LITTLE ENEMY OPPOSITION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25466, 22 February 1944, Page 3

LITTLE ENEMY OPPOSITION

AIR STRENGTH NEUTRALISED

(N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) ALLIED SOUTH PACIFIC /T , „ HEADQUARTERS. (Rec. 7 p.m.) Feb. 20. “The invasion of Nissan has come off pretty well as I had hoped, with very little resistance,” said Rear-ad-miral T. S. Wilkinson, commander of Admiral Halsey’s amphibious force, commenting on the successful occupation of the island by New Zealand and American units. “I had thought the Japanese would come strongly in the air on the first day, but his harassing raids on the night before the landing and about half-past 7 on the morning of February 15 were only very small. The Japanese sent over only about 15 planes. I expected all day he would be back with what aircraft he had left from the morning raid or with what he could scratch together, but he never returned.” Admiral Wilkinson considered that the Japanese must have been more heavily hurt in the recent battering of New Britain and New Ireland than had even been hoped, otherwise he could not understand the small opposition at Nissan. Admittedly the Japanese had had time to build up their garrison since our raid there a fortnight before, but they had failed to do so.

“ I am very grateful that we went in and off without the loss of any ships,” he said. Adding that the heavy aerial support had helped materially in neutralising the enemy air strength before the Nissan attack, Admiral Wilkinson claimed that Rabaul and Kavieng have been brought by this advance to the same position as Bougainville and Buka had been following the New Zealand assault on the Treasury Islands last October. “ Nissan marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another,” concluded Admiral Wilkinson.