the 40 m.m.

the 40 m.m. guns of an Allied warship pour shells into Japanese beach positions at Hollandia preparing the way for the assault. Members of the crew( top, right) watch the effects of the bombardment. On Saturday April 22nd, in a surprise assault on the Humboldt Bay area in Dutch New Guina, Allied forces of the South-West Pacific Zone scored a rapid victory in the capture of the town of Hollandia and the occupation of the region. As the force converged on Hollandia and Aitapa, aircraft carriers kept watch far out at sea to intercept any enemy naval attempt at interference, their aircraft also sharing in the straffing of Japanese beach positions strafing followed by a concentrated sea bombardment which softened up the defences before the arrival of troops in landing craft. General MacArthur supervised attack from deck of a cruiser and visited beaches. Within three days all three airfields in the area had been captured and were in use by allied air-craft; many prisoners of war were freed.