Evening star., 1945-01-11
Macarthur Forces
Expand Beuchheud
To u Miles \
MAP on Page A-3.)
BY the Associated Press.

QUARTERS, Luzon, Jan. IL
Manila bound American infan-
,trymen today stretched their
beachhead over % miles of Lin
gayen Gulf and drove inland
from four key towns toward i'm
pending major battles with Jap
anese reinforcements struggling
north over bomb-cut roads.
Only damaging opposition came
at sea, where night-attacking Jap
anese planes and torpedo boats hit
several ships in a convoy bringing
up 14th Army Corps reinforcements.
On land the Yanks seized 90
towns and villages, captured Lin
gayen airfield and pushed their ad-
vanced spearheads to a little more
than 100 miles north of Manila
Nowhere was serious resistance re-
ported.
Average Advance of Miles.
Gen. MacArthur's Thursday COM
munique announced, the doughboys
overran the towns of San Fabian,
Lingayen. Mangaldan and Dagupan
IN the first "a hours and pressed
inland for an average advance of
4 miles. Patrols were well ahead
of this average penetration.
A field dispatch from Fred Hamp-
son, Associated Press war CORES
pondent, disclosed that units of the
14th Corps pushing west along the
coast from Lingayen, were within
2 miles of Port Sual. This broad
ened the base of the American drive
to cover % miles of the Southern
Lingayen coastline.
The 7th Fleet continued to pour
troops, armament and supplies onto
the beaehhead while Gen. Tomoyuki
Yamashita pulled his scattered ia
panese divisions together. as Gen.
Macarthur did in l941 in his con-
verging withdrawal to Bataan Penin-
sula
More Equipment Unl0aded.
Unloading operations went ahead
without interruption despite human
torpedo attacks on invading yes
sells, ineffective night aerial sorties.
Fifty-thousand tons of guns, tanks,
munitions, engineering and aviation
equipment was unloaded the first
day, with four times that amount
scheduled to be laid down by to-
night.
American artillery-spotting planes
began using the 7,000-foot long Lin
gayen air field yesterday. Associated
Press Correspondent Spencer Davis
found number of old and wrecked
transports and fighter
planes on the field.
Only the prompt withdrawal of
the japanese garrison from Lingayen
Gulf saved it from early destruction,
for in no place on the invasion Sec
tor did Gen. Yamashita have suffi-
cient power to withstand the blow
struck by sea, air and land power
January 9.
Correspondent Hampson reported
troops from the Lingayen sector
pressed about miles inland, in ad-
dition to expanding their holding
on the shore
(The westward advance to
within miles of Port Sual
would put the 14th Corps across
the mouth of the winding Agno
River)
Villages Overrun.
Mr.. Hampson said the 14th Corps
had overrun about 20 towns and vii
lagos, including Lingayen, capital of
Pangasinan Province.
He said reconstruction of bridges
to facilitate the drive toward Manila
already is under way. The enemy
appears to have pulled well back to
inland bases.
While scores of thousands of
American 9Th Army troops and hun
dreds of thousands of deadweight
tons of equipment continued to land,
Gen. Yamashita essayed a frantic
about-face of his warriors defending
Manila.
At some point on the Central Lu-
zon plains between the opposing
forces, the biggest tank and ground
battle of the Pacific war soon may be
waged.
Gen. Yarnashita obviously was de-
coyed into massing his strength be-
tween Manila and Batangas by the
Yank invasions of Mindoro and
Martinique Islands.
He is now feverishly bringing up
troops from his prepared positions
in the SOUTH" Gen. Macarthur
said.
Overwhelming American air power
lashed out in continuous night and
day attacks. In contrast, headquar-
tarS cold Moxaax,ax, cir