Evening Star Newspaper, January 31, 1942, Page 6

A—4 waw Singapore Defense System Revised in Last Eight Weeks Setup Originally Was Planned to Withstand Attacks by Sea By the Associated Press. The hour of test of one of the mightiest strongholds in the world struck today with the start of the battle of Singapore, marshy little tree-covered island at the southern tip of Malaya where some $400,- 000,000 has gone to create a south- east Asian Gibraltar. Manning its hidden guns and massed at its beachheads is a grim defense force of undisclosed size— English infantry, Scottish High- landers, Australians, Sikhs, Gurk- has, Malayan militia and Moslem rifiemen, toughened in the eight- week delaying fight in the jungles of Malaya. Surging into the assault are-the eampaign-hardened little warriors of the rising sun who won Malaya and thus opened a land route for virtually unimpeded reinforcement and air support from nearby bases. The chief advantages for the de- fenders are their consolidated posi- tion, the mighty armament of the island, and the mile-wide water barrier of the Strait of Johore, mined and swept by the guns of camouflaged artillery batteries and eoncrete machinegun pill boxes. Potential Dangers to Island. ‘The greatest potential dangers to the defense are Japan's supenority‘ in manpower and probably in air | strength, the weakness of the de- fense system to landward attack from the north, and the problem of food supply on an island never able to provide enough for its nor- | have been built and little air bases | prepared in the rubber plantation country as auxiliaries to the prin- cipal air fields, already the targets of repeated air raids. The big R. A. F. base on the east bank of the Seletar River directly | across the strait from Japanese- | seized lower Johore is especially | vulnerable to attack. Farther from | the Japanese guns is the civil air- port of the city of Singapore, on a southeastern bay of the island. Plane Reinforcements. | On guard and on attack from | these and the hidden bases are| newly-arrived British Hurricane | fighters bolstering the previous | strength of Blenheims, Australian | Wirraways, and American-made | Hudson bombers and Brewster Buf- | falos. | Inland, fast patrols and mobile artillery units have been organized to meet parachutist landings if the Japanese find themselves unable to cross the Strait of Johore and try aerial invasion of the 27-mile-long, 14-mile-wide island. In the hilly central section of the island huge stores of munitiops, and fuel have been reported laid in deep underground. Water from a vast catchment area in the low hills flows into two large, | closely-guarded reservoirs presumed | ample for the needs of the island’s | residents, the refugees from Malaya and the defense forces. Problem of Food Supply. Food supply constitutes a problem apart. Even in normal times, Singa- pore has had to import most of its food. Attacked from the north, however, the island's lanes of supply have not been cut. It is across the narrow Strait of Malacca from Dutch Su- matra and only 520 miles by sea from Batavia, capital of the Nether- lands Indies and on the island of Java where the Allied Southwest Pacific Command has headquarters ‘With this road of supply and rein- forcement open, the island strong- hold, ceded to the British in 1819 by the Sultan of Johore, becomes mal population of over 700,000. | For eight weeks the British have | had some opportunity to revise the | defense system, lald out originally with the idea of standing off attack by sea. Guns have been moved, new lines of pillboxes placed, and a zone of action cleared a mile deep along the whole northern coast where | once the $150,000,000 naval base and | dockyards were deemed secure. | Presumably, too, hidden hnngnrs‘ into dock for repairs to its keel. from the bottom of the Tahoe. superstructure break the water collision. OAKLAND, CALIF.