Evening star., 1943-12-12
Third Straight Attack
On MarshalIs Made
By u. ). Liberators
By the Associated Press,

By the Associated Press.
For the third time in two days
American Liberators have at
tackled Mill Atoll in the Southern
Marshall Islands, 800 miles
northwest of the recently con-
quered Gilberts. They shot
down 4 and possibly 7 of 20 in
tercepting Zeros in the action
Thursday, which was reported by
Admiral Chester w. Nimitz at
Pearl Harbor last night.
This was twice the number of in
terceptors met the day before, in
dicating the Japanese are ferrying
planes into the Marshalls to replace
their steady losses to the Liberators
and to meet an expected amphibious
invasion from the Gilberts, II these
requirements are coming over the
usual supply route via Wake, it would
indicate that other enemy fortresses
farther north in the Marshalls have
also been reinforced.
Japanese similarly showed greater
air strength in New Guinea, causing
damage Thursday in the Ramu
Valley, where Australians resumed
their advance toward Madang earlier
in the week. Other Aussies pushed
deeper into the Huon Peninsula
jungle beyond recently captured
Wareo, Gen. Douglass Macarthur
announced at his Southwest Pacific
headquarters.
Cape Gloucester Bombed.
For the twelfth straight day Allied
heavy bombers blasted Cape Glou-
cester. potential invasion point of
New Britain, across narrow Dampier
Strait from the Huon Peninsula. PIT
boats sank 10 enemy supply barges
on the Huon coast while a Navy
Catalina sank a freighter off New
Ireland, presumably on its way to
supply the once powerful fortress
of Rabaul, New Britain.
Mill and Jaluit Atolls, key jap
anese outposts, were bombed twice
on Wednesday. In the latest at
tack the Liberators dropped IS tons
Of bombs.
All the United States Army planes
returned to their equatorial base,
despite the Japanese fighters at
tempt to bring them down with
aerial bombs, machine guns and
cannon. All six aerial bombs the
japanese used missed their targets.
Some American airmen were wound
ed and part of the bomber con-
tingent was slightly damaged.
On the previous day the Liberators
returned with slight damage and
one wounded man after shooting
down two Of the 10 interceptors.
Admiral Nimitz did not report the
damage done to Mill on either day.
Mill, like other key points in the
Marshalls, was bombed almost daily
preceding the American invasion of
the Gilbert Islands, south of the
Marshalls. American carrier borne
planes made a devastating raid on
the Marshalls last Saturday.
Australian patrols swept aside
light enemy resistance along the
coast of New Guinea and inland
from Wareo Thursday and Friday,
further extending their grip on
Huon Peninsula.
Killed I'll Japs.
Advancing over high ground
Thursday, one Australian unit cap
tured Bazuluo Village, a mile and
a half due west of Wareo. In the
coastal sector their comrades killed
81 japanese in patrol clashes.
Through the activity of their
patrols the Australians were able to
push their outposts from a quarter
Of a mile to a mile and a quarter
farther northwestward along the
coast.
An unspecif1ed number of Japa-
nese planes raided Allied positions
in the Dumpu area of the Ramu
Valley early Friday, causing minor
damage and casualties. There were
patrol clashes but no material
change in the ground situation.
In the Solomons sector bad
weather was reported for the third
straight day, affording japanese
engineers opportunity to get bombed
out Bougainville airfields in opera
ton for use against the American
beachhead at Empress Augusta Bay.