The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1943-12-28
AMERICANS PUSH
DRIVE in PACIFIC
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ers made the attacks and So enc
my bombers and 25 fighters were
shot down. Seven Allied planes
were lost and others dana ged.
civilian j. Dunn. CHS CORE
spondent who witnessed the land
ings, said the first of the air at
tacks did not come until seven
hours after the Marines had swept
ashore.)
This additional occupation Of
! New aoIita..l. the Secollt within a
fortnight, strengthens our hold on
the western end of the island, Mac
Arthur said, and "presages grow
ing command of Bismarck Sea ap.
proaches." It also increases the
Allied air threat to Rabauls sup.
ply lines land shortly will bring
the enemy-held overwhelmingly
islands area within decisive reach
of our land-based air attacks"
Rabaul, cnce symbol of Japa-
nese power in the South Pacific
but virtually neutralized by heavy
air attacks since October, is stu
ated at the northeastern tip of
New Britain. Kavieng is at the
northern end of New Ireland,
where a japanese destroyer and
two large freighters were sunk and
other ships damaged ir surprise
air attack early Christmas Day.
The Admiralty islands are in the
Bismarck Sea about 200 m e S
northwest of Cape Gloucester.
The Cape Gloucester landings
were made by marines command
ed by Mai Gen. William H. Ruper-
tus of Washington, z. c. When
the heavy naval and air lombard
ment lifted, they stormed ashore
under cover of a smoke screen
laid down from the air. Within two
hours the beachheads were firmly
in our hands.
One landing was made just north
of Silimati Point on Bergen Bay,
east of Cape Gloucester. The other
was on the Dampier strait, or
western side, Of the peninsula. This
landing prevents the enemy from
escaping down the southern coast
lin. Occupation Of Long Island, to
the northwest, places wedge in
the enemy's line OF communica-
tons to New Guinea coastal points
such as Madang and Wewak.
Control of the southwestern end
of New Britain was set up when
American forces invaded the Ara
we sector Dec. Is.
The main effort Of Sundays op-
GRAFTON was pointed at Target Hill,
a 45O-foot hump that had been the
heart of the enemy de.enses in the
Gloucester area. 1t had been
pounded so heavily from the air
and sea, however, that its guns re-
piled only feebiy to the new chal-
lenge. c. Yates Mcdaniel, Associ-
ated Press war correspondent, who
went in with the second wave, re-
ported he neither saw nor heard
of a single landing boat being lost.
Nor did he near of a single Marine
even being hurt.
Hot steel from the air and from
warships commanded by Vice Ad-
miral Thomas c. Kincaid was
the invasion coast when
Dean Schedler, AP war correspond
ent, flew over the area aboard a
Liberator command plane. Some
1000-pound bombs from the Liber-
ators plunked directly on Target
Hill and Its artillery positions.
By the landings at Arawe and
Cape Gloucester, Allied forces have
severed the supply lines that fed |
Japanese positions in western and
southern New Britain and along
the northeast coast of New Guinea.
MacArthur's regular M on d a y
communique, covering action over
the Christmas weekend, reported
the surprise attack on japanese
shlpplng at KaVlenS ard also strong
attacks Oh Raoaul. The Kavieng
assault was by carrier based
planes.
The attacks on Rabaul came
from the heavy units based in the
Solomons. They cost the enemy
II planes and probably 10 more.
Patrols pushing eastward from
he American positions at Arawe
were reported to have made con-
sact with the enemy. On the Huon
peninsula of New Guinea, Austria
ian forces captured Wandokai,
With quantities of munitions, and
advanced toward Ago.