WITHOUT A FIGHT

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 234, 30 June 1944, Page 5

WITHOUT A FIGHT

Japanese Leave Hansa Bay SWIFT ADVANCE BY AUSTRALIANS (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Special Correspondent.) (Received June 29, 11.30 p.m.) SYDNEY, June 29. Australian troops have made a spectacular advance along the north New Guinea coast to reach the mouth of the Sepik Riyer, 70 miles south-east of the isolated Japanese base of Wewak. They occupied Hansa Bay. formerly an important enemy supply point, on June 15. capturing much booty. The last official report of the Australians’ progress was the announcement of their capture of Bunabun harbour on May 31. The distance from Bunabun to the Sepik River is eight air miles, but it is well over 100 miles by track, so that the Australians have pushed on at a rate of better than three miles a day. The trapped remnants of the Japanese 18th Army stated by General Blarney. Allied Commander-in-Chief of the Allied land forces in the South-west Pacific, to number 40,000, are now cornered in the 140-mile coastal strip separating the Aus--tralians at Sepik and the Americans at Aitape. The enemy garrison at Hansa Bay relinquished the base without a fight, withdrawing toward Wewak. Abandoned stores and equipment found there included ammunition, food, trucks, medical supplies and petrol, all in such quantities as to indicate that Hanusa Bay had been the headquarters for a powerful. Japanese formation. „ . Difficult Country. The advance of the Australian forces up the New Guin"a coast began early in April with the capture of Bogadjim, south of Marian?. following the campaign in the Ramu Valley. Since then, they have traversed some hundreds .of miles through difficult terrain. Details of the operation are limited, but the advance must rank as one of the epie feats of the New Guinea war. The Australian Cabinet Ministers. Mr. Drakeford (Air) and Mr. Dedman (War Organization of Industry), who have just returned from New Guinea, said they had flown 8000 miljes over airfields alive with combat planes ready to be flung against the retreating foe. It was difficult to credit the transformation that had taken place in New Guinea since the days when three Australian-manned Hudsons were all the air strength available to meet the invading Japanese. The. thousands of fighting men now in New Guinea would soon be chasing the Japanese back across the ever-decreasing gap between northwest New Guinea and the Philippines. Considerable casualties were caused by an explosion which destroyed two Allied patrol torpedo-boats which were refuelling at Emirau Island, in the St. Matthias Group. Both torpedo-boats were destroyed by the resulting fire.