PAPUAN CAMPAIGN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 January 1943, Page 4

PAPUAN CAMPAIGN

AMERICAN GENERAL’S SURVEY TRIBUTE TO AUSTRALIAN TROOPS. UNDER BRIGADIER WOOTTEN. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day. Noon.) SYDNEY, This Day. “Throughout the Papuan campaign I am afraid I under-estimat-ed the Japanese strength. It is only now, when we have the horrible job of burying the enemy dead, that we realise in what force they were.”—-Making this statement in an interview at his New Guinea headquarters, LieutenantGeneral Robert Eichelberger, senior United : States officer in the field during the campaign, admitted that he had not been prepared for the rapid cracking of the Japanese defences at Sanananda. However, he added, in the final stages of the fight, the enemy had been thoroughly whipped. Allied casualties had not been light, but the proportion of Allied killed to wounded was far lower than that of the enemy. The majority of the American and Australian wounded would recover and come back for future fights. Two enemy hospitals in the Sanananda area had been real horror places, declared General Eichelberger. Contrary to their general practice, the Japanese had not buried their dead for many days. Although some Japanese in the more inland section of the Sanananda front had been in a nearly starving condition, with their uniforms and equipment badly knocked about, the main body of the enemy in this area had been fit and well equipped.

The general paid a tribute to the Australian troops, under Brigadier George Wootten, who made the break through to the coast at Sanananda in “a victory-giving manoeuvre.” Brigadier Wootten, who is 49 years of age, fought in the Middle East and was largely responsible for the Japanese repulse at Milne Bay. A Duntroon Military College graduate, he served with distinction in the last war, reaching the rank of major, winning the D.S.O. and being four times mentioned in despatches. He retired from the Permanent Forces in 1922, becoming a solicitor. He was awarded a bar to his D.S.O. in the Middle East, and for his services has been decorated with the American Distinguished Service Cross. AMERICAN GAINS IN GUADALCANAL ISLAND.’ ENEMY-OCCUPIED VILLAGE CAPTURED. (Received This Day, 10.25 a.m.) WASHINGTON, January 26. Two units of the United States ground iforces joined at Kokunbona, on Guadalcanal, after one unit had entered the village from along the beach to the east and the other had encircled a strong enemy pocket and entered from the south. The manoeuvre resulted in giving the United States forces the unrestricted use of Kokunbona and the beach to the eastward. A total of 293 Japanese were killed and five taken prisoner during the operation. Seven 77-millimetre guns, two 37-millimetre guns, one tank, several trucks, three 40 millimetre anti-aircraft guns and various other field pieces and small arms were captured in offensive operations against enemy resistance. USE OF AIR POWER POSSIBILITIES IN PACIFIC. (Received This Day, 9.45 a.m.) MONTREAL, January 26. The ‘Christian Science Monitor,” in a leader, says:, “On its face, the painfully slow Australian-American campaign in New Guinea has not supported General MacArthur’s declaration that an attack against Japan can be freed from the slow island-to-island process. However, the new use of air power suggests that in the islandhopping business some islands could be skipped. One could imagine Allied attacks, not against Munda, but against Java and the Philippines. This presupposes the holding of advanced airfields, but General MacArthur’s ingenuity may do wonders. New airfields may be laid out in territories only loosely held by the Japanese, or old ones captured by parachute troops. We hope it will be possible to employ sufficient air and sea forces in the South Pacific in order to realise the possibilities which an imaginative use of air power suggests.”