Tokyo reports –
U.S. warships shell Corregidor
Landing on island in bay expected
By the United Press
U.S. warships have been bombarding the fortress island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay for two days, Radio Tokyo said today.
The enemy report followed speculation from Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters on Luzon that a landing on the island was expected soon to unlock Manila Bay to American shipping.
Tokyo suggested that the bombardment might be the prelude to an American attempt to force the strait north of Corregidor, though it seemed unlikely that U.S. ships would enter Manila Bay while the island remained in Jap hands.
The Tokyo broadcast said Corregidor was under attack by U.S. naval guns yesterday and had also suffered a “violent bombardment” Monday.
The broadcast said:
This is understood as an indication of the enemy’s design to reach Manila by going through the strait north of Corregidor via the water route.
The island had been under air attack for nearly two weeks.
It was at Corregidor that the original American garrison of the Philippines made its last organized stand in 1942. The island fell to the Japs May 6, 1942.