BUNA MISSION RESISTANCE

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLXII, Issue 15240, 5 January 1943, Page 3

BUNA MISSION RESISTANCE

SMASHED BY ALLIES FIERCE FIGHTING AT SANANANDA. HEAVY JAPANESE LOSSES. United Press Assn.—By Electric i Telegraph—Copyright. I (Special Australian, Correspondent.) SYDNEY', Jan. 4. About 650 Japanese were killed when Australian-manned tanks and Allied infantry units smashed enemy resistance in the Buna Mission sector o n Saturday. Mopping-up operations are being completed. The sole remnants of the enemy’s Papuan army are confined to the narrow salient at Sanananda Point and Allied units are preparing to envelop this ■liqsi.tion which is described in General MacArthur’s communique today as “hopeless.” Fierce fighting has been going on around Sanananda for some days. With the re-occupation of the entire Buna area, the Allies now have two airfields available to them. At present these airfields cannot be used because of the damage done by earlier Allied bombing and artillery lire, but to make them serviceable should not he difficult. A veteran A.J.F unit followed the tanks into action at Giropa Point where the main .Japanese stiongpoints in the Buna area were situated. Australian engineers improvised, special bombs which the infantrymen tossed into tlio dugouts and pillboxes after they had been breached by the tanks, thus forcing the enemy trOops out into the open. The Japanese had only Molotov cocktails to hurl against thr tanks anu these were not effective, fn the coconut palms, they had bidden many snipers, but most of these wore detected by the tank crews and knocked from their firing platforms before our infantry came into range. A small number of prisoners was taken.

Olio war correspondent writes trial “it is apparent that some of the Japanese had taken all the punishment their tough hides could assimilate." The enemy were 'short of ammunition. food and supplies. About 70 Japanese attempted to escape to the Sanananda area by swimming, hut they were caught in the water by our strafing planes and the great majoritv were killed.