DAMAGING BLOWS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 July 1943, Page 3

DAMAGING BLOWS

STRUCK BY ALLIED PLANES IN BURMA SMALL BRITISH LAND FORCE IN ACTION. HEAVY LOSSES INFLICTED ON JAPANESE. (British Official Wireless./ (Received This Day, 10.15 a.m.) RUGBY July 22. , An India joint war communique states: “Yesterday the R.A.F. again attacked Japanese transport and troop positions in Burma. Beaufighters on an offensive patrol along the railways in Central Burma damaged seven locomotives, about 75 trucks and five water tanks. An oil storage tank near Alon which was attacked on Monday is still burning. In the Arakan district, Blenheims dropped bombs on two Japaneseoccupied villages. Hurricanes macie three attacks on enemy troop positions, in the course of which hits were observed on enemy-occupied huts and supply sampans. Last night our bombers attacked four places in Burma. Liberators dropped bombs on railway targets at Sebaw and Sagaign, near Mandalay. Wellingtons bombed objectives at Taungup and Akyab. One of our aircraft is mifesing.

In the course of patrol activity in the Arakan region, a small force o£ British troops a few days ago engaged a numerically superor force of Japanese, about three miles east of Maungdaw, and inflicted heavy casualties. One Japanese officer and twenty other ranks are known to have been killed and it is estimated that at least forty others were either killed or wounded. Our casualties were very light.