ATTU ISLAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25239, 31 May 1943, Page 3

ATTU ISLAND

TOKIO ADMISSION NO FROM FORCES (Rec. 11 p.m.) NEW YORK, May 30. It was announced in Tokio to-day that no news had been received for 24 hours from the Japanese forces in the Aleutians, and it was assumed that the whole of the garrison had been wiped out by the United States troops. , The capture two days ago of a strong Japanese position on Fishhook Ridge, in Attu Island, is the latest announcement from Washington. American troops fought over rugged, snowy ground, scaling 60-degree ridges in the face of strong fire. The Japanese were entrenched above the cloud-line. The strong-point of Japanese defence is centred in the area between the north wall of the Chicagof Valley, Holtz Bay, and Chicagof Harbour. Yesterday there was little Japanese activity in the Khlebuikof area except at one enemy position, on a ridge east of the north end of Lake Cories. Bad weather hampered air operations. The Washington correspondent of the New York Times says the latest communiques show that the Americans are advancing inch by inch against the shifting centres of Japanese resistance bunched south of Chicagof Harbour. An official navy spokesman declared that he believed these isolated enemy groups would resist until they were wiped out. The most desperate Japanese resistance so far encountered was in the lower reaches of the highlands above Massacre Bay. Here the enemy snipers fought till they were killed, and enemy field batteries fired until they were destroyed. But American aviation is now getting in really hard blows against the defenders. Reconnaissance aircraft act as spotters for the American artillery. Reports from war correspondents on Attu refer enviously to the quality of the special Japanese protective furlined clothing, including shoes, mittens, and jackets. American soldiers do not wear fur-lined clothing. The United States Army and Navy headquarters refuse to comment on the Tokio claim that the Unite'd States lost a battleship, two cruisers, three other warships, and 6000 men in the Attu campaign.