ROSARIO FALLS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23113, 30 January 1945, Page 5

ROSARIO FALLS

Advance On Luzon Sharp Fighting At San Manuel By Telegraph—N Z. Press Assn —Copyrlgnx (Rec. 8 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Jan. 28. “In the First Corps sector on Luzon, cur forces have captured Rosario,” says General MacArthur's communique. “They are within half a mile of Camp One road junction. The Japanese 23rd Division and the 58th independent mixed brigade defending this sector have been practically decimated. The enemy has been forced to move his northern reserves from

the approaches to Baguio. “Our troops at San Manuel are steadily reducing enemy entrenched installations beyond the town and sharp fighting continues. In the 14th Corps sector our troops in parallel columns driving south have seized Angeles with its four adjacent airfields. Our patrol elements have reached Arayat, on the Pamanga River, also Mexico, three miles north-east of San Fernando.

‘Tremendous depots of enemy quartermaster, signal, ordnance, air and technical supplies captured in the Clark Field area include more than 200 new aircraft engines, many radio transmitters and receivers, great quantities of miscellaneous radio and telephone equipment, several months’ stores of ammunition, food and equipment, and more than 40 artillery pieces of various calibres.

“On the 2nd Corps front 71 tanks of the Japanese second armoured division have been destroyed. So far elements of the following enemy divisions have been identified on Luzon: Second Armour, 10th, 12th, 19th. 23rd, 58th; independent brigades, 103rd and 105th. In addition identification has been obtained of a number of marine and naval organisations, many garrisons and service units.

“Our heavy units on successive days struck the enemy coast defences on Corregidor, also the Cavite naval base with 200 tone of bombs. Direct hits were scored on gun positions and large fires started. Medium attack bombers swept Bataa,n and Subic Bay, wrecking enemy defences and cratering the runway of Calaban aerodrome. Motor torpedo-boats at night destroyed seven barges off the north-east coast of Cebu. Medium fighter-bombers dropped 33 tons of bombs on defence personnel areas at Vogelkop in New Guinea, causing large fires and directly hitting a gun position. Heavy and medium attack fighter-bombers dropped 73 tons of explosives on personnel and supply areas on Gazelle Peninsula, Bougainville. They started fires in a fuel dump and destroyed barracks related to installations.” Pigmy Negritos

Two American airmen who were picked up by reconnaissance patrols, near Angeles, after losing their aircraft near the Clark Field warmly praised the guerrilla activities of the pigmy Negritos, who cared for them after they landed, says the Luzon correspondent of the “New York HeraldTribune.” These strange, shy people fought the Japanese with primitive weapons, also with a few American rifles saved from Bataan. One airman said the Negritos, with bow and arrow, could shoot out a gnat’s eye at 50 paces. The tribesmen hunted the Japanese along the lonely hill trails near the Clark Field. They used to come proudly to the airman displaying bloody arrows and trophies taken from the Japanese.

Gain of 10 Miles

Swift-moving 14th Corps patrols, gaining as much as 10 miles, have advanced to within 34 airline miles of Manila. They have reached the Pampanga River, the last major barrier on the road to the capital, says the correspondent of the United Press. The advance to Mexico represented a 10mile gain from Angeles. It also places the Americans three miles north-east of San Fernando, capital of Pampanga province, situated at the head of a four-mile wide bottleneck between Pampanga and Candabas swamps on the shortest route to Manila. Fifteen miles behind advanced spearheads other 14th Corps troops are mopping up. It is estimated that 5000 Japanese are pinned in the hills around Clark Field after their failure to halt the American advance.

The capture of Rosario by the 43rd Division marked the end of a three weeks’ bitter battle. Many American officers doubt whether the Japanese will make another serious stand before Manila, although the destruction of bridges is likely to slow up the American advance, and prevent forces from beating the Japanese record into Manila.

The correspondent of the “New York Times” reports that the enemy still seems to be lodged in some strength in the hills just behind Clark Field. Fort Stotsembiirg is also still dotted with enemy positions, and American artillery is laving down a continuous barrage on the iort hills, with occasional answering fire from the Japanese.

The Tokio radio stated that, Japanese torpedo-boats attacked an Allied convoy in Mindanao Sea on January 24 and sank three transports, one battleship, and one unidentified type of warship. All the torpedo-boats returned safely.