The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-09-23
BY ROBERT MILLER
United Press Staff Correspondent

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 With United States Marine Raid CTS, Guadalcana1 Island, September 8. = (UP) - Delayed) - Ameri- can land, sea and air forces made a devastating commando raid early today on Japanese forces at the lower tip of Guadalcanal Island and thwarted, at least temporarily, an enemy land attack against the air. port and installations in the central island area.
 Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of enemy guns, ammunition, equipment and supplies were cap tured by the Marine raiders under Colonel Merritt A. Edson, Chester, Vt.
 At least 50 Japanese were believed killed. American casualties were two killed and six wounded.
 The Marines landed and caught the enemy so completely by sur prise that they fled in disorder, abandoning even their packs in well fortified positions. and also several pieces of field artillery.
 The attack was carried out under a canopy of Army and Marine corps planes, supported by gunfire from surface units of the United States fleet.
 Japs Ready To Attack
 Evidence collected indicated that the Japanese had built up large occupation force at the eastern tip of the island and were preparing an assault against the American positions 30 miles up the coast.
 Rubber boats, launches, barges, and life rafts showed that the Japanese had been landed period ically, under cover of darkness, with a large amount of supplies.
 The co-ordinated attack started when landing boats filled with Marine raiders were launched from auxiliary transports anchored off, shore.
 CThis raid may have had much to do with the later successful Marine defense against heavy Japanese attack designed to capture the Guadalcanal Air Field.
 CThe Navy at Washington an- nounced September IS that heavy fighting had been in progress since the night of September 12 against reinforced enemy troops. The Japanese made a big attack on the night of September 13. It was broken and there had been Hull in fighting since then.9
 Stole Up on JapS
 The landing was made so stealth fly that none of the boats were fired upon, although the American troops hit the beach less than 100 yards from a Japanese bivouac.
 Breastworks and newly dug fox holes, fringing the beach and ex- tending 100 feet back into the jun gle, attested the recent Japanese oc- cupation. Marines found 37-mm. cannon, intact with ammunition, a stones throw from where they landed. But the enemy had fled without attempting to fire or defend the beachhead.
 The Americans took up positions along the shore and as soon as there was enough light moved through the jungle to the Japan ese-held vilalge of Tasimboko. They found large caches of supplies and ammunition concealed in the jun gle.
 The first contact with the enemy, comprising troops landed since Aug. T or units which escaped from other islands captured by the Americans, came when Marine scouts killed two Japanese rear guard snipers.
 All along the route the Marines found evidence of the enemy's nasty departure. The lack of organized resistance by the numerically supe- rior Japanese was explained partly by the fact that large United Na- tions convoy had passed through