Evening star., 1942-02-23
MAP on Page A-6.)
Nv the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press.
BANDOENG, Netherlands In
dies, Feb. 23.-Dutch and Amer.
lean air and naval forcss de.
stroyed and scattered the entire
Japanese invasion fleet which at.
tackled Bali last week, but some
of the invaders have succeeded
in getting ashore, overrunnine
part of the island and seizing the
airport at Denpasar, the Dutch
announced today.
A communique of the Neither.
lands Indies armed forces declared
however, that the japanese, who
had landed through hail of bombs
from American and Dutch all
forces, were isolated now from sup
plies and reinforcements.
Not a single warship or trans
port remained near Bali to give the
Japanese troops support of sup
plies" after big formations Of
American four -motored bombers
dive bombers and fighters, and
Dutch and American cruisers and
destroyers attacked the Japanese
armada, the communique said.
A statement issued by the Neither
lands Indies government said "a
single ship which succeeded in es-
Gaping destruction has fed"
Umperial headquarters at
Toxic reported capture of the
town of Denpasar, but made no
mention of the japanese in
vasion feet)
A United Nations communiqut
said Allied dive bombers set jap
anese merchantmen OF more thar
10000 tons afire with direct hits
in the Strait of Bangka, of Sumatra
$50 miles northwest of Batavia, ano
machine gunned other large ships
in that vicinity.
Among other widespread aerial op-
erations, the communique said two
reconnaissance planes escaped from
II japanese naval planes and sue
cessfully completed their tasks"
AirdrOme Is Attacked.
Allied bombers also heavily at
tackled the airdrome at Denpasar
which the Japanese had occupied
the communique said.
The size of the destroyed and scat
tered japanese force was not an
nounced. The United States War
Department in Washington said
Saturday, however, that its air
forces twice attacked one japanese
naval formation consisting OF two
cruisers, four or five destroyers and
four transports.
Still, it appeared probable that
other formations of warships and
transports also were attacked.
THE magnificent successes OF the
Allied sea and air forces justify the
belief that the conquest OF Bali
means to the japanese as large a
Pyrrhic victory as the conquest OF
burning homes at Tarakan, Balik-
papan and Palembang," the Gov
ernment statement said. referring
to the great property destruction by
the Dutch at those productive oil
centers of Borneo and Sumatra
before their capture by the jap
anese.
Owing to the strong action by the
Allied air and sea forces it can be
assumed that the fleet which the
japanese sent out for the conquest
of Bali has for the greater part
been destroyed or badly damaged" !"
Strong Resistance.
1t said that at present, however,
1t was impossible to give further
particulars of the state of affairs on
Bali.
Previously, however, strong re-
sistance had been reported on that
100-mile- Long island which f1anks
Java to the east.
Denpasar, the seized airport, is
at the southeastern corner of the
island, and is near the only favor
able harbor of the island. Rich
rice lands extend along the alluvial
coastal plain westward from Denpa-
sar, but the capital, Singaradja, on
the north coast, is separated from
the fiat area by a lofty mountain
range.
Bitter delaying resistance also
continued in Sumatra, on the west
flank Of Java. but today's COM
munique for the first time officially
confirmed Japanese reports of a
landing in Dutch Timor.
A Domei dispatch said Japan
ese forces moving into the inte-
rior of Sumatra from Palem-
bang, occupied the town of Lahat
just before midnight last night.
Gahat, ITO miles inland from
Palembang, is midway point
on a rail line from Palembang to
towns in the foothills of the
mountain range along the west
coast of Sumatra)
The Dutch communique said the
Japanese were attacking Koepang in
Timor, but were meeting with stout
resistance.
The attacks on Bali and Timor,
900 miles farther east, were a dire
threat to the Indies lifeline from
San Francisco and Darwin in Aus
tralia, but Dutch and Allied de-
tenders were greatly encouraged by
the display of their air and sea
power in the battle OF Bali.
Yesterday, the communique said,
the Japanese devoted themselves to
trying to knock out the airports from
which Allied planes had struck 50
effectively.
All day the Japanese bombed and
machine-gunned airdromes near Ba-
tavia, the capital that stands threat
ened by the advance down Sumatra,
Buitenzorg, on the railway between
Batavia and this military headquar-
ters in the mountains, Jogjakarta,
(See INDIES, Page A-120