—GARBAGE TUB CLAIMS A SUB—The skipper of this garbage boat, the Tahoe, said he believed he had run down and sunk a Japanese submarine off the Golden Gate. The story was revealed when he brought his slow-moving cratt saw what appeared to be a periscope and part of a submarine THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGT(N, D, C, SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1942, | A strip 80 feet long was torn Members of the crew said they dead ahead just prior to the —Wides World Photo. :bnunu will probably come to tf | Cross is working on plans to send aj Man News of Prisoners | |Diplomas Presented Captured in Pacific |To More Than 150 Promised by Japan (At McKinley High Information on InfernJ Charles D. Drayton, Non-Combatants Also‘t Member of Board, May Be Provided | Presides at Exercises | With Charles D. Drayton, mem- ber of the Board of Education, pre- siding, more than 130 students of McKinley High School yesterday re- ceived diplomas at February gradu- ation exercises there. Graduates are: News about the welfare of icans taken prisoner by the anese from Wake, Guam, the P! pines and other points in the may soon be available to their tives in this country, NormanH. Davis, chairman of the Ameri Red Cross, said today in announcig | B he has been officially notified tht Japan has agreed to an exchal of information regarding prison of war. - \ ‘The Japanese government also hi signified its readiness to exchan; information concerning muma non-combatants “as far as possible| he said. c Vagnoni. Wettig, Christian J. Witherow, D. W. Zarin, Burton A. Armstrone. H. P Ashiin, John Davies Ballard John C. Boyle. William Edw. rald. R. E. Gribbe, Willlam D. Green, Martin Hayden, James G. Huntress, G. 8, Jr. Jones, Henry H. eI one R As 500n as the American prisone| fawhorn. Allen M. lists are received here the next q| Motes kin will be notified by the Prisonei| of War Bureau of the United Statq Army, Mr. Davis explained. He said the Red Cross is not th agency to which to apply, unless tl next of kin is notified that the m: itary man 1is reported ‘i The Red Cross will then send out <] query trying to trace him throug| &3 the International Red Cross. ! The lists of interned non-com i s6n, e‘zm';“luwn . Redfela. D, H. H. Schum. Staniey J. Sioholm. E. M. J Sterman. Sidney D. W arl H. on, Tommy H. jocchi, E. P, Crowder, Rob, R., jr. Dellastatious. J. W. Dougherty, John J. Eilis, Louis Carl ir. Frank. Mary Eilen Gargano, Prances V. | Gibson, Ann | ‘boril H | Hu | Jone: o | Layton. Dorothy L Loesbers. Gertrude Malas, American Red Cross. In anticipation of consent f¢( shipment of food, some types ( clothing and other comforts on reciprocal basis, the American Re 2 rim ha Etta ar allard. Maude H Blair Virginia Lee Brooks, Laura Lee Bryan, Jean Evelyn Carter. Honore H to American nationals imprisonel Metvary in the Pacific area. d The first move will be to charter one or more ships to carry clothing and prisoner-of-war boxes to Amer- ican prisoners. It is likely that the boats will be sent from Australia, because of its closeness to the war area, when guarantees of safe con- duct are obtained. roube, Johanna M. ylor, Mary E. MacArthur (Continued Prom First Rage.) the Panama Canal, from three-quar- ters of 1 per cent to one-quarter of | 1 per cent from Puget Sound to Cape Spencer, Alaska, and from 13 LATEST JAP LANDING—Arrow forces are still holding out, (3) pleted withdrawal from the Mal points to Amboina, Dutch naval base, where Japanese are re- ported today to have made a landing, (2) Batan Peninsula, where Gen. MacArthur’s American Singapore, where the real siege started after the British com- ay Peninsula. —A. P. Wirephoto. By GEORGE WELLER, Poreign Correspondent of The Btar. SINGAPORE, Jan. 31.—The ’ | “Johnnies” are in Johore. They are | ready to defend Singapore as they | have defended all Malaya from the northerpmost battlefront to where | the Japanese, reinforced by sea and | land, are now attempting to force | a line of invasion southward. ;Gfirkha Wurriors Are Last to Fall Back 'In Guarding British Retreat in Maiaya troduce night as well as day ate tacks. Being the rearguard the Johnnies often had to swim rivers, bridges being blown before they arrived. On two occasions they went without food for three days. When hungry | they depended on the Chinese for | aid, rarely without receiving it. But enemy aircraft never left off | harrying them and a single man ex- Simultaneously, they used streams of machine gun fire from the tanks’ lateral ports. ‘Within the rubber grove there was no cover whatever. It was like shooting rabbits in a cage. The Japs, thinking all must be dead, started to emerge from their tanks. They got a surprise. Crawling from one rubber tree Jap Snipers’ Packs Enarble Them to Subsist Month Alone By CLARK LEE, Assqeiated Press War Correspondent. per cent to '3 per cent between Cape | WITH GEN. MacARTHUR ON | minimum of food and water frn‘ | the countryside. Equipment of this type apparei- Sherwood, Souther, Blanche M. | ipindle. Helen V. ompson, Doris L. ackson. 