The White Falcon - 13.03.1943, Side 2

2
U. S. Planes Blast
Japs In Pacific
Col. P. A. Wakeman (right) presents new-type close-combat
weapon to Maj. Gen. Charles H. Bonesteel, Commanding, on be-
half of local Signal Corps.
Soldiers, Coolies Build
Modern Airports In India
The Allied Air Force this week
blasted all major Japanese-held
bases from Kiska in the Aleuti-
ans to targets in Burma, while
the Chinese inflicted heavy los-
ses on the Japanese land forces
in the Chungking area.
Heavy American bombers
swept over Jap positions in the
Kiska district in a wide-spread
attack,wrecking numerous, enemy
installations and airfields. En-
emy anti-aircraft fire failed to
down any of the US. bombers.
In the Far East, three more
large Japanese merchant ships
were blasted by American bomb-
ers on the Rangoon River in
Burma. At least one and possibly
all three of the enemy ships were
sunk. The American airmen also
attacked targets in other parts
of Burma, including bridges, air-
dromes and radio stations.
In the central Solomons, Am-
erican light surface units ac-
counted for two big Nipponese
destroyers. The Yankee warships
were bombarding enemy posi-
tions when two Japanese dest-
royers suddenly loomed into
sight. In a rapid maneuver, the
Americans trained big guns on
the Jap destroyers and raked
the surprised enemy destroyers
with full fire. In a short time
both Jap ships had settled to
the bottom.
In China, Japanese forces at-
tempted, without success to push
north along the west bank of
the Salween River from the
Tengchung section, still held by
the Chinese.
Another Jap column, which
was driving north along the
bank of the Lungchuang River,
has been smashed back with
heavy losses and is retreating
towards the town of Tengchung.
In the southern Hupeh province,
Chinese are attacking fortified
Jap positions in Yochow and
have inflicted heavy damage to
the eneihy’s defending forces.
The Tokyo radio broadcast a
new threat of reprisals for the
shooting of Japanese prisoners
Curtin Praises
Allied Airmen
For Jap Rout
“The smashing victory over
the Japanese convoy in the Bis-
marck Sea was a major one and
spared another tortuous land
campaign in New Guinea,” Aust-
ralian Prime Minister John Cur-
tin declared in a speech at the
presentation ceremonies of an
Australian flag to American
fighter units in Melbourne. ’
Curtin pointed out there is no
disagreement between'.‘govern-
ments about plans, forces arid
tactics. “The United States forc-
es will go with Australians
whenever it is necessary to de-
feat the overwhelming enemy
so that aggression will never
again challenge the civilised
world,” Curtin concluded.
of war who were killed when
they attacked their guards in a
New Zealand prison camp.
The Jap prisoners were fired
upon when they stormed the
guards with stones, tools and
other self-improvised weapons.
When the riot was quelled, 48
prisoners were dead and 63 in-
jured. One guard was killed.
American aerial photograph-
ers have released recent recon-
naissance photographs that had
been taken over Jap-held Rabaul
Harbor. The pictures indicate
about 48 large ships lying in
the harbor. This fact, coupled
with the informatmn that the
Japanese have other warships
in Buin and Faisi, points to
more Japanese offensives despite
their recent setback in the Bis-
marck Sea.
—Russia
(Continued from Page 1)
The Russians earlier had ad-
mitted an 80-mile withdrawal
under strong German pressure,
but late reports from Moscow
indicate the enemy advance has
been halted. Red Army lines, so
the communique disclosed, are
now being stabilized.
Further progress by the Red
Army in the north-central sec-
tor was reported as the Soviet
forces captured several more in-
habited localities north and
northwest of captured Gzhatsk.
Six strongly fortified positions
were stormed by the Russians
south of Olenino.
Southwest of Voroshilovgrad,
a powerful Nazi force supported
by 60 tanks was flung back to
its original positions after stag-
ing a strong attack against the
Red Army. Berlin admitted that
Sichevka, 30 miles northwest of
Gzhatsk, had been evacuated by
the Axis.
Minor fighting on the Rostov
front resulted in another Nazi
setback as Soviet troops killed
about 200 Germans in one en-
gagement. Booty and prisoners
also were captured.
Despite wild animals, jungles
and hazardous travel by eleph-
ant, American Army engineers
and hard-working coolie labor-
ers have turned patches of dense
jungle land of northern India
into a chain of strategic modern
airfields, as bases to aid China.
In a far-sighted move by the
American and British govern-
ments just after Pearl Harbor
was attacked, Allied engineers
were sent into this eastern wil-
derness to survey possible sites
for airfields. Their reports indi-
cated only one available airfield.
