HEAVY LOSSES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 February 1942, Page 3

HEAVY LOSSES

AND SHORTAGE OF WATER SUPPLIES Made Continued Defence of Island Impossible MILLION PEOPLE CONCENTRATED IN SMALL AREA EVENTS IN DUTCH INDIES AND PHILIPPINES LONDON, February 16. It is now known that a message from Sir Shenton Thomas, the Governor of Singapore, was received in London a few hours before the fortress fell. A last message was sent also by Lieutenant-General Percival to General Wavell. General Percival stated that it was impossible to carry on on account of heavy losses and the shortage of water, ammunition, food and petrol. Sir Shenton Thomas stated in his message that a million people were concentrated in Singapore in an area of three square miles radius. The water supplies had been very badly damaged. The message said that the civil population was quiet but bewildered. The civil and fire fighting services were still carrying on and telephone girls were still at their task. It is stated in London that there was no thought of evacuating the garrison from the island. The only idea was to fight to the last. Some of the wounded were taken off and most of the women and children. The personnel of a New Zealand aerodrome construction unit and that of a New Zealand fighter squadron were with-, drawn. A message from Batavia tells how three Hurricane pilots managed to escape from Singapore. They spent their last hour on the island on the last remaining aerodrome, while members of the ground staff, who knew they themselves could not get away, were working on their machines. During the last few minutes the Japanese troops broke through, but the pilots held them off with rifle fire and then were able to take off, through a hail of machine-gun bullets. The Japanese have now occupied Palembang, in Sumatra, after fierce fighting, but the Dutch had destroyed all the oil wells and installations throughout the area. Fighting continues. Allied bombers attacked the Japanese invasion fleet and hit five enemy transports and two cruisers off the coast of Sumatra and set one of the cruisers on fire. Eight-gun Hurricanes made as many as six attacks during the day. In the Timor Sea, Allied shipping was bombed unsuccessfully by a Japanese plane. A Japanese reconnaissance plane flew over the south coast of Papua yesterday, but dropped no bombs. In the Philippines there has been heavy artillery fire on the Batan Peninsula during the last 24 hours, with intermittent artillery fighting on sections of the front. General de Gaulle has sent a message of congratulation to General MacArthur. A Chungking message states that the Chinese are keeping up aggressive attacks along the whole 2,000-mile front. They have scored successes in northern Kiangsi and in northern Hunan. In Burma the British forces yesterday withdrew to new positions. This brings the right flank about 40 miles west of Moulmein.