3 est. Elizabeth K. . Geo. Kirwan. Albert V. Kissinger. C. W. J. Singapore (Continued From First Page.) miles down the rich Malayan Pe- | ‘Who are the Johnnies? The John- | to the next, the Gurkhas and their nies are Gurkhas, partly Mongol by | officers had shared out grenades. origin and the least known heroes Whenever the Japs tried actually to of this heartbreaking battle for the take the grove, they were met by a richest province in British posses- storm of grenades. sion. The Johnnies come from the ness to deploy for the best fire, they high jungles of Nepal north of | had missed the only curving path India.” When the Australians went Which would have enabled them to into action some 12 days ago, they take their tanks into the grove itself. In their eager- | went into the headlines, too. They resumed cannon fire at base- | But nobody has heard much about | ball distance. Shells met, trees blew | posed was never too small game for | a single airplane’s persistent atten- tion. “I wouldn't mind being bombed |and machine-gunned,” said the | colonel, “if they didn't come down | and read my mail and maps over my shoulder.” Staff officers had a miraculous escape. A bomb landed in the offi- MacArthur Uses “Change of Pace.” Spencer and Seward. In the Baton peninsula fighting | Gen. MacArthur has varied his de- fense tactics to meet each different | BATAN PENINSULA, Luzon, Jan.|ly has made Japanese inflltrath ninsula from the Thai border to the | cers’ wing during a tactical con- 27 (Delayed). — Equipment taken | from captured Japanese snipers has | here. | proved surprisingly complete, en- | abling each man to fight independ- ‘ carries: Japanese blow. | ently for two weeks to a month be- In some instances he has broken | | hind enemy lines if he can get a | tactics possible in Malaya as wells A sniper sent on such a | A gas mask. A green combination mosqui~ doors of the great British Far East ! base in less than two months of | fighting in jungles, swamps and | mountains. ‘The British for days past have the Gurkhas for the simple reason | apart, the ground was stabbed by that nobody could get to where they | thousands of machine gun bullets. == More tanks arrived. Some went Beyond impassible rivers and sag- | around the bend, firing steadily, ging, exploded bridges after the last | then continued down the road into | ference, 10 yards from where they | were sitting. While the walls of the | room were blown entirely away the | four officers were absolutely un- | scathed. Three times, at Gurna motor trucks have retreated south- the British rear. But they had met their match. | alone, the headquarters was sur- the enemy spearhead with concen- trated artillery fire. At other times | he has counterattacked directly as soon as the fighting lulled. Aialn.‘ he has hurled his scant forces at one | end of the line in surprise thrusts to | relieve pressure on the other. | After an early strong push on| Japuary 5 which they repulsed with 700 Japanese killed, the American | and Filipino troops felt the shock of the first major attack on January 11, when the Japanese struck the | right flank with tremendous force. Although thrown back with heavy losses during the first day of this battle, the invaders came on again only to see their tanks and armored columns shattered by Gen. Mac-) Arthur’s big guns in a 24-hour ar- | tillery engagement January 14. | The second heavy assault opened against the right flank January 17, but faded out in two day’s fight- ing. The third large-scale attack | was against the center, where the | Japanese struck in force on Janu- | ary 20 only to be thrown back by a counterattack the next day. Without giving the defenders a| | breathing spell, the Japanese | launched a fourth big attack on | | January 22, gradually concentrating |on the left. Gen. MacArthur re- | lieved this pressure by a counter- | attack on the right which stabilized the front on January 25. | Thursday the Japanese sent their | infantry in headlong assaults on the | | right and left flanks, but Gen. Mac- the forward bastion of the Untied | Arthur broke up this fifth assault Nations' stubborn stand across the | with artillery and grimly got set for chain of islands to the south. | the next one. | Japs’ Surrender Note. Anhu;F.