It was in poor condition.
Lt. Robert Hunter, a textile
engineer in civil life and a man
who had already spent two and a
half years in India, was assigned
the task of constructing suitable
air bases. Chosen to aid the 31-
year-old Nashua, N. H., engineer
were Capt. Robert Klossner, Lt.
Taylor Womack, Sgt. William
W. Zara, Sgt. Joseph Storm, Sgt.
Alfred Esfold, a battalion of Am-
erican Negro engineers and the
British Royal Engineers.
For months Lt. Hunter and
his staff slept and ate only be-
tween rugged surveying trips.
They supervised construction
during the days and planned and
drafted at night. Meanwhile, und-
er a blazing tropical sun, coolies,
who were provided by the India
Tea Association, did yeoman
labor.
The coolies made it possible
for the airfields to be equipped
with stone runways. They haul-
ed rocks in flatboats many miles
down wild jungle rivers, after
which elephants were used to
transport the cargo to its dest-
ination.
Today the Allies have approxi-
mately 12 airports in India. They
are all constructed according to
American Air Force require-
ments, and each has the latest
drainage system, stone runways,
dispersal strips and barracks.
The airfields are already pay-
ing dividends. Big bombers op-
erating from the new fields are
dealing heavy blows to Japanese
positions in northwestern Bur-
ma, while giant transport planes
are using the airfields as step-
ping stones to deliver supplies
to China.
Nazis Slaughter
Captured Poles
The notorious German concen-
tration camp at Oswiecim, Po-
land, has become a mass grave-
yard for Poles, according to the
Polish Telegraph Agency.
Large transports of Polish pris-
oners continue to pour into camp,
reports received by the Polish
Government in London state.
Three such transports—consist-
ing of 5,000 people—arrived Jan.
16, and 4,000 additional prisoners
were brought in Jan. 25.
No less than 250 persons are
executed or die from inhuman
treatment, hunger, epidemics and
other causes daily. Six crematoria
have been installed in the camp
to dispose of the bodies.
Sixty Polish miners from Sil-
esian coal mines at Brezeszcer,
accused of sabotage by slowing
down their output, were taken
to Oswiecim and shot in batches
of 10 each day.
Bombers
Pound
Europe
Britain-based Allied bombers
again jolted Nazi-occupied Eur-
ope this week as the U.S. Air
Forces and RAF delivered dam-
aging blows to industrial cent-
ers in Germany and France.
The RAF was particularly ac-
tive Thursday, raining huge
quantities of bombs on Munich,
the birthplace of Nazism and a
great machinery and chemical
manufacturing center, and also
striking at Le Mans, France. The
principal target of the Mosquito
bombers which pounded Le Mans
was a subsidiary of the Renault
Motor Works.
Renault’s main plant in Paris
was virtually wiped out previ-
ously, and the Le Mans sortie
was reported to be equally as
effective. The RAF raiders swept
down to less than 100 feet, com-
pletly demolished one big build-
ing and caused violent explos-
ions throughout the southern
part of the factory area.
Many two- and four-ton
“block busters” and thousands
of incendiary bombs were drop-
ped on Munich during the suc-
cessful assault. The British Air
Ministry said seven planes fail-
ed to return, a negligible numb-
er considering the size of the
participating group.
Earlier in the week, Allied
bombers drove deep into South-
ern Germany to blast the in-
dustrial city of Nuremburg, also
one of the Nazi party’s shrines,
and laid mines in enemy waters
—in the Heligoland Bight region.
Direct hits on important targets
were reported by airmen return-
ing from the Nuremburg raid,
and at least one German fighter
plane was destroyed.
—Africa
(Continued from Page 1)
rican forces in an advance to
Pichon, 20 miles from Kairouan.
As a result of this move, the Tu-
nisian coastal corridor between
the advancing American forces
and the port of Sousse on the
Mediterranean Sea is now nar-
rowed to a width of 50 miles.
The jittery German slashes at
Allied lines on the Tunisian
fronts, meeting with little suc-
cess, are efforts to forstall the
coming Allied offensives, and to
find some weak point in the
ever-closing Allied trap. Mount-
ing, ill-afforded German losses
from these operations have in-
cluded numbers of new German
Mark VI “Tiger Tanks” now un-
der British investigation,
French forces have completed
the occupation of Tozeur on the
north side of the Shott Jerid
salt lake. This move is another
in a series of drives aimed to
cut through German columns be-,
hind the Mareth Line.,