Evening star., 1943-01-05
Enemy-HeId Sectors
On Island Seized,
Navy Announces
By CLAUDE A. MAHONEY.

Secretary Knox told press
conference today that according
to the best information received
by the Navy the eight japanese
destroyers engaged by bur P. T.
boats near Guadalcanal on jan
uary 2 were driven away without
effecting any landings.
A short time after Secretary
Knoxs conference the Navy, report
ing two new actions in the Sol
onions, announced in communique
that our forces had taken high jap
anese-held points near Mount
Austen on Guadalcanal and also
had renewed a heavy aircraft at
tack on the Munda Airport in the
New Georgia group.
Six enemy counterattacks were re-
pulsed in the Guadalcanal action
and total of $50 japanese were
killed, the Navy said.
Secretary Knox said that some
supplies were dropped in metal
drums from the japanese destroyers
in the engagement with our PIT
boats, in the hope that they would
float ashore with the tides during
the night.
He added that few of the drums,
intended to supply the hungry Jap
anese remaining on the island, might
possibly have reached the shore.
Allied aircraft and PIT boats went
over the area the following morning
and sank the drums they found
af1oat, Mr.. Knox said.
No Concentration at Rabaul.
He said this flotilla of destroyers
had started out as group OF 10,
and that two had been sunk or dam
aged before our torpedo boats at
tackled them off the northwestern
end of Guadalcanal. Our forces had
followed the destroyers all the way
down and had kept them under OBJ
servation. The PIT boats scored
hit on one of the destroyers and
three possible hits on two others.
Queried about a report that there
was an unusual concentration OF
japanese vessels at Rabaul on New
Guinea, Secretary Knox said:
"Rabaul is a concentration point.
We have it under constant obser-
vation and there does not seem to
be any unusual concentration there
now"
The Secretary also was asked to
comment on the recent feat of one
of our battleships in shooting down
80 attacking planes and then going
ahead calmly to bag three Jap
cruisers. Secretary Knox said he
could not 90 into detail about the
armament that made this unsual
feat possible, but could say that
"the air defense of the battleship
has demonstrated its efficiency.
New Defense Weapons.
It is the old story, he said, of
new weapons of offense that cause
new weapons of defense to be de-
veloped. He said the present guns
had proved themselves in this war,
He was asked if on that basis he
would predict that our Navy would
not suffer any such losses as the
British loss of the battleships Re-
pulse and Prince of Wales.
II wouldn't predict any such
thing" said Mr.. Knox. "All I'll say
is we would give them hell of
fight"
He emphasized particularly the
concentration of anti-aircraft fire
that had prevented enemy dive
bombers from getting close enough
to the battleship to reach it with
bombs
Mr.. Knox denied fatty that Allied
merchant shipping losses were now
a million tons month. When told
that such a figure had been pub
lished in story which specifically
stated that it had been passed by
censor, Mr.. Knox said that figure
is wrong"
He refused, when asked several
times, to say what figure was right
or say how the million-ton total was
in error.
Text Of Communiques.
The Nays communique which
told Of the new Guadalcanal action
follows:
South Pacific: (All dates are
east longitude.
Il. On January 4:
"CatalinaS Consolidated PBY)
and Flying Fortresses (Boeing BID
executed a series Of air attacks on
the Munda area, in the New Georgia
group. The same evening dive bomb
ers, escorted by fighters, bombed
anti-aircraft positions, taxiways and
runways In the same area. Results
of the raids were not reported. All
of our planes returned.
20. Our troops on Guadalcanal at