RING CLOSED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 September 1943, Page 3

RING CLOSED

ROUND JAPANESE BASE OF FINSCHHAFEN ■ ■ BITTER BATTLE IN PROGRESS. ADVANCE IN THE MARKHAM VALLEY. LONDON, September 28. Australian forces have surrounded the Japanese base of Finscliliafen, in New Guinea, and sealed the enemy’s escape routes by land and sea. Japanese resistance has become stiffer, now that the Australians have smashed their way into the outer defences of the town. 'Plie battle now in progress is described as one of the most bitter of the whole campaign.

In the Markham Valley the Australians have pushed up the Yatj Rivei' and occupied Sagerak, eight miles north-west of the enemy outpost ai Kaiapit which was captured a week ago. This force is steadily squeezing the Japanese outposts into the narrow confines of the New Guinea seaboard. The aerodromes at Wewak, the enemy base on the north coast of New Guinea, received another heavy pounding on Sunday from our Liberator bombers, which dropped 33 tons of explosives on the supply and dispersal areas at Dagua and But, starting fires visible 30 miles away. At Dagua bombs scored direct hits on six parked aircraft. Lightnings shot down three of the 20 Japanese fighters which attempted to intercept the bombers. In a raid on Hansa Bay, between Wewak and Madang, Liberators effectively concentrated 28 tons of bombs in supply and bivouac areas at the Nubi and Potsdam plantations, starting many fires. All our planes returned from these raids.