JUNGLE WAR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 September 1942, Page 4

JUNGLE WAR

TACTICS OF JAPANESE MANY TRIALS. SKILL IN INFILTRATION. A patrol of Australian soldiers was making its way through the jungle fringe of Milne Bay one day recently when it came upon a pile of dead Japanese soldiers. The Australians counted the number of dead and moved on. They had not gone far when tommygun bullets began to spatter round them. A Japanese had risen from the dead and was firing at the Australians from behind his fallen comrades states Charles Buttrose, war correspondent of the “Sydney Morning Herald." Australians searching the Milne Bay jungle for Japanese, living and dead, now are making certain that the dead are really dead, and have thus put an end to at least one trick the Japanese have been employing against our forces in the New Guinea fighting. In recent fighting in New Guinea the Japanese have shown themselves masters of jungle fighting. Schemes for this type of warfare which they tested out in Malaya in New Guinea have been developed to their ultimate. Fundamentally, it is a war of nerves.

They are masters of camouflage and movement. No detail has been overlooked by the men who formulated the Japanese jungle war methods. Japanese troops are equipped with the lightest possible gear. The men doing the fighting carry very little. Their heavy stuff is carried by coolie battalions. Each man can carry food which will last him for 10 days. It consists of rice, perhaps, some dried fish or fruit, and vitamin tablets.

Lighter Weapons

The Japanese tommy-gun and rifle also are lighter than ours, and, accordingly, so is the ammunition for his weapons. Each Japanese patrol is issued With a small, extremely light portable radio set. which enables it to maintain contact with other groups and with its headquarters.

An ace still -in the Japanese pack of jungle war tricks is their skill at infiltrating Australian' patrols and lines of defence by clever flanking movements. Ever present in the minds of Australians on patrol is the fear that some Japanese group has sneaked on them and cut them off from their base. Outflanking the flanker seems the only counter to this move. Australians who have been wounded in the New Guinea fighting say that tackling the Japanese is like fighting an army of invisible men. The Japanese generally wear mottled green uniforms. They paint their faces, arms, and legs. Their steel helmets are covered with green sacking. They seem to melt into the jungle. Few Australian soldiers have seen a live Jap.

Jungle Scouts

At an Australian hospital not far from the present front line on the Owen Stanley ranges front, a wounded Australian told me the other day that the Japanese were adopting a policy of sending scouts through the jungle right up to the Australian line. Apparently the scouts all spoke English, and they picked up the names of Australian officers, including the noncommissioned officers in charge of patrols. The Australian soldier said that the Christian name of his patrol leader had been Gus. One night while the patrol had been resting in the jungle a near voice asked, “Where are you, Gus?” The patrol leader immediately declared his whereabouts, and as he did so a number of shots were fired in his direction. None hit him. Other Australians have told me about another incident in the New Guinea war. A large patrol of A.I.F. troops were making their way through a jungle when they heard the order, “Advance, men.” They advanced right into the fire of a set of Japanese mortars. On another occasion during a night resting period a voice from the jungle had cried out, “Corporal White—where’s Corporal White?” Fortunately, there was no Corporal White with the patrol.

“Terrific Din”

Whenever a Japanese patrol launches an attack it sets up a terrific din and attempts to create the idea in the minds of the troops it is opposing that they are up against a large force. This scheme has not worked very successfully lately. But the Japanese let off crackers, yell and chatter with great gusto, as part of this stunt.

A trick somewhat 'more subtle, is for a group of Japanese to begin chattering under cover of the jungle perhaps 300 or 400 yards away from an Australian group. This trick generally is tried at night. Once the attention of the Australians has been attracted another Japanese group much nearer to them opens fire. They endeavour to draw as close as possible while the Australians are trying to peg the positions of the noise-makers.

Perched in Trees

Down at Mine Bay Japanese ingenuity was pressed to the extreme because the R.A.A.F. destroyed most of the equipment of the landing force. Apparently a large supply of hand grenades escaped destruction. At Milne Bay the Japanese built themselves nests in the top of coconut trees. There they waited for hours for some unsuspecting Australian patrol to pass by. Directly Australians came near they were showered with grenades. Small Japanese patrols attempted to lure Australians beneath trees, where the grenade throwers were perched. It was at Milne Bay, too, that the Japanese drove powerful tanks against our troops. Australian soldiers know how to deal with tanks under normal conditions, but the Japanese used theirs at night at Milne Bay, and on each of them was a battery of powerful searchlights. These temporarily dazzled our troops, and made them easier targets for Japanese machinegunners, who advanced behind the tanks.

This is no ordinary war Australian troops are fighting in New Guinea. Australians who already have proved their skill against the best orthodox fighters in the world are now in the process of changing all their preconceived ideas of war. The Japanese are supremely cunning, supremely brave, and at present have the advantage of playing on a pitch that suits their game. When they lose that advantage there may be another tale to tell.