BLOCKADE GRIP

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 April 1943, Page 3

BLOCKADE GRIP

ON JAPANESE GARRISONS IN NEW GUINEA TIGHTENED BY ALLIED AIR FORCES. ENEMY SUPPLY PROBLEMS. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) SYDNEY, April 1. Allied air forces are intensifying ,their blockade of the beleaguered Japanese garrisons at bases along the north New Guinea coast. Following Tuesday’s rout of the enemy destroyer convoy attempting to deliver supplies to these garrisons, our planes yesterday made violent raids on Salamaua and a road connecting Wewak and Madaiig. This is the first occasion on which' the existence of a new road, evidently constructed by the Japanese as part of their overland supply line, has been revealed. Yesterday’s raids were part of the Allied plan to starve the enemy forces of supplies. The success of this plan is indicated by the way in which the Japanese have turned from one method to another in desperate attempts to maintain their supplies. Merchantmen, submarines and fast surface warships have all been driven off by our aircraft. The dumping of supplies at bases beyond effective Allied bomber range and their subsequent porterage along overland trails has not been successful. The latest heavy raid on Salamaua reported by General MacArthur's communique today is officially admitted to have been a “follow-up” of Tuesday’s attack on the destroyer convoy. As the convoy was closest to Finschhafen when it was forced to flee, this base was hit first in the, destructive raid on Tuesday. Yesterday our attacks extended to Salamaua to guard against the remote possibility of stores having been put ashore there. Announcing the bombing of the new Wewak-Madang coastal road, today’s communique reports a successful attack by a Liberator on a bridge over the Timper River near Madang. A 30-ft. section was blasted out of the bridge, which is 150 ft. long and 20ft. wide. The building of the new road with Wewak as its north-western terminal reaffirms the growing importance of this base, which is outside the effective range of Allied fighters on escort duty with our bombers.