Pacific News-Review
Notes And Comment On
The Progress Of The War
From May 14 To June 14
May 14; The RAF Bomber Command is keeping up its large-scale attacks on targets in the Runr, and has now bombed targets in Czecho-Slovakia as well, fciea ana air raids are being maintained on Italy, also, from bases in Tunisia.
May 14: The Japanese report that American forces landed on Attu Island, at the western end of the Aleutians, on Wednesday, and that severe fighting is in progress.
May it: While Axis fear of invasion apparently increases, the Allied air forces are keeping up ceaseless air attacks on enemy points in Europe.
May 17: A US Naval communique states briefly that US forces landed on Attu Island last Tuesday, and are engaging Japanese forces. Fighting is said to be “going very satisfactorily” for the Americans, May 18: RAF Lancaster bombers last night blew up two of Germany’s great est dams—the Mohne and the Eder—and flooded the Ruhr and Eder valleys with hundreds of millions tons of water.
This is expected to have the following results; Disorganisation of many hydro electric power stations; flooding and dis location of countless war factories; dis location of western German transport system through canals being deprived of water.
May 18: The Americans expect that their forces will wholly occupy Attu Island (Aleutians) within a few days.
The Japs have accused the Americans of using poison gas—an excuse, it is thought, for the Japs to use poison gas against the Americans.
May 19: With the loss of 299 lives out of a personnel of 363, the Australian hos pital-ship, “Centaur,” 3,000 tons, was tor pedoed off the Queensland coast at 4 a.m. on Friday, May 14. There were no wounded aboard.
May 19; All reports indicate that the floods caused by the blowing up of the Mohne and Eder dams, in Western Ger many, have been a staggering blow to the Axis war industry. Factories, hydro electric stations, railway and road bridges, and whole villages have been swept away.
May 22: Announced in Tokio that Admiral Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Fleet, was killed in air combat in ApriL The report of the cause of Yamamoto's death is not accepted—it is believed that, because of the many failures of the Jap Navy during the past year, he deliber ately sought death in some way. He was Japan’s outstanding naval figure, and his hatred of Britain and America coloured his life and outlook.
May 22: Allied air forces, operating from North African bases, hit a dam In Sardinia and destroyed 113 enemy planes for the loss of one aircraft.
May 24: Disbandment of the Commu nist International (Comintern) “owing to conditions of world war,” has been announced by the executive committee of the organisation, and by the Soviet. This is regarded as one of the most significant political developments of the war. It opens the way for closer relations between the Russian Government and those of Britain and USA. The latter obviously would remain suspicious of the Soviet while one object of the Soviet (as shown by the Comintern’s existence) was to convert world opinion to Communism.
May 24; The Allied air forces are keep ing up a ceaseless air-war in the Con tinent. In the three days to Saturday, the Axis lost 285 aircraft in the Mediter ranean and the Allies only 12.
May 24: Last night, in the biggest air raid of the war, the RAF dropped 2,000 tons of bombs on Dortmund (in the Ruhr) —all within a target area of four square miles. Thirty-eight of our bomb ers are missing.
May 24: British Prime Minister Chur chill is believed to have completed his talks in Washington.
May 27: RAF bombers attacked Dus seldorf in great strength. In the Medi terranean large forces from North Africa and Middle East attacked Sardinia, Sicily, Pantellaria and the west coast of Greece.
May 27: Fighting amid snow and rain, the Americans have advanced in Attu Island (Aleutians).
May 27: Following upon something that is like a propaganda campaign to stop air bombing—started in Germany, Italy and Spain—Mr. Attlee (Deputy Prime Minister) said in the Commons that Britain will not relax bombing until the United Nations have received the unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers.
May 29: The Russian armies com menced a new offensive in the Kuban, where the Germans still hold the im portant Russian naval base of Novores sesk.
May 31: Fighting has ceased on Attu Island (Aleutians). Except for a few remnants, the Japanese have been com pletely wiped out by the Americans, who now hold the whole island.
June 1: Flying Fortresses yesterday raided Wewak, New Guinea, for the sec ond time in three days, in spite of bad flying conditions.
June 1: More than 100 Flying Fort resses blasted Naples yesterday.
June 2: British war casualties in the first three years of war were 514,993, of whom 92,089 were killed. Australian casualties to March, 1943, were 67,191 —of whom 10,253 were killed, 10,721 are pri soners of war, and a large number “miss ing”—believed prisoners of war in Malaya, but not yet officially accounted for.
June 3: Joining the Allied air forces in “softening up” the Italian islands in the Mediterranean, British warships shelled the Italian island fortress of Pantellaria, between Tunisia and Sicily.
June 5: British warships again shelled Pantellaria, while Wellington bombers raided Naples. It has been reported that 137 Allied ships have sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediter ranean.
June 5: There was a revolt in Argen tine yesterday. The revolutionaries are in control of Buenos Aires. Argentine is the only South American republic which has not lined up with the United •Nations. Its president is Fascist, and it is a hot-bed of Axis spies.
June 8: General Arturo Rawson, leader of last week’s revolution in Argentina, has resigned as head of the provisional government. General Pedro Ramirez has been asked to form a new administra tion. The reason for the new split is not clear, but it is clear that the admirals and generals who form the new Govern ment are far from being anti-Axis.
June 9: “Big operations are approach ing,” stated Mr. Churchill, in his first address to the Commons since his return from Washington.
June 9: Rome radio reported the defeat of a landing attempt by Allied forces on the Italian island of Lampedusa (100 miles south-west of Malta). London says that this was merely reconnaissance by a small party.
June 10: Allied naval forces have again
shelled Pantellaria, and air bombardment is practically continuous. Rome says that the garrison has rejected two demands for surrender.
June 11: After a conference with General MacArthur earlier this week, Australian Prime Minister Curtin ex pressed the opinion that Australia is now reasonably safe against an invasion by the Japanese. He expressed Australia’s gratitude to General MacArthur and the American forces generally.
June 11; The Italian garrison on Pan tellaria, about 10,000 men, surrendered to-day, and the island is being occupied by Allied troops. It is expected that Lampedusa also will soon fall.
The reduction of this island fortress by air bombardment only—assisted by naval shelling, but without any attack by ground forces —marks a new and import ant stage in the science and history of war.
June 13: The garrison of Lampedusa (about 3,000 Italians) surrendered yes terday morning —3O hours after the fall of Pantellaria —and the island of Linosa (30 miles north-east of Lampedusa) fol lowed suit early to-day.
June 14: The RAF, after an interrup tion due to bad weather, resumed the night bombing of Germany on an enor mous scale. On Friday night, a great fleet of bombers (of which 48 were lost) blasted Dusseldorf with 2,000 tons of bombs; and on Saturday night, our bombers (24 of which were lost) attacked Bochum (coal, iron and steel centre, 10 miles east of Essen). Colossal damage was done in both raids.