AMERICAN FORCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25851, 23 May 1945, Page 5

AMERICAN FORCES

ADVANCE ON MINDANAO NEARING BUIKON PROVINCE (Rec. 10 p.m.) WASHINGTON, May 21. “Driving 10 miles along the central highway in Mindanao the Thirty-first Division is within a mile of Malay - balay, the capital of Buikon Province, and on the edge of the airfield,” says General MacArthur's ..communique. “ Units of the Fortieth American Division reached Maluko after an advance of four miles. “ The Twenty-fourth Division advanced two miles north of Panacan and completed the clearing of the Sasa airfield, in Upper Luzon. We are steadily driving the enemy back into Cagayan Valley. Australian patrols on Tarakan penetrated within three miles of the north coast. “ Bombers attacked installations in Brunei Bay and on the Celin and Tabanio airfields. Air patrols damaged Samarinda shipyards and wrecked four coasters in Celebes and Malaccas waters. The converging Australian drives in the Wewak sector are two miles apart. “ Philippines-based planes attacked Formosa targets for the sixth successive day. Escorted heavy bombers concentrated on the Keelung waterfront, dropping 327 tons on installations and warehouses and starting large explosions and fuel fires. Medium bombers and fighters on patrol made lowlevel strikes on Toyohapa and Taito railroad yards, and attacked aerodromes at Tainman, Taien, Heito, and Giran. Enemy opposition was confined to flak. Search planes sank a freighter and damaged three others. Patrol bombers sank three freighters in China Sea sweeps and attacked railway installations in French Indo-China and near Nanking.”