RUSSELL ISLAND

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 May 1943, Page 3

RUSSELL ISLAND

THE AMERICAN LANDING PARTICIPATION OF FIJIANS. LED BY NEW ZEALAND OFFICERS. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) A SOUTH PACIFIC BASE. In the quiet dram after a moonlit night, fuzzy-haired Fijian natives, led by two bronzed New Zealand officers, leaped ashore from landing boats as part of the American force which seized the Russell Island, north-west of Guadalcanal. Keyed up to battle pitch by rigorous jungle training, the native guerilla fighters and their New Zealand leaders, with their U. S. Army, Marine Corps, and Navy companions, were disappointed that there was no battle. Only traces of Japanese occupation were found. It was known that a fairly strong enemy force had been'stationed there, but it had probably made a hurried evacuation about the time Guadalcanal itself was given up by the Japanese.

The New Zealanders were two of a number of Dominion officers who had long been training and commanding the native defence force in the Fiji Group. Some were sent to Guadalcanal a few months ago to gain practical experience of jungle warfare and to take part in operations which might best be entrusted to natives born and bred in jungle condition. Their role in the Russell Islands was that of a scouting party, with orders to vanish into the bush-clad hills and seek out and destroy hidden enemy positions. As precise as a manoeuvre, the landing was an excellent example of perfectly coordinated air and surface operations. In spite of the bright moonlight, no enemy planes sighted the invasion fleet which disembarked the force at several different points from different directions. Full air cover was provided by the powerful Guadalcanal air forces, which include New Zealand reconnaissance bombers, but no opposition was encountered. Bomber units from the South-West Pacific Command under General MacArthur co-operated by request, with attacks against the Japanese bases in the Solomons chain, to keep the enemy naval forces away from the scene. Australians who had known the Russell Islands well in peace time supplied information which helped our occupation plans. The Japanese have since bombed the islands, with little success.

Asked if he thought they might try to recapture the group. Rear-Admiral R. K. Turner, who commanded the landing force, declared: “I hope so.”