BEING ROLLED UP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25804, 27 March 1945, Page 5

BEING ROLLED UP

DEFENCE LINE ON LUZON STUBBORN FIGHTING (Rec. 8 p.m.) NEW YORK, Mar. 25. “A craggy 700-foot hill pitted with caves, foxholes and buried gun emplacements is at present the Japanese principal hope in stubborn fighting in the south-east of Manila, where the Americans are slowly rolling up the Shimbu Line,” says the New York Times Manila correspondent. “ The hill is two miles and a-nalf to the northeast of Antopolo and is a little Gibraltar where at least a battalion oi Japanese regulars are almost surrounded and must be dug out because of their proximity to Manila, Clark Field and the main highway. The Japanese in another sector donned sacking and horns and unsuccessfully tried to escape along buffalo paths disguised as caraboas ”

“ Sixth Division troops advancing near Mount Baytangan over-ran many caves and “ octopus ” defences, inflicted heavy losses and captured large quantities of supplies, arms and equipment,” says General MacArthur’s com. munique. “ Elements of the Fortythird Division captured Mount Yubang and Mount Balidbiran, and combed the upper Bosoboso River Valley, three miles east of Mount Qutago. The Twenty-fifth and Thirtysecond Divisions in the Balete Pass area repulsed six counter-attacks attempting to stem our enveloping advance. First Cavalry Division units, moving from Santo Tomas, initiated a drive along the main highway southwards.

“ Our aircraft heavily attacked coast defences and supply dumps at Legaspi and Infanta on the east and central coast of Luzon. They swept north Luzon, starting, fires in the Balete Pass and attacking installations in the Cagayan Valley and south of Vigan. They destroyed many installations near Cebu City, causing large fires and explosions. “ Other planes struck at the Jitsugetso hydro-electric scheme on Formosa, the main power source for the island’s industrial areas, dropping 145 tons of bombs and wrecking the power plant and transformers, and leaving water pouring from the broken penstocks. Thev also v attacked the Takao factory area on Formosa, starting large fires.

“Our aircraft ranged the China Sea and sank a 3000-ton freighter-trans-port, probably sank another, destroyed four small freighters, and damaged three small freighters and one destroyer escort. They attacked targets at Hainan, Borneo, the Celebes, the Moluccas and the Lesser Sundas.”

After studying photographs of the Jutsugetsu raid, a United States air force staff officer said the attack permanently knocked out an estimated 75 per cent, of the island's hydro-electric capacity. It blacked out all southern Formosa, affecting aluminium, nickel, phosphate, the aircraft assembly plants, shipyards, and thousands of small factories.