—Gordon R“es 1‘ The text of the communique said: | To Be Held This Afternoon | Funeral services for Arthur F. Gordon, 66, Public Roads Adminis- tration senior highway engineer, will be held at 3 o'clock this afternoon | Army forces in the Far East. at the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, with burial in Cedar Hill Cemetery. Mr. Gordon died of a heart attack Thursday at his home, 11 Philadelphia avenue. A native of Terre Haute, Ind., Mr. Gordon received his training as an engineer at the Rose Polytechnic Institute there. He entered Govern- ment service in 1919. Mr. Gordon served as superintendent of the Sun- day School of the Takoma Park Presbyterfan Church for many | years. He also was an elder in the | church and at one time served as treasurer. | Active in civic work, he was a | member of the Takoma Park, Md.- D. C. Citizens’ Association, of the Ta- | koma Park Community League and of the Takoma Horticultural Club. Mr. Gordon was also a member of the American Society of Engineers. Besides his wife, Mrs. Bertha M. Gordon, he is survived by a son. | Capt. James M. Gordon, U. 8. A, of | Dover, Del, and three grand- | children. Delivery of Night Final Edition ‘The Night Final Edition of The Star, with two addi- tional pages of last-minute news, is delivered through- out Washington and nearby suburbs, together with The Sunday Star, at 85c per month. This edition gives the latest developments of the day in International, Na- tional and Local news, with | | complete Financial Reports. 8pecial delivery is made between 6 p.m. and 7:15 pm. daily. | of which has been added the fol- “1. Philippine Theater: “On January 10, 1942, Japanese airplanes dropped leaflets over our lines in the Philippines bearing the following message: “‘To Gen. Douglas MacArthur, | commander-in-chief, United States | “Sir: “‘You are well aware that you are |doomed. The end is near. The | question is how long will you be |able to resist. You have already |cut rations by half. I appreciate | | the fighting spirit of yourself and | your troops who have been fighting with courage. Your prestige and honor have been upheld. Will Continue Drive. “‘Howeyer, in order to avoid need- less bloodshed and to save your 1st, 31st Divisions, and the remnants of other divisions together with your auxiliary troops, you are advised to surrender. In the meantime we shall continue our offensive as I do not wish to give you time for defense. If you decide to comply with our ad- vice send a mission as soon as pos- sible to our front line. We shall then cease firing and negotiate an armistice. Failing that our offen- sive will be continued with inexor- able force which will bring upen you | only disaster. | “‘Hoping your wise counsel will so | prevail that you will save the lives of your troops. I remain, “‘Yours very sincerely, “‘Commander in Chief, the Japa- nese Expeditionary Forces.’ Message Ignored. “Gen. MacArthur and his troops paid no attention to the message. “Enemy alrplanes are now re- distributing this leaflet, on the back lowing message, directed especially to the Filipino troops: ““To the Filipino soldiers: ““The outcome of the present combat has been already decided and you are cornered to the doom. At this time ever generous com- mander-in-chief of Japanese Ex- peditionary Forces in order to avoid further annihilation of your dear lives has presented to your com- mander-in-chief, Gen. MacArthur, a letter as shown on the back page of this leaflet. But, however, being unable to realize the present situa- tion, blinded Gen. MacArthur has stupidly rerusl\(mr proposal and Hitler's Paper, Raising Issue for First Time, Says His Power Is Firm Press Compares Present With Nazis’ Temporary Setbacks in 1932 (Is Hitler’s power in Germany insecure? The following report from his own newspaper, the Voelkiscker Beobachter, says nothing is “able to throw him out of the saddle,” and thereby for the first known time in Ger- many raises the issue publicly.) BY the Associated Pr BERLIN (From German Broad- casts), Jan. 31.