Show 1 Japs Admit Danger Of U.S. Dutch I I Air Air and Sea Attack Battle Draws Draw s Clo Closer er to Nipponese Allies Count 20 Axis Ships Sunk Hong Kong Defenders Quit Kowloon By Associated Press Japanese officials took worried cognizance Monday of an allied aerial and submarine counteroffensive which has taken a toll of uncounted thousands of Japanese troops en route to Oriental battlegrounds A joint navy army-navy warned the Japanese people against the lurking danger of or enemy submarines off Japans Japan's island coasts and urged them to prepare for a protracted war wherein hostile submarines and aircraft bombing will play playa a role Thus far between them the United States air force and the Dutch submarine fleet operating over and under the China sea have sunk eight troop-laden troop vessels vessels vessels ves ves- sels headed for Philippine and Malayan Malayan Malayan Ma Ma- landings along with two supply ships and the air force is credited with damaging five additional additional additional addi addi- transports Formosa Japanese island off the southeast China coast was alarmed Saturday night when 12 planes apparently on reconnaissance reconnaissance reconnaissance sance were sighted off Takao The Japanese statement indicated ed that the war on the sea and inthe inthe in inthe the air was drawing closer to the island empire The struggle in the Philippines w was S resolved Monday into a contest contest contest con con- test for air supremacy and the British acknowledged that the Japanese had gained ground in the Kedah ar area a of northern Malaya where confused warfare has taken root in the juu jungle e fastnesses fast fast- ig N nesses Hong Kong British crown colony colony colony col col- col- col ony on the south China coast and No 2 naval base in the Far East appeared to be the point of greatest greatest greatest great great- est pressure of Japans Japan's greater east Asia offensive The British acknowledged a withdrawal from Kowloon a city of the colony which permitted the to advance to within rifle shot of the island of Hong Kong just off the Kowloon penin penin- penin- penin sula Unless this was the forerunner of complete abandonment of Hong Kong it represented a strategy of permitting the Japanese to plunge into the extremity of the Kowloon peninsula in the hope that free Chinese armies operating at their rear would cut them off London's announcement said that the withdrawal was progressing progressing progressing pro gressing according to plan The Japanese declared that Brit- Brit d on Pane Pace Three Column One Japanese apan se Admit Pinch pI Of Allies Allies' Blockade 1 R I Continued from Page One ish Si defenses on Hong Kong island were W were re breaking up under the hammering ham ham- mering ering ring of short range artillery fire and incessant aerial bombardment bombardi bombard- bombard ment- ment l i ent nt Japanese news ag agency ncy broadcast that the fall of stronghold the the was only a matter of off days Japanese siege guns were said to have knocked out the principal d defense batteries in all day hell ing big Sunday and Monday they were I turning their fire on defense works al along ng the eastern end of the Island t At t the Japanese rear the Chinese Chinese Chinese Chi Chi- nese were on a diversion offensive said its men had forced th the enemy from some positions outside Canton northwest of Hong Kong gong ng and that a fierce Chinese assault was in full swing in the theT T area north of the BritIsh British British Brit Brit- ish colony ms Japs Checked on Land The The afternoon from fromM M Manila nila indicating that the Japan Japa Japa- Japanese n nese ese were checked in the land operations operations op op- f at three points point on the I main m in island of Luzon said that enemy nemy activities throughout the thed d day were confined entirely to the theair air r t At t Manila Japanese bombs fell again at midday on the Nichols field area The he British said that empire forces protecting British Malaya a and d Singapore from Japanese drives based in Thailand had made slight withdrawal amid very very heavy fighting Singapore Brit Brit- Britain's ain's ains No 1 naval base in the Far FarE E East st lies at the opposite or southern southern south south- ti ern ern i end of Malaya iThe The British were confronted with another Japanese invasion of empire pire territory on the Kra isthmus isthmus isthmus mus mus neck of the Malayan peninsula peninsula peninsula penin penin- sula where British Burma shares narrow a stretch of land with Thailand The Japanese were said t to have crossed into Burma from it landing a landing on the eastern side of the isthmus Britain now regards Thailand as enemy occupied territory with all aU ill the consequences which follow fol fol- low lowThe low The The Japanese acknowledged no ease slow down of their Pacific-Asiatic Pacific I drive But other axis partners Germany Germany Germany Ger Ger- many and Italy contributed little positive data to the war reports except a Berlin acknowledgment that the Russians still were attacking attacking attacking at at- tacking on the eastern front and anda a Rome admission that two light cruisers had been sunk in the Mediterranean The Italians said however that two British cruisers had been hit with torpedoes and anda a Dutch destroyer sunk Both Germany and Italy reported report report- ed an unbroken resistance to the British offensive in Libya The British admiralty announced that one of f its submarines penetrated penetrated penetrated pene pene- the harbor of Candia Ger Ger- occupied man-occupied Crete and sank an axis supply ship and a salvage tug and that elsewhere in the Mediterranean a ton Italian vessel apparently a troop transport transport transport trans trans- port and four smaller vessels were destroyed Sink 20 0 1 Vessels Counting these a German supply supply sup sup- i ply ship sunk Sunday off the Norwegian Norwegian Norwegian Nor Nor- coast and transports or supply ships destroyed last week in far eastern waters the Americans Americans Amer Amer- jeans British and Dutch appeared to have run up a world the week one-week toll of about 20 vessels not counting warships Earlier the U. U S. S command at Manila said that army bombers severely damaged two Japanese transports Sunday in the area around Legaspi in southeastern Luzon miles from Manila where the army earlier said the Japanese had made a a. small and then unopposed landing I That brought to 15 the total of Japanese vessels excluding warships warships warships war war- ships reported sunk or damaged in the Far East since the Japanese Japanese Japa Japa- nese began their southward push nine days ago A U. U S S. S army review of the first weeks week's fighting said that four transports were sunk and three others were badly damaged by army bombers off northern Luzon Added to that total were four Japanese troopships laden with men a supply ship and an oil tanker which the Netherlands government government government gov gov- reported sunk by its navy off Malaya I |