Evening star., 1945-02-15
Reds Close on Berlin From South,
Push Within As Miles Of Dresden;
Corregidor Sea Attack Reported
al u. S. Vessels
Trying to Enter
Boy, Jops Soy
BY the Associated Press.

An American armada appar-
emily is preparing to dash into
Manila Bay between the Japa-
nese. guns on Corregidor and
Bataan for a sea-borne assault
on the Philippines capital, the
Tokyo radio reported today.
Unconfirmed Japanese Dornei news
agency dispatches said 20 American
minesweepers attempted to clear an
entrance to Manila Bay Tuesday
under cover of a heavy naval and
air bombardment.
Domei said Corregidor's remain
ing ?. big guns fought a day-long
duel with batteries Of II American
warships. sank one minesweeper
and prevented the remainder from
sweeping the narrow channel be-
tween Corregidor and Bataan.
Some 10 enemy transports, ap-
parently carrying invasion forces, "
were reported waiting for mines
to be cleared from the waterway.
Civilians Reported Murdered.
Explosions and flames still erupted
in southern Manila where doomed
Japanese soldiers were reported
numbering civilians. Atrocity reports
said the Japanese had bayoneted
babies and civilians whose hands
had been tied.
NBS Correspondent George Fols-
ter said in broadcast from Manila
that for the last II days the Jap
anese have been killing countless
men, women and children. They
have shot them down in the streets
as they fed before the flames," he
reported. They have speared,
bayoneted and hacked them to
death with samurai swords" He
said the Japanese have herded
Filipinos into wooden buildings and
burned them.
Dispatches said Americans are be-
ing forced to fight for each house,
each street corner and each shat
tered remnant of a building. Gen.
Macarthur said I'VE are gradually
COMPRISING the circle on the trap
ped enemy garrison" in the thick
walled Intramuros and adjacent
waterfront section.
Similarly, Yanks on Bataan are
slowly encircling that rugged bat
tleground, Tank-led infantrymen
Of the 18th Corps moved down the
east coast to Abucay, eastern an
ciior Of Gen. MacArthur's first de-
Tense line On BAtaari IN 1sl2, In
closing the upper third OF the Pc
ninsula.
simultaneously with Tokyo's pre-
diction Of an American dash into
Manila Bay, Mai. Gen. Masenori
Ito, one OF Japan's leading military
commentators, discounted the worth
Of Manila. Domei quoted him as
saying 1t was Of mo strategic value"
and should not be defended to the
last man."
Japs See More Heavy Fighting.
Gen. Ito said in effect that Amer
ican conquest of Manila would not
mean defeat for the japanese
because they didn't intend to de-
fend it anyway. He also prepared
his Oriental audience to expect
heavy fighting soon in Northern
Luzon where Gen. Tomoyuki Yama-
shita is believed to have the bulk
of his forces concentrated.
Troops Of Maj. Gen. Robert S.
Beightler's 37th Division, bearing
the brunt of the house-by-h house
onslaught in Manila, yesterday
reached the University of the Phil
ippines campus, half mile from
the high commissioners residence
on the bay front.
The japanese still held the Gen.
eral Hospital nearby, however, and
the American position was unten-
able. The hospital has been con-
verted into one of the enemy's
strongest positions.
Associated Press Correspondent
Fred Hampson said the enemy was
confined to an area about 5000
yards by 1000 yards.
Corregidor Heavily Bombed.
Corregidor took another heavy
bombing as Liberators unloaded lot
tons on coastal batteries, already
pounded virtually into uselessness.
Fighters sweeping the east coast
OF Bataan sank an additional a
supply barges.
Enemy positions in the Zambales
foothills west Of Clark Field were
hit by fighters and divebombers in
support Of 40th Division ground
troops who captured considerable
store OF supplies after infiicting
heavy casualties.
Across the central Luzon plain, pa
trolls OF the 9Th, 25th and 32d Infan-
try Divisions found quantities of
abandoned equipment, including
four tanks, In the Southern Cara
ballo Mountains.
Locomotives and freight cars were
destroyed In effective air sweeps over
Formosa. A reconnaissance plane
shot down an enemy fighter OF the
French Indo-China. coast.
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