—"To be hard is the preliminary condition to victory”— | that is the main theme of headlines in the German press today over| reports of Adolf Hitler’s speech of yesterday. | The Voelkischer Beobachter, Hit- | ler's own paper and chief organ of the National Socialist (Nazi) party, draws a paralle! between the present war and the fight of the National Socialists for power in Germany. It points out that after an ava- lanche-like growth between 1929 and 1931, the advance of the party was | suddenly interrupted by what ap- peared to be a death blow in the | autumn of 1932, while just as un- expectedly for Hitler's enemies, the Nazis a few weeks later achieved final victory. (This apparently is a reference to the sharp setbacks Hitler suf- fered in the election of Novem- ber, 1932, his failure to become chancellor on his own terms, and his subsequent achievement of his demands in January, 1933.) Voelkischer Beobachter stressed its declaration that no man in the| world could claim with as much justification as could Hitler that nothing was able to throw him out of | the saddle. It referred to Hitler's acknowl- edgment in yesterday’s speech of the enormous burden the winter battles in Russia mean to the Ger- | man army, but it said the German | soldiers were holding out and “giving back every blow with fanatic stub- bornness.” The Berliner Boersen Zeitung commented: | “The Fuehrer has not spoken for | | been preparing for siege, clearing a mile-wide strip along the northern | shore facing the State of Johore net-camoufiage hood covering ks A green, corded net to camoufide | ward; beyond the airdromes with | their craterlike holes to occupy Jap engineers; far bevond the point | rounded by enfilading Japs and escaped The Gurkhas serve under a con- The heroic sergeant-major took an 18-pound artillery piece into the | | helmet, head and shoulders. | the rest of his body. A black wire eyescreen to protd | him from sun glare. A coll of rope for miscellaneos | uses, including climbing trees ad tying himself to trunks and branche| to prevent the rifie’s recoil from dis lodging him. A 5-inch-long sack of rice. A small bag of hardtack. A half pound of hard candy. A package of concentrated food. A can of fleld rations. A small can of coffee. Vitamin pills. A can of chlorine to purify wate A mess kit. A canteen. An antidote for mustard gas. Quinine. Stomach pills. Guaze pads. Roll and triangular bandages. Spare socks. Gloves. A toothbrush, A flashlight. The flashlight has vari-color{ lenses, one color apparently intend ed as a sign of recognition, a visul password. A half-dozen spare lenses for ti | eyeholes of the gas mask inclu¢ some usable in zero and sub-zei| weather, possibly indicating that tb | troops either served previously |/ Manchukuo or North China or thi | the equipment originally was intené ed for those northern fronts. | The medical supplies are p«ckenl in a nest of wicker baskets and i the gas mask. and clamping a strict curfew on the | where correspondents can go. were middle of the road and employed it residents of the island. But even as the thunder of battle | oft-bombed 750,000 residents of Sing- apore went about their dally tasks and defense preparations with-the | grim determination to “take it"— |ouslY no matter what the Japanese bomb- | ers may send. (A Tokio broadcast heard in New York by C. B. 8. said the Japanese had “hurdled the last barrier” before Johore Bahru, | | the Gurkhas—holding. delaying sniping, ambushing. saving the UVEI; | rolled toward this stronghold, the ! of retreating comrades. Bombed Incessantly. The Gurkhas have been continu- [ rearguarding down the entire 550 miles of that bloody north-south highway through the Malayan Pen- insula. They have been subjected to | literally incessant bombing and ma- | chine-gunning for more than six like an anti-tank gun “If T can get through the first big | tank, I can stop the others.” he said. | Gurkhas Never Yielded. dition imposed by the Maharajah of Nepal: They always have British, never Indian, officers. Officers are always far forward as proved by the instance when a brigadier, seeing | three Jap motor cyclists, shot one He did, though it cost his life. | himself, his aide de camp shot His captain, with his left arm shot | another. The third Jap cyclist fled. off, a bullet through his right leg, and the ends of three righthand fingers shot away, managed to draw his revolver and killed two Japs. the railroad station across Jo- | hore Strait from Singapore Is- | land, by breaking through Brit- | ish defenses at Kulai, 18 miles | north of the strait. (“From Kulai, Japanese forces are now streaming toward Singa- pore over a wide highway run- | The angered Japs cannonaded the “What we have been through | &FOVe for 90 minutes more on their surpasses Norway, Dunkirk and | return and, though they took the Greece,” said one Brm"'hvomcbe" 10| pelled the surrender of the Gurkhas. your correspondent. “We %80 | * The longest period when the north of Alorstar, December 8, and | o) L6t tHe At et weve hsd,‘G“ khas continuously had Japanese Please remember, our boys are little more than 17 and 18 years old and they've been facing seasoned troops. weeks. River, where they were machine- }gunned and bombed for 30 hours, day and night, without inter- | lives of two officers, they never com- | planes overhead was at the Perak | | The Gurkha youth, in the bomb- ing mentioned above, lost both his | legs. | “Youre a Gurkha, arent you? | How about a smile?” said his officer. | The Gurkha managed one brave smile before he went (Copyright, 1942, Chicago Daily News. Inc.) Man Reports Bridge Stolen | _ SUMMERFIELD, Kans. (#).