Evening star., 1942-03-09
$4,000 Troops
Yield in Java,
JapaneseC|ainn
Americans Reported
Among Coptives;;
Dutch Still Fight
By the Associated Press.

LONDON, March 9.-Japanese
invaders overrunning the final
Dutch citadel of Java have cap
tured the war capital of Ban
doeng, and their imperial head
quarters declared today they had
forced the unconditional sur
render of $4,000 Dutch and 5000
United States, British and Aus
tralian troops.
The Dutch stoutly denied there
had been any general surrender, but
in Adelaide, Australia, 1t. Governor
General Hubertus J. van Nook told
of the fall OF Bandoeng.
Surrender UncOnfirmed.
The official Toxic announcement
heard here said the defending troops
capitulated near Bandoeng and near
the navel base OF Soerabaj ia at 3 pm.
presumably Toxic time, or 2 am,
E. w. t..
Bandoeng was headquarters of the
Dutch Army and also the arsenal of
the rich island populated by 49,
900 900.
London sources said tonight they
had no confirmat ton of the ofiicial
Toxic announcement that $4,000
troops, had surrendered to the Jap
anese in Java, but commented that
II these figures were correct 1t
meant greater loss in numbers
than that at Singapore
They said any United States or
British prisoners probably all were
aviation ground crews and other
technicians.
Vow Fight to Death.
Highly placed Netherlands au-
thorities declared the Dutch would
fight on 10 death"
An authoritative Netherlands
spokesman said although it was
known that United States pilots
had fought in the battle for Java.
he was unable to state" whether
United States ground forces par
ticipated
Asked whether another "Bataan
Peninsula stand" would be attempt
td- tllC Sdlu llidl
the loss of the Tangkuban Prahu
position. near Bandoeng. no one
could say where" such resistance
could be made.
He declared that, although the
Netherlands Indies had prepared for
two years to meet the expected
japanese onslaught. adequate REIN
forcements from abroad remained
essential 70 successful resistance.
Axis Reports Surrender.
Both before and after the Dutch
declarations that resistance was
continuing, several Axis radio sta
tions were broadcasting assertions
that the defenders OF Java had
capitulated Internationally.
The latest Of these, from TOXIC at
8;l8 Washington war time,
about an hour after the Dutch here
had spoken, quoted a Saigon dis
patch Of the official Domei agency
as reporting that Dutch resistance
ended "at 10 o'clock this morning
in acceptance of Japanese demand
for unconditional surrender"
Presumably this meant 10
am. Toxic time. or pm Sum-
day, Washington timeD
Fall Emphatically Denied.
The Netherlands government-in-
exile was emphatic in denial OF the
earlier Axis reports that Java had
fallen.
Aneta quoted an authoritative
Netherlands source as saying:
I'VE Dutchmen are never hopeless.
As long as there's life, there's hope.
We will defend the Indies until the
death"
Col Peter de Blick of the Neither
lands Indies Army, said he did not
know whether United States troops
had been in action in Java, indi-
eating the only Americans fighting
there had been airforce pilots.
The situation Is serious but not
hopeless" he replied to question
about whether Java now was cut
off from its Allies.
He said three Dutch generals
Bakers of the general staff; Maurer,
chief of artillery. and Van Oyen,
chief Of the airforce still were in
Java.
Col. De Blick gave little hope for
prolonged Dutch resistance. He said
the positions around Tangkuban
Prahu which were abandoned Fri
day were not very strong He in
dicated that Japanese superiority
in the air and on land made the
total subsection of the island a
matter Of days.
I'VE expected reinforcements in
the air." he said, they came, but
they were not enough"
The Netherlands governmental in
exile called reports of Javas fall
an effort to cause confusion since
the enemy controls all communica-
tions channels from the Indies, and
declared that no credence should
be attached to them"
One such report, issued by the
Berlin radio and heard here by
Reuters, said Japanese shock troops
and armored units had occupied the
naval base of Soerabaja,