Daily Post - 21.05.1943, Side 1

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IV — 93
Friday, May 21, 1943
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Japs Admit Heavy Losses
On Attu As Y anks Ad vancé
Stimson Says Fogs Hold
Up Operations; Japs Hide
Washington. Tokyo has admitted that Jayanese forces
■ on Attu Island in the Aleutian chain are being badly battered
by American Army troops and may “almost be defeated.”
The Tokyo radio added that
-Japanese forces have suffered
heavy casualties since the Ame
rican forces landed on the is-
land more than a week ago.
..JAPS SURPRISED
In Washington, Secretary
of War Stimson announced
that the Attu offensive is und-
er the direction of Major Gen.
Eugene Landrum, a veteran of
Aleutian weather conditions.
Stimson told his press confer-
■ence that fighting on Attu has
been slowed temporarily by
thick fogs, but progress is sat-
isfactory. He went on to say
that the bad weather had been
our friend at the outset of the
Attu campaign, but now it has
slowed the liquidation of the
trapped Japanese garrison. The
fogs now are discouraging air
support and concealing the
damage done by artillery, in
addition to giving the Japan-
ese a chance to hide.
SATISFACTORY GAIN
■ Stimson also said that Ame-
rican scouts on Attu had cap-
tured an entire enemy aircraft *
battery of 3-inch guns and
turned it against the Japanese
in horizontal fire. One Ameri-
can force also captured a flight
strip that the Japs had instal-
led on Attu, only 666 miles
from an important Japanese ,
home base.
The Attu landing was
spearheaded by U. S. Army
Scouts specially trained for the
attack. The Japanese were
caught completely by sur-
■prise. Stimson said American
casualties were light to date,
but that losses in mopping up
the enemy were expected.
As in Tunisia, Stimson said,
the capture of enemy weap-
ons and vehicles on Attu
greatly aided the American
offensive positions.
Stimson also said that he
was chalking up the Japanese
sinking of an Australian hospi
tal ship recently with the oth-
er crimes committed by Jap-
anese warlords for which they
must ultimately pay.
In the European theater,
Stimson said that new Ameri-
can bomber groups have arriv-
ed in England and now are
participating in the relentless
pounding of Nazi Europe.
------------------------------
Italiao Dams Majr
Be Bombed
London. — The Air Corre-
spondent of the Evening Stand
ard believes that the air-
bombardment of Italian dams
could knock that Nation out of
the war. He writes that the
great Italian Multich dams are
more vulnerable than the Ger-
man Ruhr Valley dams al-
ready destroyed by the RAF.
The Air Correspondent po-
ints out that Italian Industry,
i and particularly the heavy in-
[ dustrial section North of Italy
depends mainly on Hydro-
electric plants for their pow-
er. He adds that it is extreme-
ly doubtful if the Italian Air-
force can be improved in time
to ward off such blows.
Iceland Delegates
At Food Parley
Washington. The United Na-
tions food conference, at which
the Icelandic government is
represented, was opened at
Hot Spring, Virginia, on May
18th. Iceland’s delegation at
the conference includes Minis-
ter to the United States, Thor
Thors, chairman, Ólafur John-
son, wholesale dealer ,and
Hel^i Th/''rsteinsson. manager
of the SÍS in New York.
All Right
Jane Frazee cuts a trim figure
in her white bathing suit and
hardly needs the added deco-
ration of nature’s underwater
creatures to attract attention.
Air Raids On
Italy Increase
London, May 20th.
The weight of the Allied air
offensive against Sicily and
Sardinia is steadily and succ-
essfully growing. Yesterday
saw the destruction of 73 Axis
aircraft.
Yesterday was a big day for
Allied aircraft based in North
Africa. In air combats they
shot down 29 enemy planes,
and destroyed 44 on the
ground. This grand total of 73
Axis planes cost the Allies ex-
actly four machines.
The biggest raid of the day
was made by escorted Flying
Fortresses, which plastered
the Milo airdrome near Trap-
pani in Sicily with high ex-
plosives Having well and truly
covered the whole target, they
had just turned for home
when they were set upon by
a flock of at least 50 Axis
fighters, which came at them
from all directions. In a runn-
ing fight, lasting 20 minutes,
and ranging from sea level to
as high as 24,000 feet, the For
tresses shot down 10 enemy
fighters, and their Lightning
escort accoumted for three
more.
Allied reconnaisance aircraft
later flew over the target, to
check upon the damage the
Fortresses had caught, and
ascertained that out of 50 air-
craft, which had been on the
ground when the raid started,
37 had been blasted to bits.
Robert Dunnett, in his dis-
patch to-day, ponts out that
this is the first time the Axis
have put up any real opposi-
tion in the air since the North
African campaign ended.
Of the air offensive against
the Sardinian targets, Dunnett
says that there is scarcely a
single airfield of any note that
has not felt the weight of Al-
lied bombs. Heavy raids were
yesterday made on the port of
Cagliari, and on the airfields
at Monserrato and Willacidro.