The Wrangell sentinel., 1942-03-20
Japs Suffer Heavy Losses In Desperate
 Try For Australia
Press

ABA Ass8GIHIeu Press
 \ Japanese overland invasion on New Guinea island guided by pro Nazi German missionaries is report ed in Australia today and in the Burma theatre. far 10 the northwest. the British right and left flank were falling back preliminary 10 the decisive struggle for the approaches to the Burma oil fields and Mandalz ay.
 The euemys movement in New Guinea. as disclosed in unofficial dispatches from New Guinea Is q long. obliaue and difficult thrust from the northeastern coast in t8- ward Port Moresby. major southern port. which lying 300 miles from the Australian mainland would be q requisite 10 continental invasion From the region Of Lac where the iaeursion began To Port Moresby is some 500 miles by the only feasible route. This is westward through the Markham valley and then south ward. and there was nothing to in- dieate the city itself was in immed- fate peril.
 The Japanese and their Nazi guides had not yet been engaged and the belief in Australia was that they would be brought up short when contact was made
 SINK 26 SHIPS
 h the air. the past several days has been one of violent struggle be-
 
 Japanese aerial fleets which was continuing today. enemy held bases OH the outlying islands falling under heavy Allied attack and Port Mores- by and Darwin being raided but ap- parently with no strong effect
 At sea there was nothing to indi- cate the presence Of new Japanese invasion trains. The enemy appeared to be still suffering from the effects of earlier attacks which over the past several days had cost him 26 ships sunk or damaged. The total reached that figure yesterday with the announcement that Allied bombers had hit and set aflame 2 heavy Jap cruiser and had scored near misses, presumably causing damage to two other large vessels. TWenty-three vessels earlier had been reported by the [. $ Navy De- partment as sunk or damaged. This figure, Australian Prime Minister Curtin explained, did not represent new single action but was rather the cumulative results of some 10 days of Allied attacks.
 Burma Situation
 In Burma, the strongest and most immediate Japanese thrust was at the British right where enemy troops were moving northward to contest for the Prone road which runs along the Irrawaddy river to the central Burma oil fields and on to Mandalay. The town of Tharra- waddy. some 60 miles above Ran goon on the Prone road had been abandoned by the British i'll their withdrawal in this sector
 On the British left, enemy forces also were advancing on the Toungoo road as the British, after earlier ac- tion at a point about 100 miles north of fallen Rangoon, were fall ing back toward Toungoo itself Be cause the British are greatly out numbered much depended on the ac- tion of the Chinese who are in lia- son with British forces east Of tie Toungoo area and are at present holding the Thailand border region.
 StilWen Heads Chinese
 Yesterday, the American Lieut. Gen. Joseph stilweIl was charged by the Chinese Generalisimo Chiang Kai Shek with command of the Chinese armies of Burma. This was in line with the steady broadening of the responsibility of American comman- ders in all the Pacific struggle as typified by Gen. MacArthur's su- preme command of all the south west Pacific and it was accompanied by unprecedented political grant to Australia by Britain. Richard c. Casey, the present Australian minis ter to Washington, was appointed Minister of State in the middle east for the British war cabinet which means that for the first time in his tory dominion statesman is to be in effect member of the inner Rul- ing body of the mother land