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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0163.PDF
JANUARY 25TH, 1945 F II G HT [WAR IN THE AIR afield and their carrier aircraft havevisited Indo-China, Hong Kong, Swatow, and Amoy. The seaplanebase at Tokyo has also suffered. That reminds us that the R.N.A.S. .(which,of course, had become part of the R.A.F.) sent a mission to Japan soonafter the last war, headed by Col. the Master of Sempill (now Lord Sempill),to organise the Fleet Air Arm. Undisturbed by enemy air efforts,Gen. MacArthur's men are able to push ahead, primed with knowledge ofwhere the enemy is and what he is doing; while their own aircraft areable to give them tactical support when the enemy is encountered. Thatmust immensely simplify the task of the ground troops and the staff whichdirects their movements. Luzon, in fact, sounds like a General's paradise.However, everyone must feel anxious to whether Gen. MacArthur's fore-cast will be verified, namely, that the final battle which would settle the fateof Manila and the Philippines would be fought on the central plain. TheJapanese may not be so obliging. They are reported to be retiring to-wards the mountains—but that sort of movement will not enable them tohold Luzon and eject the Americans. The Russian Steamroller TN the early stages of the first worldwar, the Western Allies commonly spoke of "the Russian steamroller."That was before the battle of Tan- nenberg, where Hindenburg smashedthe main Army of the Tsar and set free East Prussia. None the less, theRussian advance had done a great service to France and Britain byholding such a strong German force in the East, and so contributed to the FROM ITALIAN BASES : Liberators of the U.S. 15th A.F. bombing the rail-way yards at Salzburg in Austria. Smoke from the bombs is mingled with that from smudge pots used by the Germans to veil the target. victory of the Marne. Now theSoviet forces have wiped out that defeat, and have once more occupiedthe town of Tannenberg. The recent advance of the Russianarmies is staggering in its immensity. Hungary has submitted, and itsinterim Government has declared war on Germany, as the other Satel-lite countries had already done. The Russian Generals who have shared inthis advance have covered them- selves with even more glory. MarshalZhukov (once the defender of Mos- cow) is perhaps the most hrilliantthem, and he his ai / " f / k J *** ON THE ARAKAN FRONT Air Marsha) Sir A. Guy Garrod, K.C.B., O.B.E.,M.C., D.F.C., Deputy Air C.-in-C, S.E.A.C, chatting to Sqn. Ldr. Hayes during a visit to fighter squadrons in Burma recently active over the Lodz mar- shalling yards, and since then they have destroyed bridges over two rivers behind the routed Germans; besides making violent attacks on retreating German columns. The Alsace Battle TF only the weather would give-*- similar opportunities to the British and Americans, the fighting in theWest might soon assume a new aspect. As it is, reports say thatnstedt has been profiting by the owstorms to withdraw his besttroops and armour from the Ardennes and send them south, to join in theoffensive round Strasbourg. The American 7th Army in that area hashad a hard time; but the spirited offensive launched by the French 1stArmy under Gen. de Lattre de Tassigny against the '' pocket'' roundColmar began well. There has been little mention of air activity on thatsouthern section of the West Front, at least since the Allies got beyondthe range of the carrier-borne aircraft which covered their landing. In the Far -East, however, theweather is now ideal for flying, and when the British-Indian force landedon Ramree Island, to the south of Akyab, bombers were able to playtheir part in softening the defences. Warships of the British, Australian,and Indian Navies shelled the de- fences, and then Liberators flew overat a low altitude and bombed them. This was the first time in the Burmacampaign that Liberators had in- dulged in low-ievel bombing. Ramreecan be made into a very useful air base after some necessary clearingand reconstruction work has been carried out.
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