ARTILLERY DUEL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24194, 9 February 1942, Page 5

ARTILLERY DUEL

MANILA BAY EXCHANGES LITTLE INFANTRY ACTION. COMBATS IN THE AIR (Reed. 7.30 p.in.) LONDON, Feb. 7 Operations in the Philippines have been mainly confined to artillery fire, says a British official wireless message, according to the United States War Department communique issued in Washington, which states: "Concealed enemy batteries near the shore of Manila Bay bombarded our harbour defences with heavy artillery for three hours.

"Most of'the fire was concentrated against Fort Drum, but some was directed against Fort Mills and Fort Hughes. No material damage was done. Our guns returned the fire with undetermined results. "It has been determined that Lieu-tenant-General Sumusu Morioka is in cdhimand of the Japanese forces in Manila and the Cavite, on the shore of Manila Bay. "There has been little infantry action on the Batan Peninsula in the past 24 hours, but enemy artillery fire has been heavy. Hostile dive-bombers have been active over our lines. Two of our fighters engaged four enemy divebombers and shot down two. Neither of our aeroplanes was damaged. "lu the Netherlands East Indies eight American P49 pursuit aeroplanes were attacked by a greatly superior force of Japanese fighters and bombers near Bali. At least three enemy aeroplanes were shot down. One of ours was destroyed and another is missing. There is nothing to report from other areas." The United States War Department reports in another Washington message that Japanese gun emplacements on the south-eastern shore of Manila Bay were destroyed by fire from American fortifications. These artillery positions were , presumably designed by the enemy for an attack against the island fortress of Corregidor. Nine Japanese transports are at ports in Lingayen Gulf, 120 miles north of Manila, disembarking troops to reinforce the already very large enemy concentrations on the Batan Peninsula, and other points on Luzon Island. GENERAL DECORATED HEROIC ACTION IN LUZON (Reed. 7.40 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 The War Department has announced that General Mac Arthur has decorated Major-General Jonathan Wainwright and Brigadier-General Albert Jones with the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action during the early phases of the fighting on Luzon Island. General Wainwright, commanding the northern front, and General Jones, commanding the southern sector, skilfully eluded a large-scale Japanese pincers movement and succeeded in uniting their forces in the Pampanga Province. VESSEL PRESUMED LOST (Reed. 5.5 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 The steamship Cynthia Olsen, 1280 tojjs, under charter t-o the United States Army as a freight transport, has not reported since December 7, when she was attacked by a Japanese submarine miles west of Seattle. The vessel is how presumed lost.