The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-08-06

(Continued from Page D the field as the right flank encir- cled the airstrip and reached the sea north of Gurasi, just west of the field.
 The right flank reached the west ern short of Cape Munda to the north of Gurasi, then pushed south in a pincers movement coordinated with a steady Allied advance along the southern coast south of the Munda airstrip.
 The occupation of Munda came one year lacking a day after the Guadalcanal Island invasion on August 7, 1942, it was announced in a special communique.
 Last Escape Route
 The last escape route for the Japanese who abandoned great quantities of stores in their flight after holding out against an Ameri- can drive for 35 days, was severed by the Tanks on the extreme right who swung othe western shore 600 yards above Gurasi.
 Other units using tanks slashed across the eastern half of Koken- golo Hill, few hundred yards north of the airstrip, and moved along the southern, or shore side of the field to hem in the Japanese, who reportedly had succeeded in evacu- ating some troops several days ago.
 There was no estimate of the must be mopped up on Munda and must bemopped up on Munda and at Bairoko harbor, 10 miles north of Munda where another force Is surrounded.
 A delayed dispatch from Frank Hewlett, United Press correspondent on New Georgia, described the at- tack Wednesday that took Bi- bolo Hill, north of tn eastern end of the airfield. and said the enemy's withdrawal was anything but or derly." Dead and wounded were left behind, along with big stores of rice, canned fish and such deli- cacies as crab meat and pickled plums. The Americans found hun- dreds of thousands of Japanese cigaretS.
 Slow Work
 MacArthur's headquarters com munique indicated it would be some little time before New Georgia is cleaned out. The process of de- struction was advancing slowly, it said. The communique said that lifht naval forces had sunk two barges and a small enemy vessel off Munda. These appeared to be the ones reported previous from Munda by George Jones, United Press cor respondent, as being possible escape craft.
 On the New Guinea end of the southern Pacific offensive, Australia forces repulsed three straight Jap anese counter attacks at Old Wick CTS Ridge, in the Bobdubi area near the enemy's Calamaua coast base, pushing the enemy back after break ing his charges in sharp fighting. The Aussies clamped hold on the dominating ridge with the third day of fighting on Thursday.
 Mitchell bomoers. raiding in the Madang area on the New Guinea northeast coast. destroyed two Jap- anese barges and shot up some 20 others yesterday. Other Mitchells set fires and explosions at Lautem. or T1mor, and Lberator bombed and strafed a cargo vessel in the Bismarck Sea.
 In the Solomons sector, Mitchells escorted by fighters attacked barges near Gizo. off Kolombangara north- west of New Georgia and Lberators hit at enemy installations in Re- kata Bay on Santa Isabel Island.
 tThe following dispatch was written by George Jones, United Press Stan Correspondent, the day before American jungle troops on New Georgia Island reached the important Munda airfield.)
 With the American Forces outside Munda Airfield, Aug. 2.-Delayed -(UP)-American flame throwers. hurling streams of fire on Japanese pillboxes inaccessible to artillery and tanks, have hastened the advance Ae~y~A ~A~-A- .A-A.AA anA saanak