born Ken Murayama, told an Associated Press of America correspond- \ ent that iron discipline backed by i harsh court-martials kept restlessi starving Japanese i n the firing line in northern Luzon where cases of canni- j balism were reported. Murayama predicted a Japanese surrender within 1 a few weeks. He reported dozens of cases of murder, fights ana thievery as ! starving Japanese fought for food. Am-i erican patrols in the Sierra Madre! mountains reported increasing evidence I of cannibalism. One Japanese surrendered in fear of the cannibalism that had befallen the others. NEW GUINEA HINTERLAND AUSTRALIANS DRIVE FORWARD; Sydney, July 29. j Troops of the Australian Sixth 1 Division are pursuing 6000 to 7000' Japanese into the hinterland of New j Guinea. The Japanese with all their high mountain features gone are fighting fierce delaying actions down!

| the southern slopes of the Prince ! Alexander Ranges behind Wevvak. The 19th Brigade which fought in Greece and Crete is in the spearhead of the attack. The N«w Guinea operations are widespread, brisk actions being fought along the coast, 30 miles apart. Operations in southern Bougainville have been brought to a standstill by the heaviest rains experienced since:- the Australians took over operations from the Americans. KWEILINCAPTURED CHINESE SUCCESS <Rec. 11.30 a.m.) Chungking, July 29. The High Command announced that the Chinese have recaptured Kweilin and its three former American airfields. “LAST DITCH BREADBASKET” ENEMY STAND IN NORTH BORNEO Manila, July 28. Australian Headquarters officers reI port that the Japanese are fighting stubbornly to ban the Ninth Division from the productive inland valley near Keningau, north-west Borneo, which the Japanese see as a “last ditch breadbasket.” The valley extends 50 miles to the north-west towards Ranau, and east towards Jesselton. SITTANG RIVER BATTLE MORE THAN 4000 ENEMY DEAD London, July 28. “Activity was confined to aggressive patrolling to clear areas between the Mandalay-Rangoon road and the Sittang River,” says a South-East Asia correspondent. East of the Sittang our guerrilla forces ambushed parties of Japanese who had succeeded in crossing the river. More than 4000 enemy dead have now been counted since the attempt to break out from Pegu Yomas started, and the total number of prisoners is 525. Part of 250 Japanese who crossed the Rangoon road nine miles south of Penwegon were scattered by artillery fire and took refuge in two villages east of the road and railway, where they were again engaged by our patrols. Liberators of the Air Command attacked the Bangkok-Singapore railway.’

FLEEING JAPANESE KILLED (Rec. 10.35 a.m.) Rugby, July 29. | A hundred Japanese, including two I officers, attempting to escape by boat I down the upper reaches of the Sittang 1 River, two miles south of Toungoo in I Burma, were attacked by two of our 1 guerrilla forces, says a correspondent ! at SEAC Headquarters. Two boats were I skilfully manoeuvred to within a few ! yards of the fleeing Japanese, who | were all killed. JAPAN AND REICH DIFFERENT PICTURE New York, July 27. The Come i news agency’s commen- ! tatcr, Hiroshi Oyama, discussing the 1 unconditional surrender declaration, i pointed out that the United States deI manded Germany’s unconditional surj render when the Reich was already on [ its knees. Therefore, the outcome was I obvious. “The East Asia picture is dif- ' rerent. American forces have no near|by major base, but instead have won , only a few small parts of the Japanese four bloody years not I a single enemy soldier stands on Jap- ! an’s mainland nor is likely to without I paying a terrible, almost prohibitive price. The bitter lessons learned on all Japan’s tiny invaded islands should impress the American mind that Japan is firmly and doggedly determined to resist, and will battle tooth and nail for I every inch of her sacred soil.” ALMOST FORGOTTEN FRONT SAVAGE WARFARE ON BOUGAINVILLE Manila, July 25. Describing how the Australians are waging a savage warfare on the almost ;<JrgoUe n Bougainville front an Associated Press correspondent says that the trapped Japanese there are surpris- ! inglj' well fed and full of fight. The Japanese plan of lonquest selected Bougainvilleas the key jumping off l je for the invasion of Australia and New Zealand via the Solomons. Before the severance ot their communication lines the Japanese concentrated huge stock piles of war supplies in the Buin area. Lieut.-General Savige’s Second Australian Corps last autumn took over the job of rooting out the Japanese on Bougainville. It is estimated that 17.000 Japanese remain under the wily Lieut.-General Kanda. commanding the remnants of the Seventeenth Japanese Army. They have more than 150 4-inch artillery guns, and an abundant quantity of 75 millimetre dual purpose guns which can be used devastatingly against tanks. The Australians have reiched the garden area where General Kanda must make, his last stand. He cannot go further south beyond the pl'ntation areas because of the absence c natural food. JAPS HARD TO CATCH Sydney. July 26. Australian troops are finding it hard to catch up with the Japanese in Borneo. The enemy appears to have no stomach to fight it out under the [existing conditions. He has taken a licking wherever he has attempted to make a stand, says the “Sun” war correspondent. Latest reports indicate ncr contacts whatever in the Brunei sector and only minor contacts in the Balik Papan area.