—W. J. | Bloss didn’t have it insured and he'd |like to get it back. Someone stole the 12-foot bridge across a creek on ning parallel to the railroad lead- ing to the Johore Bahru station,” the radio said.) Six months ago many of them had | | never seen a lorry, & muchmehg‘un 01{' | Yesterday's Battle Line. -:"J:;“&e“;i plece, talsayinci ng d ‘ The battle line yesterday, as Against the young Gurkhas the) drawn in the British Far East com- | Japs turned loose their tanks from | munique yesterday, extended rough- | the beginning. A heavy Jap tank ly from the Pontian Besar area in|was met at Jitra, north of Alorstar— | Western Johore state, 17 miles from | proof conclusive that Thailland was Johore Strait, across mangrove | co.operating as a military base with swamps, jungles and hills through | the Japs long before the hostilities Kulai, in the center, and on across pegan. The technique employed swamps and humid forests and hills nere by the Japs was to send a to the Sedili River area 40 miles peayy tank in advance, with three | lighter tanks following. The large The Pontian area s near a junc- | bulk and heavier armor of the first tion of roads. One highway leads tank was intended to protect the| 17 miles southward to the southern [ others. Here a sergeant major met tip of the Malayan Peninsula, due | the onslaught with an anti-tank west of Singapore. The other runs| gun which put the leader out. The north of Singapore. rupti WH on. The Japs were able to in- 'his farm. AT*’S COMING in eastward to the main road through Johore Bahru, thence across the causeway which links Singapore Is- land and the mainland. Curfew in Effect. Singapore had its first curfew last night, with the streets barred from 9 pm. to 5 a.m. except to persons on active military duty or otherwise authorized to leave home or use the streets. Despite the number of articles the packs are far from bulky. Mot| of the equipment is not very suk1 stantial, testifying to Japan's lac of material. Will Attend Library Tea Temple Bailey, author and play wright; Justice and Mrs. Justi | Miller, and Dr. Fred Taylor wum:i will be among the guests at & t¢| he Japanese lately have in- to be given between 4 and 6 0'cl¢ | greased the ferocity of their aerial this afternoon by the Nationi| aitacks on Singapore, hitting sec- Library for the Blind at 11i|tions of the 24-mile long and 14- Twenty-first street N.W. | mile wide island as well as the city | itself, which lies on the southern | shore of the island. » Enemy planes were active over | Singapore again today, but there | were no immediate reports of bombs falling. | The Ministry of Information said | 12 persons were killed and 116 in- jured in raids Thursday and 90 were killed and 246 injured yesterday. long absut the most urgent prob- lems of war conduct, but what he | has said has been all the more im- | portant, filling listeners with pride | and enthusiasm.” continues futile struggle at the cost of your precious lives. Causing “Much Mirth” “Dear Filipino soldier there are still one way left for you. That is| to give up all your weapons at once | and surrender to the Japanese forces before it is too late, then we shall fully protect you. We repeat the last. Surrender at once and build your new Philippines for and by Filipinos. “‘Commander in chief of the Jap- anese Expeditionary Force. “This message has occasioned much mirth among the Filipino sol- diers, who are continuing their re- sistance with loyalty, courage and resolution. | “2. Hawaii: “The commanding general, Ha- waiian Department, reports that more than half of those wounded in the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, have fully recovered and have returned to duty. The total number wounded was 428. Of those 230 are now back on duty. “3. There 1is nothing to report from other areas.” Successful Withdrawal Reported by London LONDON, Jan. 31 (#.