DRIVEN HOME

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 November 1943, Page 3

DRIVEN HOME

ATTACK ON THE GILBERT GROUP NEARLY 4,000 JAPANESE KILLED ON BETIO. POWERFUL AMERICAN FORCES IN ACTION. (By Telegraph—.. Press Association—Copyright) PEARL HARBOUR, Nov. 24. With the fall of Betio Island (part of the Tarawa atoll), the main Japanese stronghold in the Gilberts, the capture of the entire group is believed near. Remnants of the Japanese garrisons arc being hunted down on the Tarawa, Makin and Abemama atolls. Landings are believed to have been made on other atolls in the Gilbert group.

Engineers have already begun the construction of aerodromes which will be 1500 miles away from Truk, the main Japanese naval and supply base in the Pacific. Jaluit, in the Marshall Islands, another important enemy base, is within 1400 miles of Betio. Tarawa, which already has a large aerodrome, was captured shortly after noon today, when a desperate Japanese counter-attack was crushed by the Second Marine Division. A Navy Department spokesman said that this counterattack actually accelerated the capture of the island, since it enabled the marines to wipe out the Japanese en masse, instead of 'hunting them down in small groups. Nearly 4000 Japanese are believed to have been slain on Betio when it fell. The Japanese there were well prepared with artillery, mortars, machine-guns and pillboxes, to make a death stand. All reports indicate that very few enemy troops were taken alive. Fierce fighting raged day and night, troops often being locked in close combat with the bayonet. TANKS USED ON MAKIN About 5000 Japanese were garrisoned on Tarawa atoll (comprising eight, islands of which Betio is the largest), and about 1000 on Makin. Tanks were used to assist in the capture of Makin, where the installations seized include a wireless tower, barracks, a seaplane run, several jetties and munition and store dumps. When he announced that American forces had won control of the Gilberts, Admiral Nimitz said that preparations were being made for further attacks. He added that it was too early to release the casualty figures on either side, but those of the Japanese were very heavy. Indicating the great United States naval strength in this area, a war correspondent aboard the flagship of a task force said that escorting naval units numbered more than 20, including at least one great battleship. The capture of these important Gilbert islands means that a 200-mile gap has been opened in Japan’s central Pacific defences. The stage is now believed to be set for invasion of the Marshall Islands, which are still under bombardment by land-based Liberators and carrier-based aircraft. ACTION EXTENDING The Washington correspondent of the “New York Times” says that observers believe that the success of the Gilbert landings will lead to further attacks in the Marshalls and thence in the Carolines and Mariannes, including the former United States base of Guam. However, it is doubted whether an early attempt will be made to take Wake Island. The number of American troops engaged in the operations has not been indicated, but one statement says that “tens of thousands of men have been training for the offensive, which, threatens grave setbacks for the Japanese in the central Pacific.” The magnitude of the training for the offensive may be visualised in the light of the fact that it took the Japanese 17 days to capture Wake Island, which was held by only a few hundred American marines. United States forces took 21 days to capture Attu, in the Aleutians.