NEW LANDING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20874, 28 August 1942, Page 3

NEW LANDING

JAPANESE FORCES NEW GUINEA TIP ALLIES BLAST SHIPS HEAVY ENEMY LOSSES (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Special Australian Correspondent.) (10.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, Aug. 28 Japanese forces have landed al Milne Bay. on the south-east tip ol New Guinea. General MacArthur’s Headquarters have announced that our forces anticipated the movement and are in contact with the enemy. The landing was made with heavy losses in face of fierce attacks by Flying Fortresses and Marauder medium bombers and Kittyhawks The extremely bad weather probably

assisted the enemy landings by hampering Allied air attacks, but the convoy has since taken a relentless hammering. Our planes have sunk a transport, heavily damaged and probably sunk a cruiser and damaged a destroyer. Six landing barges were also destroyed. Fires were started among the supplies ashore. Our air attacks are reported to be continuing despite adverse weather. They arcbeing pressed home from law altitudes. Milne Bay, near Samarai, is 220 miles east of Port Moresby and 420 miles to the closest point on the Australian mainland. Small Landing Likely The convoy from which the enemy landed was attacked by our fighterbombers near the Trobriand Islands on Tuesday when a gunboat was sunk and two transports strafed. The statement that the convoy was small is believed to indicate that the enemy troops landfed were not in large numbers. Milne Bay offers sheltered waters and a move by the enemy in this direction has been anticipated since the landing at Buna. The bay is about 10 miles wide across the entrance and 20 miles deep. The foreshores are flat and fringed with mangroves. There are no big settlements, but the area is one of the most cultivated in New Guinea. Several crocodile-infested creeks run into the bay. The enemy landings were made without air support. Some observers suggest that this lack of air support is connected with the spectacular Allied coups against the Japanese fighters or. the ground at Buna Thirteen planes were destroyed in raids on Tuesday and on Wednesday six more were added, making a total of 19 in two days. Japanese Caught Off Guard The fact .that the Japanese have been caught off-guard on two successive days supports the contention expressed by the South-west Pacific Headquarters spokesman that it will be difficult for the enemy to establish an air base in this sector ol Papua in face of our air opposition. Our aircraft flying across the Owen Stanley range give little warning ol their approach to the Japanese. Conversely, our ground forces on the northern side of .the ranges are able to give adequate warning to Port Moresby when enemy aircraft are about to make attacks. Broome was raided early yesterday. In announcing this, Genera) MacArthur’s Headquarters stated: ■‘An unknown number of enemy planes dropped a few bombs on Broome early yesterday. There was no. damage and no casualties.