ENEMY REVERSE

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIV, Issue 22738, 12 November 1943, Page 5

ENEMY REVERSE

LANDING PARTY ON BOUGAINVILLE United States Marines Reinforced N.Z.P.A.—Special Australian Correspondent (9.10 p.m.) SYDNEY, November 11. American Marines at Empress Augusta Bay on Tuesday clashed with and defeated Japanese counter-invasion troops who landed near their beachhead on Sunday night. Enemy killed totalled 150 and reports from the area say that a large part of the Japanese landing party may have been wiped out. Admiral W. F. Halsey’s aircraft are continuing their operation in direct support of the ground forces, and attacked enemy positions at the mouth of the Laruma River, the scene of the latest fighting. The river forms the north-west flank of the American beach-head. Reports from the South Pacific area say that United States Army troops landed on Bougainville on Monday to support the Marines, and that so far they have encountered no opposition. Tire Japanese Air Force, attempting to hinder Allied operations at Empress Augusta Bay, suffered sharp losses. When 20 dive-bombers escorted by 40 Zeros attempted to attack shipping in the bay, our intercepting fighters shot down 26 enemy planes and seven others were probably destroyed. We lost eight fighters. Two of our ships received minor damage and small casualties. These enemy air losses formed part of the total of 67 Japanese planes definitely destroyed, with : nine more probably destroyed and others damaged, listed in General MacArthur’s communique to-day. The heaviest enemy air loss was at Alexshafen, where 35 Japanese planes were destroyed for the loss of three of ours.

Building Up Air Strength The Japanese have been engaged for some time building up their air strength at Alexshafen. but our surprise sweep early on Tuesday morning caught them unprepared, and 21 aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Of about 30 Zeros which got into the air, 14 were shot down, with two more probably destroyed. Tire Japanese are evidently persisting in their efforts to reinforce Rabaul, and a number of convoys have been reported to be moving down from northern waters. Three convoys were attacked by our bombers on Monday and Tuesday. In one of these attacks a Liberator sank a 10,000-ton merchantman off Western Point, New Hanover Island. The ship was escorted by a destroyer and another warship, possibly a light cruiser. About midday on Monday United States Navy Catalinas attacked two cargo ships escorted by a destroyer and a submarine chaser, about 100 miles north-west of Rabaul. A third convoy sighted off Nassau Island on Tuesday was also attacked. It comprised two freighter transports of 6000 and 8000 tons with destroyer escort.

British naval units participated In the battle off Bougainville Island in the Solomons, says the Berlin radio, quoting Toklo. They became available for the war in the Pacific through the surrender of the Italian fleet. It is considered highly probable that the landing of Japanese reinforcements on Bougainville might merely be the prelude to bigger landing attempts for a supreme effort to maintain a grip on the last major stronghold in the Solomons, says the United Press correspondent at Admiral Halsey’s Headquarters. The correspondent adds that latest reports from Bougainville reduced earlier estimates of the Japanese reinforcement from one regiment to less than a battalion.