WAIROPI TAKEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 November 1942, Page 3

WAIROPI TAKEN

HEAVY-JAPANESE DEFEATS IN PAPUA ALLIES CLOSING IN ON BUNA. POWERFUL AUSTRALIAN ATTACKS (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, November 15. 1 The greatest obstacle in the path of the Australian forces advancing against Buna, namely the Kuniusi River crossing at Wairopi, has now fallen. After co-ordinated ground and air attacks had beaten them, the Japanese, who suffered further heavy casualties, have retired in disorder from the area, abandoning their wounded. American forces are today- reported to be closing in on Buna from the south-east and fighting around the enemy's northern Papuan bridgehead appears imminent. Three miles beyond Gorari, which fell to the Australians on Thursday, the Japanese attempted to make a stand at Ilimo. The enemy force here was quickly surrounded, and our troops launched swift attacks against both Ilimo and Wairopi, a further three miles along the track. It. was expected that this would be the strongpoint of Japanese resistance on the Buna-Kokoda trail. But fierce assaults by our ground forces, closely supported by aircraft, speedily drove the -Japanese from their positions. Details of the fighting are meagre, but it is believed that once again the enemy losses were considerably greater than those of the Australians. This newest success of the Australian forces gives hope of a speedy ending of the Papuan campaign. Though the Japanese appear to have a substantial number of troops around Buna, coordinated attacks by converging Australian and American forces, together with full exploitation of undisputed Allied air supremacy, should be able to deal effectively with the remaining opposition in the area. Between 700 and 800 Japanese were killed by Australian troops in seven days’ fierce fighting in the Oivi-Gorari sector of central Papua. After the capture of Gorari the bodies of five enemy officers and more than 500 men were counted—grim evidence of the desperate nature of <the battle. The great majority of Japanese troops in the area are believed to have perished. In the area south of Gorari, where a Japanese strongpoint was wiped out by an Australian encircling movement a few days ago, 187 enemy dead were counted. Australian casualties in this sector are described as “relatively few.”

HARD FIGHTING. The week’s action at Oivi was the hardest fighting of the entire New Guinea campaign. On three days -the Australians repeatedly assaulted strongly defended prepared positions on a 1000-foot ridge. Each time they inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese. Bayonet charges wrought havoc among the enemy. Every night Australian patrols penetrated deep into the enemy territory along the three miles’ front constantly harassing the Japanese. The Australian advance to a position 12 miles beyond Kokoda occupied 10 days. Enemy equipment taken includes a number of field guns, large quantities of ammunition and supplies. Twenty horses, presumably pack animals, were also captured. Some of the Japanese on this front have been wearing bul-let-proof vests of a type first found at Milne Bay. Australian ordnance experts are stated to have increasing respect for Japanese equipment, both for its workmanship and for its originality of design. Australians have found particularly useful for movement of their supplies rubber tyred handcarts, built on rickshaw lines, which were abandoned by the enemy. Among captured items appearing to have little practical purpose in New Guinea were tins of chilblain ointment and bottles of tablets stated to be for the treatment of the “Japanese equivalent of the Australian hangover.”