CRITICAL STAGE
BOUGAINVILLE CAMPAIGN SYDNEY, Mar. 21. Enemy resistance is stiffening everywhere on Bougainville Island, and a critical phase for both the Australians and the Japanese has been reached in the campaign. The Japanese realise that any further withdrawals will place the Australians in a position to speed up their advance. Resistance and terrain are such that in the south beyond the Puriata River our advance is restricted to a few yards a day. Each slight gain, however, brings us closer to the Hongorai River and the enemy’s larder. When we get that the enemy ! will begin to starve. Meanwhile our forward companies are being subjected to constant artillery and mortar fire and sharp attacks on the flanks. On the northern front the Japanese have indicated that they will not leave Soraken without a bitter struggle. They are digging in on a feature known as Horseshoe Knoll. But the aerodrome, at one time the centre of Japanese air activity in Northern New Guinea, has been captured by Australian troops.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Daily Times, Issue 25800, 22 March 1945, Page 6
Word Count
169CRITICAL STAGE Otago Daily Times, Issue 25800, 22 March 1945, Page 6
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