Evening star., 1942-01-08
War
Continued From First Pase)

apparently were causing renewed
concern In Toxic.
There was evidence of this In the
eneiny's recourse to the Axis guess
ing technique-the circulation OF
vague reports designed to elicit val
uabie information.
Both the Toxic radio and a Ger
n1An- controlled station co-operated
in broadcasting the initial feelers.
TOXIC was heard reporting an en-
gaRement between the Japanese
and American fleets in the Western
Pscthc. The Nazi story, aired from
q station in the Netherlands. had
the Japanese attacking two United
States battleships en- route to Aus
tra1ia and sinking one of them.
The Navy Department here de-
clined comment on Tokio's sea bat
tie report last night. and dismissed
the NAH report as something con-
taining mot an iota of truth"
Hardly Bear Out Claims.
It was noted in passing here. how
ever. that the reports hardly bore
out the repeated Axis claims that the
Pacific Fleet had been crippled"
Knocked out" and f1nally-as one
Japanese source had it-"destroyed
to pieces" by the Pearl Harbor at
tack.
The fog'of war has shrouded most
OF the naval operations in the Pa
ciflc, but the concentration of a
strong Japanese naval force at the
southern tip of the Philippines re-
Gently was interpreted here as an
indication that the enemy was pre-
pairing to launch major scale opera
tions against the East Indies.
The Japanese attempts to obtain
Information about the United States
Fleet, some observers thought, might
be motivated by the necessity of get
ting this campaign under way as
soon as possible, but only after the
high command assured itself that no
immediate naval threat was devel-
oping elsewhere In the vast Pacific
theater.
Heavy Demands on Navy.
The far-flung character of Jap
anese land operations, it was pointed
out, makes heavy demands on the
strength of the navy. The more
units that are detached for missions
In the South China Sea, the more
the fighting power Of the main fleet
Is reduced. This main feet is be-
lieved operating somewhere between
the southern tip of Japan and For
mosa. Guarding lines of communi-
cation.
The stubborn defense of the Phil
ippines has had the effect of tieing
UP the japanese naval units sup
porting the invasion, just as it has
tied up a large number of troops
which Japan could well use in the
drive on Malaga.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur's battle
weary troops still held their strong
positions on the Batan Peninsula,
northwest Of Manila, despite fierce
new enemy assaults yesterday,
which had heavy air support.
Defenseless Towns Razed.
japanese flyers, however, were not
reserving their bombs and machine
gun bullets for strictly military OBJ
jectives. Gen. Macarthur reported
that the enemy warplanes had wan
tonly razed a number of defenseless
towns which had no army installa-
tions or military value.
THESE attacks took place at vari-
Gus times during the invasion, the
War Department announced late
yesterday. Among the towns mer-
cilessly bombed were Baler, Santa
Rosa, Calamba and Tarlac, all OF
which were destroyed. Many natives
were killed in these attacks. During
the last few days civilians in Arayat
Camiling, San Fernando and other
towns were machine gunned In the
streets by low flying enemy planes
the japanese" the departments