MARSHALLS RAIDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24774, 23 December 1943, Page 3

MARSHALLS RAIDS

JAPANESE REINFORCING MORE INTERCEPTING ZEROS (Reed. 8.40 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 The rising fury of the air war over the Marshall Islands is emphasised by an announcement that three Liberators were lost in a single raid on Taroa, says the Associated Press correspondent at Pearl Harbour.

As a result of the recent series of attacks, it has been learned that considerable shipping has been sighted by the attackers, indicating that the Japanese are making strenuous efforts to fortify the islands against the threat of invasion. The number of intercepting Zeros is increasing, indicating that the Japanese have been receiving reinforcements to replace the heavy losses inflicted on December 4 by American carrier pianos.

The latest attack on Taroa was made by Army Liberators on Monday, when 25 tons of bombs were dropped, causing fires and explosions in hangar and storage areas. The Liberators were attacked by 30 Zeros, of which four were shot down and five probably destroyed. Three of the Liberators were lost and others slightly damaged by anti-aircraft fire and intercepting fighters. During the week ended yesterday, 71 American air missions were carried out in the Pacific, said the Secretary of the Navy, Colonel W. F. Knox. Nine were against the Marshall Islands, where 19 Japanese planes were definitely shot down and nine probably destroyed, compared with three American planes lost. .More than 60 missions, with 1400 planes participating, were carried out in the South Pacific area. Colonel Knox confirmed statements to the effect that Japanese air opposition in the Pacific was negligible. He added that it was difficult to understand the lack of Japanese counter air activity. On some missions not a single enemy-plane was encountered.

AMERICAN ARMY CHIEF VISIT TO PACIFIC AREAS (Special Australian Correspondent) (Reed. 8.20 p.m.) SYDNEY, Dec. 22 General G. C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, has conferred with General Mac Arthur, Allied Commander in the South-west Pacific. This announcement by General MacArthur's spokesman to-day breaks the silence concerning General Marshall's movements after he accompanied President Roosevelt to Cairo and Teheran for the Allied conferences.

His visit to the South-west Pacific coincided with the invasion of New Britain by the Americans. He saw Allied war activity in New Guinea and the Solomons, and also visited military centres in Northern Australia.

After conferring with General MaeArthur and the commander of the Allied land forces in the South-west Pacific, General Sir Thomas Blarney, General Marshal] met other Allied chiefs, including Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, and the commanders of the American troops in the Central and South Pacific areas. A New York message says that Army headquarters in Hawaii announced that ; General Marshall arrived on Sunday and conferred for two days with Admiral Nimitz and Lieutenant-General R. Richardson, Commander of the United States Army in the Central Pacific.

DUTCH VIEW OF OUTLOOK MELBOURNE, Dec. 22 "It may be necessary to wait until the European situation is clearer before an offensive on a grand scale is launched against Japan," says Vice-Admiral Helfrich, Netherlands Commander-in-Chief in the East, who is visiting Australia from his headquarters in Ceylon. Admiral Helfrich told interviewers that he did not believe Japan could be bombed out of the East Indies, nor did I he believe that China-based air attacks on the mainland of Japan would be as effective as some people thought. Plans have already been made. Admiral Helfrich announced, to increase greatly the Netherlands forces after Holland has been freed. SUPREME COMMAND CORRESPONDENT'S OPINION (Reed. 12.-10 a.m.) NEW YORK. Dec. 22 "The Teheran conference decided to appoint General D. D. Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander in place of General G. C. Marshall," says the New York Times' military correspondent, Hanson Baldwin. "This decision was made probably because it is believed General Marshall can be more useful to the war effort in Washington, where he will be able to continue exercising a major influence over global strategy. "General Eisenhower's appointment will necessitate changes in the High Command in Britain and the Mediterranean," Mr. Baldwin continues. "General Montgomery may receive an important post in Britain. This, coupled with the news that Rommel has been appointed commander of the European anti-invasion army, may result in the classic Montgomery-Rommel duel continuing in a different setting on a far vaster scale. "The British are likely to command the combined naval force, while some well-known British air leaders in Britain and the Mediterranean are certain to occupy major positions in any invasion ooeration. General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson will probably replace General Eisenhower in the Mediterranean, with Generals Alexander and Clark continuing in important positions." NEW BOLIVIAN RULE FASCIST TENDENCIES (Reed. 10.30 p.m.) SANTIAGO, Dec. 22 "The new Bolivian Government has Fascist tendencies without popular sympathies," said the ex-President, Penaranda, who has arrived in Arica, Chile. He denied that he resigned, adding that the revolutionaries presented an already drafted resignation, but he did not sign it. GERMAN ADMIRAL DIES SCAPA FLOW RECALLED LONDON, Dec. 21 The German news agency announced the death of Vice-Admiral Ludwig von Renter, aged 75. Von Renter ordered the scuttling of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919. He claimed that in ordering the scuttling he only carried out the Iyaiser's order given*in 1914 that no ship in any circumstances should fall into enemy hands.