Our Men In Drives On Guadalcanal
Push to East and West With Army Air Support--Foe is Again Hit in Aleutians
By CHARLES HURD
Special to The New York Times

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Washington, Nov. 11 -- The Army and Marine forces on Guadalcanal Island carried out offensive action against the Japanese there both on the east and west on Monday (Solomons date), the Navy reported in a communique issued here today. The communique indicated, by lack of word to the contrary, that the operations proceeded successfully. Army planes based in Alaska destroyed seven Japanese seaplanes and damaged two cargo vessels in the western reaches of the Aleutian Islands, the Navy said.

The Guadalcanal operations were supported by Army planes, which on previous occasions have aided in our new offensive moves by bombing enemy supply dumps and by strafing such enemy forces as could be located in clearings in the jungle.

While supporting the ground attacks the air forces based at Henderson Field, on Guadalcanal, also carried attacks to the enemy at sea and in the air. One group of unidentified American planes attacked five Japanese destroyers to the east of New Georgia Island, but the fliers were unable to observe the results of their attack.

Attack at 27,000 Feet

In another action two Grumman Wildcats attacked a formation of fifteen Zeros at an altitude of 27,000 feet and destroyed one of the Japanese fighter planes. This engagement is unique in that the American planes, heavy types constructed for carrier operation, defeated the Zeros at a height where the Zeros' manoeuvrability should give them the greatest advantage, aside from the numerical superiority they enjoyed in this contest. There have been no previous reports indicating that Grumman Wildcats had entered combat at an altitude of more than five miles. The communique stated that "two Grumman Wildcats dived through a formation of fifteen Zeros at an altitude of 27,000 feet near Guadalcanal."

Today's communique also added four airplanes to totals previously claimed, by noting that in an action announced on Monday our warplanes had destroyed eight float-type Zeros and eight float-type biplanes, instead of five Zeros and seven biplanes, as previously claimed.

In a retrospective announcement, the Navy today also gave credit to Fighting Six, a carrier-based squadron of Navy planes, for frustrating a formidable "Japanese attack on a United States task force on Aug. 24." This attack was previously announced among the actions by which the Japanese first tried to oust the marines, supported by Navy sea and air power, who captured Guadalcanal on Aug. 7.

The squadron was composed of seventeen pilots who flew Grumman Wildcats. The squadron shot down twenty-seven enemy planes, scored another "probable" and reported that a twenty-ninth Japanese airplane flew into the sea.

The squadron lost four airplanes and two pilots. One plane ran out of gasoline and landed in the ocean, from which the pilot was rescued. Another plane was so badly damaged that it had to be junked, but nevertheless its pilot returned it to his carrier.

The missing pilots were named as Ensign C. D. Barnes of Holland, Texas, who scored the first Japanese knocked out in the fight, and Ensign B. W. Reid of New Orleans.

Chinese Batter Fleeing Japanese

Chungking, China, Nov. 11 (Reuter)--Japanese units fleeing along the railway toward Sunkai, north of Canton, were overtaken and suffered heavy casualties, tonight's Chinese communique announced. In Hupeh Province the Japanese are falling back on Shayang with Chinese troops in pursuit, it added.