TANKS SMASHED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24825, 27 January 1942, Page 5

TANKS SMASHED

AUSTRALIAN GUNNERS LATER SURROUNDED RESCUE BY BREN CARRIERS SINGAPORE, Jan. 20. A dramatic story of how Japanese infiltration in the Muar River area, on the west coast of Johore State, was held by troops and anti-tank gunnel’s from Victoria, who destroyed 11 Japanese tanks, was told by Frank Bagnail. Australian official kinephotographer, and Hedley Metcalfe, formerly of Melbourne and now British official photographer.

The troops moved into the Muar River area late on Saturday, and made contact with the Japanese south of the river in a rubber plantation with a road running through it. At dawn on Sunday 11 light Japanese tanks came down the road. Our two antitank guns, using ambush methods, knocked out all the tanks.

Gunners’ “ Savage Joy ”

The first of two anti-tank guns allowed the first section of the Japanese tanks through, to be handled by the second gun, which was shrewdl> sited in a cutting, so that the tanks could not turn off the road to avoid its fire.

An eye-witness described the savage joy of the anti-tank gunners as the tanks rumbled along the road, and as one after another the shots of the anti-tank gun found their mark and the tanks burst into flames.

One tank coming up close behind two that already had been knocked out was sheltered by them from the anti-tank gun. The gunners grabbed hand grenades, ran up an embankment, and hurled the grenades on the tank, breaking its tracks and disabling it.

Several Japanese from the tank crews broke for cover, but our troops quickly accounted for them with tommy guns. The first gun, meanwffiile, had knocked out the last four of the tanks, all of which wmre blazing and giving off loud rattling salvos as the ammunition inside was set off by the heat. The tank crews were mostly killed outright by the explosion of anti-tank bullets inside the tanks.

The photographers, Bagnall and Metcalfe, came' up in an armoured car just as the tank battle was ending. They had just secured photographs when about 10 o’clock light fire announced the infiltration of a Japanese platoon. Party Surrounded

Our troops replied with mortar, rifle and machine-gun fire on the Japanese position, only to find the Japanese fire coming from other directions, including steady sniping from trees. The parly realised that a strong Japanese force had come up and surrounded them. From 10 a.m. onward our mortars continually “ pasted ” areas from which the Japanese fire was coming, and the troops replied hotly to the Japanese sniping. Meanwhile, others prepared for a siege, dug slit trenches, sunk a well, and found water. All the men were cheerful and immensely practical. Finally, about 4 p.m.. the troops heard mortar bombs landing in the same area from which the Japanese mortar-fire was coming.

“We thought that sounded cheerful,” Metcalfe said. “ Soon after we heard carriers approaching, and realised that they must be ours. All the boys said ‘To hell with the sniping,’ and stood up and waved their rifles and cheered. It was the most thrilling moment I can remember.

“ For six hours we had been lying under the rubber trees. Japanese aircraft were coming low overhead. Our chaps were digging in between the bursts of fire. We came out by Bren carrier.”