JUNGLE FIGHTING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 October 1943, Page 3

JUNGLE FIGHTING

NEW ZEALAND TROOPS IN VELLA LAVELLA SQUALOR IN CAPTURED ENEMY CAMPS. HAZARDS OF ISLAND CAMPAIGN. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) PACIFIC BASE, October 17. The squalor of Japanese bivouac areas which were deserted during the enemy retreat before the New Zealanders on Vella* Lavella Island had to be seen to be believed. Even camps which had been used for several weeks showed a complete lack of consideration for hygiene and an apparent imperviousness of the Nipponese naval organism to the most vile stench of rotting copra and foodstuffs. Piles of used coconuts, boxes of sodden rice, oatmeal and plums, open tins of fish and half-gnawed lengths of .sugar cane lay strewn among dirty or discarded clothing, boots and equipment. A peculiar habit of tlie Japanese is their cutting of coconuts along the length of the fruit. Seemingly, they split the fruit with a heavy knife, sacrificing the milk and eating only the pith. The New Zealanders, on the other hand, bore holes in the coconut for the sake of the milk and leave the pith. The Japanese left behind them strings of bananas, boxes of rice, tins of salmon, piles of rifle ammunition, and torch and radio, batteries, chopsticks, pannikins, woven mats and, in one camp, a block and tackle. In the more permanent sites they had built light sapling frames at the base of trees, covering them for living quarters with dried palms to keep out the rain. There was no sign of tents. It was noticeable that though the first enemy camps entered by the New Zealanders had been abandoned without regard for the amount of rations left behind, those found toward the end of the campaign had fewer and fewer discarded goods. In the last few days only felled coconuts told the tale of enemy occupation; the pith of the fruit had been all the Japanese had had to subsist on. BIRD NOTE SIGNALLING. A Japanese habit of signalling the approach of the enemy by imitating the notes of jungle birds was soon recognised by the New Zealanders on Vella Lavella. The Nipponese are prone to pass a warning from sniper to sniper by sounding a single high-pitched note, closely akin to that of the New Zealand mocking bird. The difference from the genuine sound is hard to detect at first, possibly because the Japanese use a small wooden instrument, disguising the normal tone of the human’s whistle. The noise was heard frequently by New Zealand patrols, notice of whose progress is whistled from enemy observation points 20. 30, or even 50 yards apart. Our troops listen intently now to all such notes, and they can generally distinguish the true from the artificial. Mail from home and news bulletins from all fronts were received regularly by the New Zealanders during the fighting on Vella Lavella Island. A big packet* of letter mail reached them on the day before the action began, again during the first week, and once more on the day the action ceased, and parcel mails were waiting for the men when they came out of the line. It. became a habit every evening for personnel from the intelligence sections to read over to groups of soldiers the day’s bulletin of war news. Though these were sometimes a few days old, by the time they had reached the front they were greatly appreciated. Enjoying the luxuries of warmed-up rations and hot tea, the Kiwis who have just come out of the “Battle of Timbala” are making the most of a spell of well-earned rest on the coral beaches of Vella Lavella, which have taken on a much more attractive appearance since the noise and strain of the fighting died away. There is a chance now to dry clothing that has clung to the skin for three long weeks, to soothe tired feet in salt water, and to shave. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT. Everyone has a new jungle two-piece suit in pale green, a jockey cap of similar shade, and new boots. With as light a pack as possible, this is the attire the New Zealanders are wearing in tropic warfare. No shorts because of the mosquitoes, no heavy clothing because of the heat, no steel helmets because of the noise they make in the jungle. Rations are chiefly of the Allied “C” type, consisting of a tin of bissuits, sugar cubes,, boiled sweets, and cocoa or coffee powder, and a tin of meat and vegetable hash and stew. Foi variation, a “K” ration supplies a fruit or chocolate bar, a small tin of cheese or pressed ham and eggs, biscuits, sweets and a drink powder. Each man carries at least a full days rations in his haversack, and a bottle of drinking waler. Supply is a major problem in the jungle and involves a continual stream of men carrying rations and ammunition from dumps to front-line along narrow, tortuous tracks. There might even be a twomile circuitous walk to reach a company of men only 400 yards off as the crow flies. It takes as long to get the wounded out as. it takes to get the rations in. Those who can walk do so. Those who cannot are given as comfortable a stretcher journey as circumstances permit. But it takes an hour to bring some men back to the regimental aid post, and as much as two hours more to the advanced dressing station. From there they leave by barge for a hospital well behind the lines. Island warfare has its peculiar . hazards. Communications are disjointed, uncertain, improvised to meet a constantly changing terrain. Medical, infantry, artillery and supply officers who previously served in the Middle East and are now in the Pacific comment freely on the contrast. The satisfaction and pride felt by the New Zealanders over the success of their first clash with the Japanese is blended with a sense of relief that their introduction to this type of fighting has allowed them time to absorb the manifold lessons that only battle experience can teach. This campaign has been “something to sharpen our teeth on.’ We have come out of it with colours flying. We shall go into the next one with so much learned, and with a fuller understanding of the best tactics to be used.