Evening star., 1942-12-10
Japs Pushed Out Of Coma Area.
Hold dOnly Sma||NewGuine Strip;
Twin Allied Drives in Africa Near
Victory Led by
Macarthur Comes
After Is Days
~ tfe Associated Press.

Z! tfe Associated Press.
MELBOURNE, Dec. 1O.-Com-
plete occupation of the Coma
area Of New Guinea by Allied
forces directed in the field by
Gen. Douglas Macarthur him
self was announced today.
The japanese thus lost the north
ern anchor Of their stubbornly de-
Tended but ever-narroWing beach,
head in Papua, a foothold already
cut into segments by Australian and
American jungle fighters.
Official reports showed that
American forces striking at the
lower end of the salient were max
ing progress against defenses of the
Buna village sector and Japanese
air field.
Fight Over. Air Field.
Bitter fighting ragged for possess
sion of the air field, advices from
the front said. Allied detachments
were entrenched in two places at
one end of the landing strip and
Japanese held the other. United
States and Australian air forces CO.
operated in heavy machines cunning
and bombing attacks on the enemy
positions.
The narrow zone between the air
field and the sea coast was battered
with Allied explosives yesterday.
Prime Minister John Curtin made
the first announcement of the Coma
conquest during war review be-
fore the House of Representatives
In Canberra, the capital.
His victory news came Is days
after an Allied headquarters COM
munique had announced the orig
inal Australian entry into Coma,
testifying to the resistance put up
by the japanese.
Pinned in Narrow Strip.
Gona's fall left the Japanese
pinned down in a narrow strip of
coast centering on the Buna area,
some II miles to the south.
The japanese first landed at Coma
on July % and from the Coma
Buna beachhead started their in
vasion drive which carried across
the Owen Stanley Mountains to
within 80 miles of Port Moresby,
Allied base, before they were halted.
Earlier today the regular COM
munique from Allied headquarters
In Australia announced that Allied
troops had thWarted the japanese
in an attempt to break out of the
Coma trap under cover OF darkness,
killing 95 of the enemy and cap
turing four. Eighteen more were
killed and three captured in an
other clash short time later. More
than 400 japanese had been re-
ported slain in this area in recent
weeks.
The same bulletin reported that
Allied forces had gained additional
ground in their attacks on the Jap
anese at Buna and that they were
continuing to press home their as
saults with strong air support.
Score Signal Victory.
Allied headquarters also an
bounced that American Flying For
kresses and Liberator bombers had
scored a signal victory over a for
nation of japanese fighters in a
furious duel off the coast of New
Britain, shooting down 10 enemy
planes and damaging four others
so badly they probably crashed.
"All our planes returned the
communique said.
The air battle developed in con-
junction with heavy Allied bomb
ing assault on the japanese air.
drome at Gasmata, New Britain,
unloading 500-pound bombs in dis
persal bays and causing considerable
damage.
There were no further reports con-
cerning the whereabouts of six Jap
enese destroyers which were driven
off earlier in the week in an attempt
to land reinforcements in the Buna
area.
The destroyers had approached in
two lines 4 miles apart, with 3 miles
between the leading and trailing
vessels.
The attack on the squadron was
described today by 1t. Calvin Glen
denning of Minneapolis, pilot of a
Liberator bomber, who told how the
planes circled just out of range of
the destroyers' anti-aircraft fire be-
fore unloading their bombs.
Direct Hit Across Stern.
The ships made beautiful turn
Ing maneuver in an effort to avoid
our bombs" he said. I'VE made our
first run aiming for the leading
destroyer, A 500-pounder hit with
in 10 feet of the stern. A second
bomb was a direct hit across the
stern"
Huge clouds of broWnish smoke
apparently from burning oil and
ammunition - belched from the
stricken ship, 1t. Glendenning said.
The Liberators shadoWed the de-
stroyers for more than an hour, and
when last seen the vessels were
standing northward.
1t. Glendenning reported that
after he had turned his plane toward
home two japanese fighters sud-
denly darted out of the clouds and
attacked from opposite sides
The Liberators gunners sent the
Zeros spinning down but not before
bullets from the enemy planes had
knocked out the bomber's intercom-
munications system and the radio
transmitter and had broken a row
of oxygen bottles.