FIRST BLOW

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 January 1943, Page 3

FIRST BLOW

STRUCK BY AUSTRALIANS IN NORTH NEW GUINEA VILLAGE STRONGHOLD STORMED FIFTEEN MILES SOUTH OF SALAMAUA. LAE A SMOKING RUIN. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, January 15. Australian troops, thrusting through the jungle in northern New Guinea toward the Japanese outpost bases round Saiamaua, have launched their first big attack. General MacArthur’s headquarters today released a story of the storming of Mubo, the enemy village strongpoint about 15 miles south of Saiamaua. The fighting in the area began on Tuesday and was continuing late on Wednesday, when 116 enemy dead had been counted. The indications are that the action is much more intensive than the earlier patrol For several days past an Allied air force has been “softening up” the enemy positions in the area, and reports have been made of strafing sweeps along the track between Saiamaua and Komiatum, which is about half-way to Mubo. In one raid our bombers destroyed a vital bridge, thus hampering the passage of enemy supplies. The Japanese occupied Mubo late last August, but their inland drive toward Wau was checked by an Australian force, which has been hiding in the jungle for some months. It is still too early to discuss the implication of this latest attack against the enemy positions in north New Guinea, but at least it proves that the Allies are determined to maintain the offensive initiative in this theatre. EFFECTIVE AIR ATTACKS. The heaviest air sweeps which have yet been made along the coast have accompanied the latest Allied land attack, and Madang, Finschafen, Lae and Saiamaua all felt the weight of our bombing and strafing attacks yesterday. Lae, the main base of the Japanese in New Guinea, is a smoking ruin after a week of unrelenting bomber raids. ) Harbour installations, stores and aerodrome buildings have been destroyed in the raids, which followed the landing of an unknown number of Japanese troop reinforcements in the area last week. 1 Significantly, there was no attempt by the enemy at fighter interception in our latest raid, which was made by Mitchell medium bombers with Lightnings as escorts. The building area round the new aerodrome which the Japanese are constructing at Finschafen has again been bombed and strafed. In New Britain the enemy aerodrome at Gasmata has been under 'attack by Liberators. No new developments are reported from Sanananda, where, in spite of continued heavy rains, the Allied ground forces are steadily increasing their pressure. Havoc attack planes yesterday made 16 strafing runs over the jungle at the mouth of the nearby Kumusi River, where the remnants of routed Japanese detachments may be hiding. Small parties of the enemy are known to have established themselves at isolated points, and every target of suspicion is being strafed and bombed. In Timor Beaufighters again attacked the new enemy aerodrome at Fuiloro, and positions at Laga, on the north coast east of Dilli, were bombed by Hudsons.