AERIAL POUNDING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 February 1943, Page 4

AERIAL POUNDING

ENEMY SHIPS & AIRFIELDS NORTH OF AUSTRALIA FROM TIMOR TO NEW BRITAIN. RABAUL AGAIN BLASTED. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, February 24. There is no let-up in General MacArthur’s incessant aerial pounding of Japanese shipping and aerodromes at the bases north of Australia. Lewis Sebring, the New York “HeraldTribune’s” war correspondent in the South-West Pacific, reviews the recent official Australian warnings by connecting these sustained attacks with a new and “imminent” enemy attempt to drive southward. The Allied air attacks yesterday extended from Timor to New Britain. The enemy’s much-bombed key base of Rabaul felt the heaviest weight of bombs, 500-pounders from Flying Fortresses raining, on a war shipping concentration in the harbour. A cruiser or heavy destroyer received three direct hits, while damaging near-misses were scored against a 7000-ton merchantman. Striking just before dawn, low-fly-ing bombers also strafed two schooners and started large fires along the waterfront. Liberator formations, raiding Pensoei aerodrome at Koepang, Timor, beat off 10 intercepting Zeros to force home their attack. Two of the enemy fighters were shot down and a third was probably destroyed, and all the Liberators returned. At Toeal, in the Kai Islands, in the Banda Sea, Hudson medium bombers destroyed the enemy’s main barracks building with direct hits. At least 10 enemy-occupied villages in the Lae area in Northern New Guinea have been attacked by Mitchells and Havocs. This constant bombing and strafing is forcing the Japanese troops who were defeated in their attack on Wau some weeks ago still further back toward Mubo. The enemy has again been compelled to abandon forward positions. In the Waria River area, midway between Buna and Lae, Havocs maintained an eight-hour sweep. Canvas-i covered 50ft. barges, which are believed to have contained stores, were among the targets. Linking this relentless Allied air activity with Japan’s southward designs, Lewis Sebring, writing in Australia, says that Japan is expected to take advantage of the American’s absorption in the grave developments in Tunisia which may require heavy reinforcements from the Unted States. He stresses that for two months past enemy shipping has been pouring into the northern Solomons and the New Britain area. Mr Sebring says that the reaction to the threat is not clear, but he gives March 1 as the possible date for an enemy move; this would enable the drive to be under way by March 6, the 40th birthday of Empress Nagako. No similar supporting estimates of early offensive intentions by the Japanese have yet been circulated either in America or Australia. Indeed, most American commentators believe that Japan’s main efforts will be directed toward driving the Chinese out of the bases from which the Allies could bomb Japan. It is also reported from Washington that the Japanese have amassed a reserve army of 100,000 Indians, some of whom are alleged to be British-train-ed troops who were captured in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and Burma. They would be used if the Japanese decided to move against India, and such a possibility would be increased if Gandhi were to die, causing chaos in the country.