Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-04-03
Americans on Bataan
hopping Up Trapped
japanese Troops
Attacking Enemy Units
Pocketed as Defenders
Open Counterdrive
~ tho Associated Press.

OPen NOunteIQINe
~ tho Associated Press.
American front-line troops
stood alert today against a third
Japanese Bataan assault in two
days. ready again to meet SUI
perior numbers and fire-power
with counterattackS.
United States forces were reported
officially to be hopping up Japanese
units which broke through the main
defense line In two heavy attacks
yesterday, only to be pocketed by an
American counterdrive.
The War Department said "a con-
siderable number of Japanese units"
were in the pocket, indicating that
whole platoons, armed with grenade
throwers and machine guns, faced
the encircling American troops.
Each Japanese infantry platoon OF
"a men has three rifle sections and
grenade thrower section. The rifle
sections each have seven rifiemen
and light machine gun. The gren-
ade-thrower, or tekidanto, sections
have three grenade dischargers cap
able of throwing powerful so nm.
proiectiles IS to $50 yards.
Stick Grenades Popular.
In addition, the Japanese rifiemen
themselves carry both hand gren-
AIDES and stick" grenades. The stick
grenades, q favorite with Germans
and Italians as we'll as with the jap
anese, are small iron pots OF explos-
i've on 5-inch wooden handles. These
grenades have the heft of claw ham
mers.
The Japanese lob them for con-
siderable distances. The stick gre
nades depend mainly on heavy
charges Of lyddite for their effect
rather than on the augmentation
rs in American and British types.
Each grenade has two ounces OF
lyddite, giving it about half the
explosive power of stick OF dyna-
mite.
Oficers familiar with Japanese
tactics said the encircled troops
doubtless would dig in during the
night in individual foXholes. These
holes have space for only one man
and in Japanese are called go"
Individual Japanese may be able
TO hold on for several days. In
sack on his back each man carries
one days emergency rations and
i've days supply of rice.
Parachute Attack Doubted.
1t was considered unlikely that the
Japanese would try to aid their en-
circled units on Bataan by landing
parachute troops. Reports on the
first large-scale Japanese parachute
operation, in the Netherlands Indies,
show it was far from successful.
In this attack, on February IA, the
Japanese dropped TOO men from 100
planes around Palembang, the oil
refining center in South Sumatrs.
Armed with light mortars and
machine guns, the parachutists
landed in three groups.
Their mission was to capture the
flying field and oil refineries. The
mission failed. Dutch defenders
mopped up the parachutists and
destroyed the oil refineries and the
airdrome runways.
The War Department late yes
terday gave this account of fighting
on Bataan:
Before daylight yesterday the
japanese made q heavy assault on
the center of the United States line.
They advanced beyond outposts
from which United States troops
had withdrawn, but came under
heavy American artillery fire. Amer
lean troops then counterattacked
and recaptured the outpostS.
hopping Up Continues.
At about 10 am. yesterday jap
anese assault troops, supported by
a heavy concentration of artillery
fire, advanced against the left center
of the line. In heavy fighting they
penetrated the American main line.
United States troops counterat-
tackled fiercely, closed the line and
pocketed a number of japanese
units.
hopping up operations were be-
heved to be still in progress today.
American troops had restored the
main line and inflicted heavy cas-
ualties on the Japanese, but suffered
only slight casualties themselves.
Unless the japanese win the battle
of Bataan within the next six weeks
they will have lost the opportunity,
J. M. Elizalde, Philippine commits
sioner, said in radio interview last
night.
The time problem exists because OF
the approach of the typhoon sea-
son, when the seas become heavy
and when the weather is dangerous
for flying.
"An attack by land in the middle
Of the rainy season would be almost
impossible" he said. River beds
that are now dry will be carrying
between 10 and 20 feet of water.
Most OF the roads become impass-
able, and tanks, trucks and heavy
machinery cannot be transported"