Evening star., 1945-01-07
S3 Jap Ships Struck,
331 Planes Battered
In 7 Days Of Action
By the Associated Press.

PACIFIC FLEET HEADQUAR-
TIERS, Jan. GA two-day bag of
Ill Japanese planes destroyed and
22o damaged and Is ships sunk and
81 damaged in carrier plane as
saults on Formosa and Okinawa,
three naval bombardments extend
ing to within 615 miles of Tokyo
and a new island invasion In the
Western Carolines were reported
today by the Navy.
The warships shelled Two Jima
IN the Volcano Islands and Chichi
and Haha in the Bonins.
The carrier planes, in addition to
air and shipping damage, spread
havoc among railway shipping
stock, fuel, ammunition and COM
munications on Formosa.
Two Communiques Issued.
Admiral Chester w. Nimitz issued
two communicates today, an unusual
procedure at his headquarters, en-
phasizing the accelerated Pacific
action.
The second communique disclosed
the bombardment of Two and the
latest in a series of invasion in the
Western Carolines which have by
passed Japan's once formidable
fortress Of Truk.
1t also reported the 29th straight
day of air raids on Two, one of the
enemy bases which has been send
ing planes against the Super Fort
ress airf1elds on Saipan.
The communique followed another
today which reported the shellings
of Haha and Chichi.
Every Major Base Hit.
These fast-breaking developments,
which the enemy radio repeatedly
claims is protecting mmmoth inva-
sion conveys of Gen. Macarthur
moving on Luzon Island in the Phil
ippines, were spread over four days
beginning with carrier plane as
saults Tuesday against Formosa and
Okinawa.
The blows fell on every important
Japanese base between the Philip
pines, daily being pounded by Gen.
MacArthur's land-based aircraft,
and Japan itself, undergoing B-29
attacks. Rembert James, Associated
Press war correspondent, disclosed
from a Sd Fleet flagship that it even
included a 500-mile sweep of the
China coasts
Pieced together from today's COM
munique, here is the war picture:
On January 2 Omitted States
date, Army infantry units occupied
Fais Island east of Ulithi in the
Western Carolines against slight
resistance. Ulithi and Ngesus are
other islands in the area held by
American forces.
FOrmosa Attacked.
The same day, hundreds of
Marine and Navy planes from air.
craft carriers of Vice Admiral John
S. McCain's task force opened a
two-day naturalization of Formosa.
80 miles off the China coast, and
Okinawa, main island in the
Ryukyu chain, a little over 300
miles from Japan.
Admiral Nimitz communioue
said II planes were lost in the
Formosa-O Okinawa attacks.
On January 4, American Warships
turned their guns on Two, shelling
airStrip installations and coastal
defenses. That same day, Army
Llberator bombers raided Two.
On January 5, warships ranged
even closer to Tokyo to pound
Chichi and Haha. Chichi is 615
miles from Tokyo. The naval bonn
bardment was concentrated on har-
Dor facilities. An enemy cargo ship
was sunk.
Japs Captured.
The landing on Fais constituted
third encroachment on the area
of zap, ITO miles to the west, an
island which has served the enemy
as weather station. Eight Jap
anese were killed on Fais and six
captured. Three Yanks were killed
and six wounded.
Today's second communique ex-
panded the picture of destruction
wrought at Formosa, Japan's REIN
forcement base for menaced gar
risons in the Philippines.
On Formosa, ground installations
were hard hit. The Marine and
Navy flyers destroyed IL locomo-
tives, four tank cars, several trucks
and freight cars, wiped out a rail-
way bridge over the Tamsui River,
erased the railroad station at
Okayama and blew up buildings,
warehouses, fuel and ammunition
dumps all over the island.
Destroyer Damaged.
Among the So damaged were a
destroyer, four destroyer escorts
and two large cargo ships.
The ships bombardment of Two
was return engagement. They
had pounded it three times in De-
cember.
In the January attack the she'll
ing started numerous fires. Enemy
shore batteries replied to the war
ships weakly but there was no
communique reference to any war
ship damage.
The first Nimitz communique re-
ported plane bag at Formosa and
OkinaWa which was not changed
by the second communique But the
first communicates total of 95 ships
sun kor damaged was revised down.
ward by the later report.
The communique omitted refer
ence to the first American probing
of China skies from Navy carriers,
apparently because no material at
tack targets were reported by pilots,
but Correspondent James said
American naval fliers explored 500
miles of China coast from Foochow
southwark almost to Hong Kong,
with green pastures and rice fields
of the mainland beneath them.
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