ENDAU EVACUATED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 January 1942, Page 3

ENDAU EVACUATED

SIKH BATTALION SCORE SUCCESSES ENEMY CYCLISTS ROUTED. BRITISH AIRCRAFT CARRY OUT MANY RAIDS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.42 a.m.) RUGBY, January 26. A Singapore communique states:— “Early this morning an enemy convoy, including warships and two merchantmen, was sighted by our aircraft off Endau. As previously announced, Endau already had been evacuated by our outposts. “No enemy activity is reported from the Mersing area. “Further details of an attack by a Sikh battalion north of Kluang, on January 24, show that enemy casualties were at least 400, while our own were slight. The same battalion ambushed and routed a party of about 200 enemy cyclists yesterday and destroyed 60. “At Batu Pahat, after severe fighting, the enemy succeeded in occupying the town.

“Bombers of the Far East Command carried out a number of attacks on enemy targets during the night.

“At Batu Pahat severe damage was caused to military objectives, and a number of large fires were started. “At Kuala Lumpur, the aerodrome was successfully attacked, bombs being seen to hit and damage runways.

As the result of an attack on shipping at Muar, a 600-ton vessel was left listing, and bombs also hit a jetty and started several fires in the target area. “Transport on the road between Muar and Parit Jawa was machine-gunned. Our fighters continued to carry out offensive patrols in support of our land forces. Transport near Batu Pahat and vessels off Paialu were machine-gunned and damaged. This morning our fighters engaged a formation of enemy fighters 'and damaged one of the “Navy” type. All our planes returned safely from the above operations.”

POSITION IN BURMA WITHDRAWAL CONTINUING. JAPANESE SUFFER HEAVY LOSSES. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.42 a.m.) RUGBY, January 26.« The British withdrawal in the Moulmein area is officially stated in London to be continuing, and British troops have inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. WAVES OF AIRCRAFT ATTACK DUTCH AERODROME. HEAVY JAPANESE BOMBING. (Received This Day, 10.20 a.m.) (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, January 26. The sinking of a Japanese destroyer, and possibly a cruiser, by a Dutch submarine, is announced in a Batavia communique, which states: “The enemy continued his activity in the outer provinces without obtaining definite results. A submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy carried out a night attack on enemy forces in the Straits of Macassar, and sank one Japanese destroyer. A hit was scored with a torpedo on a Japanese cruiser. As the submarine was strongly attacked by enemy ships, it was impossible to observe whether the cruiser sank. An aerodrome in the outer provinces was heavily bombed by Japanese bombers, which came over in three waves of 27 aircraft, and succeeded in interrupting telephone communications. There were no casualties, and none of our aircraft was lost. Afterwards the same aerodrome was mach-ine-gunned by four fighters without result,"