I FORECAST 1 '* ^ ^ ^ Served By^Leased Wire* t l itttttrtll tH 1 Tvtttt* ASSOCIATED PRESS J ;r -“~ uuuumnu 414 4114144 e^4vi4 »ss=e M —- ' ~~r"————— State and National News j VOl^^0- 121_ ______' _WILMINGTON, N. C., TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1945_ _ ESTABLISHED 186T Third Army Threatens To Trap 80,000 Nazis; Americans Invade Panay, Drive On Iloilo; Yank Carrier PL fies Attack Kobe And Kure - *___---.. ______ Losses Light In 25th Isle Taken By U.S. JJany Sections of Island Already Cleared By Guerrillas MANILA, Tuesday, March 20.— (J,—Fortieth Division infantrymen aider Maj. Gen. Rapp Brush, with Nava! and air support, invaded panay island in the central Philip pines'Sunday and rapidly closed jn on the capital city of Oloilo. The landing, on the southeastern shore, was made with practically no ioss. Gen. Douglas MacArthur said m his communique today, again achieving “complete tacti cal as well as strategic surprise.” This was the 25th Philippine in vasion and the seventh of major importance. me lames went asiiuie at xig bauan. 14 miles west of Iloilo, and immediately drove inland four miles to Cordova and eastward along the coast seven miles to Oton halfway to the capital city. "They are rapidly closing in on the city," MacArthur reported. Many sections of Panay had been well cleared by guerrillas, including parts of the southeast shore where the Yanks poured ashore. One Panay guerrilla leader was Tomas Confesor, new Secre tary of the Interior in the Philip pine Cabinet. He was the former governor of Panay. Associated Press Correspondent Tied Hampson reported Filipinos crowed the beach to welcome the Americans. The invasion was the first direct action to break the Japanese hold in the bypassed central Philip pines. It was designed in part to clear shipping routes which pass ed close to Pariay airfields. Iloilo is the outstanding port of the central Philippines and has an important airfield nearby. The capital has a population of 90,000. A headquarters spokesman said the troops encountered a small enemy force on the road before seizing Cordova. Correspondent Hampson said fil e’s flew at low level over the country behind the beachhead searching for enemy positions they might strafe, but found none. The invasion was not preceded 'ey the usual naval bombardment, although cruisers and destroyers stood by if needed. Rocket ships, too, were ready. The amphibious operation was executed by the 40th Infantry Division, originally the California 'NTn t! <-,v, ^ kiUU n Vrtrlr regiment added. The 40th was in the Luzon campaign in January. Rear Adm. Arthur D. Struble commanded the amphibious move, designed t0 clear the huge archi pelago of Japanese hindering free movement of shipping. The landing beach was 180 miles vest of the original Philippines invasion beach on Leyto, and is 2’0 miles south of Manila. Pansy. bombed frequently by heavy bombers, was an ominous threat to the convoy route to American-held Mindoro and Luzon "Rile Japan still had strength in the Philippines. Ships passed w:#h in siolet of the triangular island. * small-scale operation, oth '■ American troops landed the same day. Sunday, on Malanau island, south of Zamboanga at the southwestern tip of Mindanao. MacArthur announced gains on . Luzon fronts and another heavy *lr ra'd on Baguio, summer capi tal {,f the Philippines and sup posed Philippine headquarters of Japanese Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Tamashita. MacArthur reported that recent topping up operattens in the Zam oaies mountains along Luzon’s nJ‘’,hwest coast resulted in an additional 2,654 Japanese- dead. ne 38th Division has been en gaged in the grim cleanup job in 'e mountain area generally west ^captured Clark Field. /o the east., the 25th and 32nd unions were converging on “aiete Pass, which leads into the '§ Cagayan Valley, against in m eas',u:j opposition. Aircraft lent ct'se support. 0l1 Mindanao, the 41st Division ank'- with tank support, steadily xpanded their positions north of ?on' ‘r*r,