The Wilmington morning star., 1942-08-26
HEAVY DAMAGE
DONE NIPPONESE
CONTINUED From Page one>

gust % by an enemy air attack OF
Guadalcanal island in which 21 JaI
planes were shot down while Amer
iran forces suffered only minor dam
age. On the same night enemy de
stroyers bombarded Marine shor'
positions.
Naval forces under Vice-Adrnira
Robert Lee Ghormley, commander
in the New Zealand area, and Army
air forces of General Douglas Mac
Arthur in Australia had been pre-
pared for strong Japanese counter
attacks, and presumably were II
position to deal the enemy powerful
blows.
A naval communique announcing
that the battle was under way saio
that ''it was expected that ou1
occupation Of the important enemy
base of Tulagi would be countered
by a violent attempt on the part
of the enemy to recapture thei:
shore bases in this area"
This counter-attack has devel
oped and is now being met" the
communique added.
Indications were that the first
actions were Of the plane verus
warship variety which have become
so familiar in the amphibious war
fare of the Pacific. Whether there
has been any fighting directly be.
tween warships was not known.
The enemy armada, when en-
gagged, was bearing down upon the
American-held southeastern Solo
mons from the northeast. There
was some speculation in Washington
that the enemy armada had been
concentrated for the attack at ia
pans Truck island naval base and
moved against the Solomons in a
sweeping maneuve- designed to
gain the advantage Of surprise If
possible.
But the concentration might have
been made at any of a number of
other bases in the eneny's man.
the Solomons with equal facility.
One thing that was clear from the
communique was that this repre-
sented Japan's major effort to break
up the American offensive and re-
capture the Tulagi area of the Solo.
mons where construction of a big
enemy base was well advanced
when the Marines began their in.
vasion two and a half weeks ago.
1t was on August Z that the Navy
executed a surprise attack and the
Marines, possibly led by their Sc.
cretly trained, heavily armed raider
battalions, creation of which Wash
ington disclosed only today, landed
on the beaches and swiftly drove
inland against vigorous opposition
to win and hold dominant points
of the terrain.
Prior to the present battle the
Japs had made three main efforts
to break up the American campaign.
At the outset they attempted to
repel the landing parties and
brought aerial forces into play
against transport ships and their
protective naval units. In the first
two days Of the fighting they lost
36 planes.
Then on the night of August 8-9
the enemy came in with a force of
cruisers and destroyers for an at
tack on the American troop and
supply ships. They were intercept.
ed by American warships and the
first strictly naval duel of the war
between U. S. and Japanese fleet
forces resulted. Enemy losses, the
Navy said, were not accurately de-
termined in the darkness, but the
U. S. Navy suffered cruiser sunk
and cruisers and destroyers dam.
aged.
The third big Japanese effort was
made on the night Of August 21.
BY that time Marine attacks had
scattered the enemy's garrisons and
sent their troops fleeing into the
jungle. The Japanese Navy landed
a new force of 700 men.
In fighting that night and the
next day this force was wiped out
with $40 killed and 30 captured. The
Marines lost % killed and u wound
ed.
The exact part which raider bat.
talions played in these operations
was not disclosed here, but de-
scription Of their arms and train
ing which Marine headquarters re.
leased today indicated that they
must have played a leading role.
Raider battalions, the official an
nouncement said, are compact,
selfsufficient battalions" with a
swiftness and striking power COM
parable in amphibious attacks to
paTatroop actions in land battles.
The raiders carry automatic rifles.
sub machine guns, Garand rifles
and pistols. They can cover ground,
half running and half walking, at a
maximum speed Of seven miles an
hour; can fight with knives. dag.
gers or bare hands, and have been
taught to shoot from the hip.
Night attacks are their speciality
and many Of their operations are
OF Commando nature. 1t was q. raid.
er battalion, with James Roosevelt
the Presidents son. second in com.
mand, that staged the successful
raid on Maxim island, in the Gilbert
group, August II.
-V-
GREECE ATTACKED
ROME From Italian Broad.
casts?' Aug. 25.-The high COM
mand said today Allied air attacks
against sectors of Axis-occupied
Greece and Italian possessions in