The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-07-30
MUNDAF|GHT
CARRIES ON
YARD-bY-YARD
BY BRYDON TAVES

BY BRYDON TAVES
UNITED Press Staff Correspondent
Allied Headquarters, South
west Pacific, July 30.-(UP)
- The slow, hard fight to
smash the death stand of
the Japanese garrison at
Munda is proceeding satisfac-
torily, General Douglas Mac
Arthur said today as a COM
munique reported Allied
gains on both ends of the
Southern Pacific front and
the sinking or wrecking of
two enemy destroyers and a trans.
port.
Expressing his views through a
spokesman, Macarthur said the
Japanese had failed to halt the
steady progress by American Jungle
troops who hacked out new adj
vance of 200 yards on New Georgia
Island, methodically destroying IA
enemy pillboXes.
Besides the gain at Munda, the
spokesman said American and Aus
tralian troops stormed and captured
one ridge near Salamaua on the New
Guinea northeast coast, occupied
part of another and extended their
lines.
Macarthur, supreme commander
of the drives along the 750-mile
front, is satisfied the Munda gar
rison has been invested and its sup
plies cut to the bone by ground
pressure and continual air lombard
ment the spokesman said.
Explaining the development of the
Munda campaign into a yard-by-
yard series of bitter skirmishes, he
added that the japanese had laid
deeper defenses than ever met in
New Guinea and were using every
jungle trick they knew. The report
indicated that previous field reports
from the central Solomons of Mum
da's imminent fall now were out
dated
The Americans were approximate
ly 1900 yards east of the Munda
airfield while patrols filtered into
the japanese defenses on Bibolo Hill,
cluster of knobs northeast of the
base. The enemy garrison was pin
ned against the sea in horseshoe
shaped pocket being closed by U.
S. soldiers and Marines operating
from prepared positions.
Drop "a Tons of Bombs
Ground forces inching toward
Salamaua, big enemy base on the
New Guinea coast, moved forward
to threaten the japanese supply
trails through the jungle as Liberia
tors, Flying Fortresses and MitchellS,
in six separate attacks, dropped "a
tons of bombs in the Salamaua
area in II minutes yesterday.
A ridge named "Vickers Machine
gun" was taken 1900 yards south
west of Bobdubi, four miles from
Salamaua, while u S. forces at
tackled and occupied part of Roose-
welt Ridge between Tambu Bay and
Dot Peninsula eight miles north of
Nassau Bay. Allied positions also
were extended southwest of Orodubi
and on Sugar Cane Ridge in sharp
skirmishes.
The Salamaua building area, hit
repeatedly during the last week, was
damaged badly by the latest air raid
and explosions and fires could be
seen 40 miles away.
Checking on a previous attack
that left an enemy destroyer and
other ships afire off Cape Gloucester,
New Britain, Allied flyers found
that, their bombs had sunk a SEE
ond destroyer and forced the two
burning ships onto beach. They
renewed the assaults and demolish-
ed the beached destroyer and wreck
ed the transport, shooting down
three intercepting enemy fighters.
Medium bombers, in night at
tack on Koepang, Timor, and the
adjacent Penfoei airdrome, set fires
visible so miles and scored direct
hits among parked motor transport
barracks and military installations.
In the Solomons area, planes
sank two barges docked in Webster
Cove on Kolombangara Island.