ALLIES SUFFER CASUALTIES

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23318, 29 September 1945, Page 5

ALLIES SUFFER CASUALTIES

Fighting in Saigon

(Rec 7.30 p.m.) SAIGON, Sept. 27. British. American, French and Japanese forces suffered casualties in fighting in Saigon yesterday against the Annamites. who ambushed them, reports the correspondent of the Associated Press. The Annamites also suffered casualties. American officers defended the American headquarters for three hours against an Annamite attack in which Lieutenant-Colonel P. Dewey, head of the American Office of Strategic Services Delegation was killed. Captain Coolidge was seriously wounded. The Japanese commander, FieldMarshal Count Terauchi, has been placed under the equivalent of house arrest, because of tne continued disorders. A French communique says the occupation of Saigon took place on Sunday and Monday without noteworthy incidents. French forces suffered very light casualties. The town is quiet and the French Government is already functioning. Conditions Improve (Rec. 11 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 28. Conditions at Saigon are improving, sa d the British commander of the Allied Forces in Southern IndoChina (Major-General Gracey). The Japanese are doing a far better job in keeping peace, following stern orders to Field-Marshal Terauchi, who has been ordered to remain in the British headquarters area until the situation is cleared up. Disarming the Japanese may begin on a large scale next week, when strong British and French reinforcements arrive. Major-General Gracey flew to Singapore from Saigon yesterday for conferences on the continuing Japanese disturbances throughout Indo-China. Lieutenant-General Takazo Numata, spokesman for Marshal Terauchi, told a Press conference: “Some Japanese soldiers joined the Annamites after our surrender, but we now regard them as enemies. The disarming of our troops." he added, “is progressing smoothly, but we fear retaliation from natives. Moreover, the question is linked with the requirement that the Japanese must maintain law and order.”