The Japs relinquished another position last week, though not without a fight. After 52 days of stubborn resistance they gave up Bairoko, their last holding on the island of New Georgia.
Some of them tried to escape in barges across Kula Gulf to Vila on Kolombangara Island. PT boats operating in the dark gulf took a heavy toll. The original Jap garrison at Bairoko was estimated at 400 men, probably increased later by troops retreating from Munda, twelve miles south.
In & around Vila this week an unknown number of Japs uneasily awaited the next step. U.S. artillery and aircraft menaced them...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
