Evening star., 1943-07-07
Pacific
Continued From First Page.)

tive on land and in the air. AS
well as on the sea. Mopping up
of japanese resistance by ground
troops was said to be still in prog
ress on Rendova Island and
Southern New Georgia.
1.-THE Japs have taken another
damned good licking" Secretary
of the Navy Knox told cheering
shipyard workers at Bremerton,
Wash, yesterday
Rendova Reinforced.
The communique also bore the as
suring news that American forces
on Rendova Island, seized at the
/ outset of the new drive in the Gen.
/ tral Solomons June 30, now have
been reinforced and that frantic eff
forts of the Japanese air force 10
! checkmate the offensive by fresh
raids on Australia. New Guinea and
American Solomons holdings have
been broken up.
! Defeat of the japanese naval
/ forces left imperiled the most i'm
mediate objective of the Solomons
| operations-the enemy air base OF
Munda on New Georgia.
Above it, Bairoko anchorage. main
source OF supply. had been battered
by shells of American warships in a
bombardment from the Kula Gull
the night before the naval ba ctle
The United States destroyer Strong
was lost during that action.
Below 1t, the reinforced Ameri-
can garrison on Rendova has been
shelling it from 5 miles away. And
on New Georgia American forces at
Viru Harbor are in a position tc
move overland, having consolidated
positions there.
"A japanese Imperial Head
quarters communioue asserted to-
day that japanese naval forces
sank 'one enemy cruiser" and set
another afire Sunday night in
Kula Gulf and that torpedo boats
the following morning sank three
war vessels.
The communique, broadcast by
the Berlin radio and recorded by
! the Associated Press. made no
mention of japanese losses. The
japanese for the first time ad-
mitted Allied landings on the
island of New Georgia. saying
! troops came ashore there at sew
eral points.
The japanese war bulletin
also asserted that japanese naval
planes shot down 10 planes Mon
! daV over Kula Gulf
Decisive Battle Still to Be Fought.
The fact that Kula Gulf is only Is
miles long and about miles across
at its widest point made it obvious
that the battle was between limited
and comparatively light sea arm
ament.
On Washington. unofficial
comment was that the decisive
naval action of the present often
sive in the South Pacific appar-
entity is still to be fought" with
neither side as yet throwing in its
battleships and aircraft carriers
In air battles over the Solomons
fighting scene. Allied headquarters
reported seven more japanese
planes were shot down, bringing
enemy losses there alone to 164
Eighteen raiders inflicted some
damage yesterday on American po-
sitions at Rendova. but three were
destroyed by ground defenses. The
other four were bagged by planes
over Kula Gulf as they attempted
to break up the bombing of the
beached destroyer.
Twenty seven enemy bomber;
with an escort of 81 Zeros tried e
daylight raid on Darwin, Australia
causing slight damage. Spitfires
manned by Australians and British
pilots downed five bombers and two
Zeros. Seven Spitfires were lost
but three pilots were saved ane
three others were seen to bail out.
Japs Raid NAUSEA Bay Area.
Fifteen japanese planes raidee
the NAUSEA Bay area. IL miles dowl
the coast from Salamaua, New
Guinea. where Americans landed
June 80 in another daylight stab
but the enemy planes failed to in
f1ict either damage or casualties, tn,
communiq0e said.
In still another Japanese aeria
effort nine bombers and four fight
ers went after the Bena Bena area
80 miles northwest of the Salamal
front, where the Allies perhaps pos
sess landing fields known to hav'
been built there before the war
The raid was characterized as in
effective.
The Allied air force also was busy
Flying 500 miles northwest of Oar
win, Allied two-engined bomber
set off explosions at the enem,
airdrome of Penfoei at Koepang
on Dutch Timor. Other Alliec
planes struck at Lac, in the vicinity
of the Salamau fighting, and at en-
emy bases far to the northwest or
Dutch New Guinea.