VELLA LA VELLA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 245, 16 October 1943, Page 5

VELLA LA VELLA

NEW ZEALAND TROOPS COMMENDED OPERATIONS AGAINST JAPS (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) 7,30 p - m * Sydney, Oct. 15. I The announcement of the New Zea|,2 u “^ rs ’ Participation in the Pacific i righting for the first time comes at the close of a nicely-planned and neatly-executed operation over Vella Lavella, which caught the Japanese in a trap, writes Winston Turner, Sydney Sun war correspondent in the Solomons, in a message to the New Zealand Press Association.

A pincers movement by the New Zealanders pocketed the Japanese in a five miles strip on the northern coast of Vella Lavella, where they were brought under artillery fire and desperately began evacuation. The enemy death-roll on Vella Lavella itself was not high, most of the 5000 Japanese troops estimated killed dying at sea when our aircraft, destroyers and motor torpedo-boats attacked their evacuation barges. The New Zealanders did well in their first jungle operation, earning the commendation of American observers. They should give an excellent account of themselves in the bigger operations to come. The commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Pacific, Major-General Barraclough, has under his charge elements of the Third Division of the New Zealand Army, including men who garrisoned Fiji and other islands early in the war. After months of wearisome guard duty on island outposts the division, fit and highly trained, was eager to get a smack at the enemy. The division is armed with British weapons, which will enable it to coooerate with the Australians when General MacArthur’s and Admiral Halsey’s drives merge in New Britain and New Ireland. The operations on Vella Lavella have been cloaked in silence. On August 15 an American force made a surprise landing at Barakoma, on the south-east coast. The only opposition was an ineffective air attack on the convoy as it was withdrawing. American patrols immediately began moving up the east coast against slight opposition, while reinforcements were pouring in through the Barakoma beach-head. The enemy tried to interfere with our reinforcing by a series of air attacks against the landing craft, but significantly never made a surface attack, which indicates the extent to which Admiral Halsey now controls the Solomons waters. The Japanese continued to retreat up the east coast, offering only sporadic resistance.

The enemy landed reinforcements in the first week of August but by the third week he was evacuating from northern Vella Lavella while fighting a delaving action. Japanese troops were evacuated from Kolombangara to Vella Lavella and our airmen could see heavy foot traffic up the east coast road. Enemy barge traffic was heavily hit by our aircraft and motor torpedo-boats. In the first week of September operations in the north-east sector of the island reached a climax when the Americans introduced artillery. This broke the back of the enemy resistance on the east coast and the Japanese dropped back eight miles to Kokolope Bay. Early on the morning of September 9 the enemy apparently tried to land fresh troops to cover the evacuation. Allied heavy bombers hit a troopship. On September 10 the Americans captured Japanese artillery, and by mid-September they had brought up their own artillery on to the ridges dominating the north and north-east coasts.

It was at this stage that the New Zealanders entered the scene and completed the operation. On September 18 a substantial New Zealand force landed on south-east Vella Lavella and, under Major-General Barrowclough, began moving up the west coast. Another force landed at Paraso Bay, on the north-east coast, and the two forces began a pincers movement against the enemy, who by this time had retreated up the coast away from the .American artillery positions. The enemy continued to flee as the New Zealanders advanced from two sides, to make a last stand on a five miles strip of the coast between Warambari Bay and Timbala Bay. The New Zealanders fanned through the jungle skirting the coast and, like eager terriers, began routing out the Japanese wherever they found them. By late September the New Zealanders had closed the Warambari-Timbala trap. The enemy made strenuous efforts to break out and suffered comparatively heavy losses. The New Zealanders then brought artillery up the west coast and began shelling the pocket. The climax came on the night of October 10 when the Japanese attempted their major evacuation, and Captain Ffank Walker, with a handful of American destroyers, tackled a fight cruiser, eight destroyers and a fleet of gunboats and barges, and sank the cruiser, two destroyers and probably a third destroyer, and 'damaged others by gunfire.

Though no official announcement has yet been made by the American Command, Tokio radio has since announced that Vella Lavella was completely evacuated.