FURTHER ADVANCE

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLXI, Issue 15163, 2 October 1942, Page 3

FURTHER ADVANCE

BY AUSSIES IN NEW GUINEA ANOTHER RIDGE CAPTURED. AIR STRAFING, CONTINUES. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph.—Goovright. (Special Australian Correspond ant.) SYDNEY, October 1 • Driving further up tlie Owen Stanley mountain trails Australian troops have captured Naoro, ten miles north of loribaiwa. Contact lias not yet been made with the main Japanese force. The Australians attackers are led by seasoned veterans of the Libya, Syria and Crete campaigns.

It was believed that the Japanese would make strong efforts to hold the Australian advance at Naoro x r , here there are excellent positions for defence. Howex>er, no prepared positions were found, and the enemy is now retreating towards Neman, about six miles north of Naoro towards Hell’s Gap pass through the ranges.

Reporting this further success against the Japanese land forces threatening Port Moresby tlie latest communique from General Mae Arthur’s Headquarters says: “Additional supplies and equipment abandoned by the retreating Japanese troops have fallen into our bauds.' Menari is noxv being heavily strafed by British Beaufighters and American A2o’s—fast and powerfully armed twin-engined attack bombers similar in design to the well-known Bostons. This is the first mention of A2o’s being used in company with Beaufighters in New Guinea. The Japanese are believed to have prepared positions in the Menari area which has been several times attacked by our aircraft during tlie past fexv days. The Australian forces have advanced about seven miles since they began their push two days ago and they have climbed ridges 4000 feet high. While these gains are decidedly encouraging it is generally expected that stubborn Japanese resistance wilL soon be encountered. It appears that our sudden counteroffensive loft tlie enemy xvithout time to construct adequate defences at Naoro and that he preferred to fall back to the area where liis supply problems wi 11 be less difficult and where lie will have the opportunity to dig in. The Australian tactics ai 0 to maintain close contact xxitli the enemy, thus keeping him continually oil the run, but the Japanese have still more than 60 miles to go before they are pushed back through Hell’,s Gap and to the northern slopes ol the mountains. The steep ridges already recaptured are known to the Australian troops as “Hell’s Backbone.” Om forces found that th e principal part ol the Japanese defences at loribaiwa. comprised primitive log pallisadcs constructed across the main path and across every jungle bypass These appear to have been designed more to give xvarning of the Australians’ approach than to halt auy determined advance. The early part of the drive has been made with the invaluable support of 25-pounder artillery—but it seems improbable that tlie army engineers will be able to keep these guns, each weighing more than a ton. in close support of the advancing infantry. Some of the ridges nowbeing approached rise vertically more than a thousand feet. Already the engineers have bad to oxereon’e difficulties of mud, hills and heavy tropical storms to haul the guns into their positions. Meanwhile Allied airmen are continually attacking the enemy supply line in an effort to xveuken the Japanese resistance to our ground forces. On Wednesday Menari, Kokoda and Buna were attacked as xvell as Buka and Buln in tlie Solomon Islands. Persistent attacks on the xdtal Wairopi bridge ar e causing considerable interference xvith the porterage of enemy supplies to their advanced forces in the ranges. When Flying Fortresses attacked tlie bridge xvitli beax r y demolition bombs on Wednesday the structure was badly damaged and left sagging. Flying Fortresses also heavily attacked installations at the Buna supply base. Kitty hawk fighters co-operated with the A2O attack bombers in two raids on the extern v 'supply line near Menari and several fires were started in strafing sweeps. Medium bombers of the Mac Arthur Command attacked Bum and Buka in the Solomons. Many direct hits were scored on ail aerodrome and dispersal areas a.t Bum and extensive damage is reported. At Buka the results of the attack on the aerodrom© xver<> not observed. The Japanese Air Force in the Southwest Pacific remains inactive. In the nast seven xveeks more than a hundred enemy planes haxv been destroyed in New Guinea xvhicb together xvitli 207 shot doxvn in the Solomons brings the number of enemy aircraft destroyed in the South-west Pacific in the period to more than 300. Observers estimate that it cost the Japanese about 2000 men to gain control of the Owen Stanley Ranges. While the present Australian push abates th ( * danger of a rear attack on Port Moresby, war correspondents warn that the danger of a coin crdemtal seaborne invasion is ever present.