Evening star., 1944-10-21
Fall of Two AirfieIds on Leyte
Imminent as Yonks Drive On;
Last Aochen Defenders Give UD
Jups Fail to Muster
Lorge-ScoIe Blow
At Any Point
BY the Associated Press

~ the ASSoclated Press.
GEN. MacARTHUR'S HEAD
QUARTERS, Philippines, Oct
21.-The fall of two Japanese
airf1elds appeared imminent to-
day as well-supplied troops OF
Gen. Douglas Macarthur, backed
by overwhelming naval and air
might, drove inland in all the
eastern sectors of Leyte Island
in the Central Philippines on the
second day of invasion.
The 6,000-foot bomber field at
Tacloban on the northeast was ap-
preached by one force. To the south
another force which advanced at
such speed that Al Dopking, Asso-
ciated Press war correspondent, said
1t was difficult to keep up with the
men, was on the outskirts of an air.
field near Dulag.
Japan's 18th Division, remembered
for its torture of the Americans and
Filipinos who surrendered at Ba-
taan, had succeeded nowhere in
mastering large-scale counter
attack.
(NBC in New. York said today
the Tokyo radio broadcast a re-
port that the invasion of Leyte
had cost the Americans six air.
craft carriers and six battleships.
(The enemy declaration was
entirely unconfrmed. Dispatches
from the scene told of a torpedo
hit one one vessel and light dam
age to some landing craft.)
Pending the seizure and utiliza-
ton of land airbases, American
planes from escort carriers swooped
as flying artillery on the estimated
10000 defenders of Leyte, blowing
up pillboXes and attacking motor
conveys.
Two Jap Night Raids.
The enemy air force, operating
from the few fields in the Philip
pines which could be momentarily
repaired between carrier plane at
tacks, managed two scattered night
raids against small units of the 600
ship convoy which carried the
United States 9Th Army and Cen
trail Pacific units to the invasion.
A communiQue today acknowl-
edged torpedo hit on one vessel of
undesignated size.
The ground forces, under immedi-
ate command of 1t. Gen. Walter
Kruger, apparently encountered
their most tenacious opposition just
below Cancabato Bay, at Palo.
There Correspondent Fred Hamp-
son saw four of the landing ships
and several smaller craft blown up
by japanese shore guns and NOR
tars.
Consolidating Positions.
For several hours it was touch and
&C. with the Yanks jumping hip
deep into the water and sloshing
ashore through hail of machine
gun bullets, while shells of the foe
sent up geysers of water.
Our ground forces are consolidat-
ing their beachhead positions and
driving inland on all sectors" read
today's communique which Gen.
Macarthur issued shortly after he
had stood in a truck, drenched by
rain, before hand microphone and
urged the Filipinos to rise and strike
blows to speed their hour of de-
liverance.
Food and supplies have been
landed on schedule against light op-
position
Our ground casualties in the pre-
liminary operation have been ex-
ceedingly light" the communique
said.
Gen. Macarthur, whose losing
fight in 1912 was waged with a
courageous but inadequately sup
piled garrison, brought back to the
Philippines the greatest mass of
men, planes, warships and tanks
ever assembled in the Pacific.
600 Ships in Convoy.
Correspondent Murlin Spencer
said the 600-ship convoy carried at
least as many as, and perhaps more
than, the number of men landed on
D day in Normandy.
Qnasmuch as Prime Minister
Churchill has disclosed that
(See PHILIPPINES, Page A-2.)