Evening star., 1942-03-07
Bondoeng's Defenses Pierced,
Fall Of City Feared Imminent;
Soerobojo Is Cut Off, Besieged
Situation Critical
In Western Juvu,
Dutch Admit
sy the Associated Press.


the gates of Bandoeng, Allied
military headquarters, were re-
ported to have broken through
the city's northern defenses to-
day, and a Toxic broadcast as
serted that collapse of the entire
defense of Java was regarded "as
a matter of a few days"
Toxic said japanese invasion COL
umns we're battling within 3 miles
of Bandoengs northern approaches
and that the city was within few
kilometers of encirclemcnt."
Fall of Bandoeng, the chief ar
senal of the United Nations defend
ers. would be. perhaps, a catastrophe
blow to the Allied defense of Java.
Dispatches from Bandoeng said
the invaders broke through the
northern defenses Friday near the
famous Tangkuban Prahu Volcano
in the fr-t line Of the city's noun
tain defenses.
Aneta, the Dutch news agency,
acknowledged that the situation in
Western Java was critical.
Soerabaja Besieged.
Toxic also declared japanese
forces were sharply besieging the big
Allied naval base at Soerabaja, in
eastern Java.
The dispatch acknowledging the
grave new threat to Banuoeng was
timed 10 am. Java time $3.50 pm.
Friday. E. w. t.. and took 13 hours
in transmission to New York.
c. B. S. was advised that today all
communications from Java had
ceased.
A Toxic report broadcast bv the
German radio said japanese troops
seeking to capture Soerabaja had
run into heavy Allied tank forces
massed in the immediate vicinity Ol
the naval base.
The radio said japanese forces
had penetrated to" Soerabaja, evil
dently meaning the outskirts.
The invaders now were reported
overrunning almost the entire 62O-
mile northern coastal plains and
driving deep into the interior as
battle-stained Dutch, British and
American troops, outnumbered five
to one, fell back into the mountains.
Defense Hopes Hard Hit.
The reak-through. at Bandoeng
was said to have been made in the
face of fierce resistance on the part
of Netherlands Indies forces which
were described as numerically in
ferior."
The defenders were harrassed con-
tinually by japanese planes against
which, it was said. the Dutch can
no longer put up sufficient resist
ance'
Bandoeng's status at the end OF
the first week of the japanese in
vasion of Java collapsed the hopes
of hard-hit Dutch defense forces
that the mountains of West Java
could be made another Bataan Tor
a long stand like that of Gen. Doug
las MacArthur's troops on Luzon.
Two other mountainous cores OF
the Java defense still remain for
the test of grim holding action
AGAINST overwhelmingly superior
numbers. These are at Magelang
in the Volcano studded range some
18O miles east of Bandoeng, and
Malang, rs miles west OF SoerabaJa.
At Bandoeng. once headquarters
of the United Nations command and
later made capital of Java, the
Dutch had concentrated food stores
and war supplies around a nucleus
of munitions plants which had been
developed there before the war.
Southwest Port Wrecked.
It's approaches were guarded by
gun positions in the cllffslde passes
of mountains jutting up more than
10000 feet above sea level.
A rail line connected the city
with Tjilatjap, only good port on
Java's south coast for reinforce
ment or withdrawal of Javas de-
tenders.
The Japanese claimed to have
wrecked the port facilities by bomb
ing and said they had cut across
narrow Java to the South Coast.
presumably near the port.
Thus Javas defense forces appar-
emily were cut in two, and the
troops at Bandoeng were isolated
from the defense centers at the east
of the island.
A military spokesman in London
said resistance to the japanese was
continuing on parts of Sumatra.
Borneo, Timor and Celebes. He was
unable to say, however, on what
scale defense units were operating