—All indica- tions are that British imperial forces who operated on the north- east section of the now abandoned ! Malayan front have been withdrawn successfully to Singapore Island, a military commentator said today. These forces two days ago were known to have been fighting in the | vicinity of Ulu Sedili, some 40 miles | above Singapore. They were far- | thest removed of the base’s de- | fenders. The commentator said the plain implication of the British Far East command’s communique was that all forces had been withdrawn success- fully across Johore Strait. He refused to give an estimate of the size of the British garrison now concentrated for a last-ditch fight on Singapore Island. Cutting of the Johore Strait cause- way is tantamount to complete de- struction of the 60-foot-wide road- way so far as its use by the Jap- anese is concerned, he said. It was pointed out that rifles and trench mortars as well as heavier guns of all calibers could be em- ployed in the fighting across the UNITED STATES SAVINGS It will cost money to defeal the Axis. Your Governmeni calls on you to help now. Buy Defense bonds or stampf | today. Buy them every day if you can. But buy them o1 a regular basis. | Bonds cost as little as $18.79 stamps come as low as 1 cents. Defense bonds an stamps can be bought at banks and post offices, an stamps can also be purchased at retall stores and from yout newspaper carrier boy. | Support your Oovemmenfi \ with Fur dollars. | Japs later developed a variant c!} | this attack, using a heavy tank | equipped with a cannon but also & mortar. Lobbing shells 300 yards in advance, the mortar was intended to dispose of the anti-tank guns. Most Terrible Encounter. | The most terrbile encounter by the Gurkhas with tanks occurred at the Slim River. The Gurkhas'| British officers, many of whom were | newly arrived from England and un- | able to speak Gurkhali, had estab- | lished headquarters at a point slight- 1y south from the river, where the | embattled north-south highway makes a hairpin loop. Camp was| | pitched in a rubber grove, midway in | | the loop. But Jap observation planes, often | fiying iittle above tree-top level, | were constantly studying their | movements. When the second day passed with nothing more than the | usual intermittent machine-gunning | from overhead, the colonel in charge remarked: “This can't last long. They’ll be coming soon.” He meant that renewed bombing was afoot, but | at that moment somebody heard = rattling sound coming down the| road. » “Must be Bren gun carriers,” said one officer, for the sound was like that of pouring metal which the | Brens make on the road. The noise came nearer, louder and heavier. It | was eight Japanese tanks approach- ing. Their aircraft had told them the location of the British head- uarters. qDeploying themselves along the road in such manner as to prevent any escape, the Japs brought their guns areund to aim through the scattered rubber trees. Their move- ments were leisurely. They even | called out “banzai!” (hurrah) to the trapped Gurkha leaders and took time to hand out the Rising Sun flag. Rubber Grove No Cover. Then they opened fire. It was at pointblank artillery range, about 100 yards, and their shells were 3.5's. Monday—Pierce Hall—5:15 P.M. First Concert of THE PM SERIES “MUSIC SINCE 1600" Wm. Gephart, mu.m.‘" B. Melnik, The New Illl‘l“ll String Quartet. Mgt. National Music League, Inc. UNGLE RAY'S CORNER As an aid to teachers who use Uncle Ray's in- teresting articles in connection with their class- room work, and to let boys and girls know what to expect from this famous writer during the next month, The Star presents herewith a list of the topics to be covered in February. * * * 2—London in Roman Times 3—Early invaders in Britain 4—London’s Great Plague and Great Fire S—After the Great Fire of London 6—Present-day London 7—Letter from a Reader 9—Books of Ancient Rome 10—Books of the Middle Ages 11—Invention of the Printi 12—The Pioneer of English 13—Modern Printing 14—A Saturday Talk 16—Africa’s Tallest Mountains 17—Adventure in Africa 18—Masaii Tribesman 19—0dd Trees of Africa 20—Special Topic 21—A Snowbound Reader 23—A Great Thinker of Greece 24—The Trial of Socrates 25—Last Hours of Socrates 26—A Poetess of Ancient Greece 27—Special Topic 28—Answer to a Question February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February February Press rinte! Every Boy and Girl Should Read UNQLE RAY’S CORNER Daily in The Star