Asia-Pacific
152-577: The Admiralty Islands campaign (Operation Brewer) was a series of battles in the New Guinea campaign of World War II in which the United States Army 's 1st Cavalry Division took the Japanese -held Admiralty Islands . Acting on reports from airmen that there were no signs of enemy activity and the islands might have been evacuated, General Douglas MacArthur accelerated his timetable for capturing
304-416: A Japanese attack was expected. Dechaineux escorted them part of the way until he received an order from Admiral Barbey for Ammen , Mullany , Warramunga , and Welles to remain off Los Negros. Ammen and Mullany bombarded Hauwei Island again in the morning, setting off a couple of ammunition dumps, but still came under accurate fire from four or five guns, and Dechaineux was forced to inform Barbey that he
456-485: A Japanese infantry attack was launched, supported by mortar fire. Offshore, Dechaineux' destroyers came under attack from four Betty bombers. 1st Squadron, 5th Cavalry, was attacked by about two reinforced platoons, which were met by heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire. The heavy jungle in this sector permitted some infiltration but the Japanese force was not strong enough to overrun the position. The main Japanese attack
608-403: A Japanese patrol was discovered that had somehow managed to infiltrate the perimeter in broad daylight and penetrate to within 35 yd (32 m) of Chase's command post. A sniper fired on the command post, and fire was directed at the patrol. Major Julio Chiaramonte , S-2 (intelligence officer) of the task force, set out with four men to silence the sniper. As his party closed in, there were
760-638: A Japanese shell fired from Hauwei. With minesweepers scheduled to attempt to enter Seeadler Harbour again on 8 March, Admiral Kinkaid ordered Crutchley to try again. On the afternoon of 7 March, TF74 bombarded Hauwei, Ndrilo, Koruniat, Pityilu and northern Los Negros. Shropshire fired 64 8-inch (203 mm) and 92 4-inch (102 mm) shells, while the American cruisers and destroyers expended 1,144 5-inch (127 mm) and 6-inch (152 mm) shells. The next day, two destroyers, two minesweepers, an LCM (flak) and six LCMs carrying trucks and supplies entered
912-539: A considerable natural anchorage and was ideal for the construction of airfields. Over the next year, the Japanese built up the area into a major air and naval base. The Allies responded with multiple bombing raids on Rabaul as well as action off Bougainville . The Japanese Eighth Area Army , under General Hitoshi Imamura at Rabaul, was responsible for both the New Guinea and Solomon Islands campaigns . The Japanese 18th Army , under Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi ,
1064-451: A crack; machine-gun fire over our heads. Our light landing craft shuddered as the Navy gunners hammered back and answered with the .30 calibers mounted on both sides of the barge. As we made the turn for the beach, something solid plugged into us. "They got one of our guns or something," one GI said. There was a splinter the size of a half-dollar on the pack of the man in front of me. Up front
1216-451: A crucial strategic victory by turning the Japanese landing force back, thereby removing the threat to Port Moresby, at least for the time being. After this failure, the Japanese decided on a longer term, two-pronged assault for their next attempt on Port Moresby. Forward positions would first be established at Milne Bay , located in the forked eastern end of the Papuan peninsula, and at Buna ,
1368-443: A defence in depth. Also, Yamamoto accepted at face value his fliers' over-optimistic reports of damage: they reported a score of one cruiser, two destroyers and 25 transports, as well as 175 Allied planes, a figure that should certainly have aroused some skepticism. Actual Allied losses amounted to one destroyer, one oiler, one corvette, two cargo ships and approximately 25 aircraft. These meager results were not commensurate with either
1520-493: A few minutes before. "That's the best thing to do with them," the General replied. He decided to stay, ordering Chase to hold his position until the follow-up force arrived, then returned to Phoenix . Fechteler's force departed at 17:29, the transports having unloaded and most of the bombardment force having exhausted its ammunition. Bush and Stockton remained to provide on-call naval fire support. Chase pulled his troops back into
1672-556: A hazardous mission to a unit without combat experience, General MacArthur recalled how the 5th Cavalry had fought alongside his father 's troops in the campaign against Geronimo . "They'd fight then," he said, "and they'll fight now." Major General Charles A. Willoughby 's G-2 ( intelligence ) section did not agree with the airmen's assessment the islands were unoccupied. Drawing on Ultra and Allied Intelligence Bureau reports from interrogating local civilians, it reported on 15 February that there were 3,000 Japanese troops in
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#17328547845951824-470: A hole gaped in the middle of the landing ramp and there were no men where there had been four. Our barge headed back toward the destroyer that had carried us to the Admiralties. White splashes of water were plunging through the six-inch gap in the wooden gate. William Siebieda, S 1/c , of Wheeling, West Virginia , ducked from his position at the starboard gun and slammed his hip against the hole to plug it. He
1976-537: A landing at this point and the bulk of their forces were concentrated to defend the beaches of Seeadler Harbour , on the other side of the island. The weather on 29 February 1944 was overcast with a low cloud ceiling that prevented most of the planned air strike. Only three B-24s and nine B-25s found the target. The naval bombardment was therefore extended for another 15 minutes. Each APD lowered four LCPRs (Landing Craft, Personnel, Ramped). Each LCPR carried its maximum load of 37 men, who boarded by climbing over
2128-598: A little more than halfway between Milne Bay and the Buna–Gona area. Wau is a village in the interior of the Papuan Peninsula , approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) southwest of Salamaua. An airfield had been built there during an area gold rush in the 1920s and 1930s. This airfield was of great value to the Australians during the fighting for northeast Papua. Once the Japanese had decided to give up on Guadalcanal ,
2280-534: A mortar round and began taking on water. Meanwhile, the damaged PT had reported what had happened and a bomber was sent to investigate. Flying low, it spotted the men in the water, and another PT boat was sent to the rescue, covered by the destroyer HMAS Arunta . After three hours in the water, the LCVP's survivors were picked up by the PT boat. Eight Americans, including Vaden, had been killed and fifteen wounded, including
2432-440: A new, larger defensive perimeter was prepared. The 40th Naval Construction Battalion had landed expecting to work on Momote airstrip. Instead, they were ordered to use their equipment to clear fields of fire and construct fortifications, and were given a section of the perimeter to defend. Six trenches were dug out by a bulldozer and ten men stationed in each. Their ditch digger scooped out a 300-yard (270 m) trench which formed
2584-599: A reef and troopers had to wade ashore through the surf. Fortunately for them, there was no opposition. The Japanese, hiding in the interior, were eventually located by ANGAU and 30 Japanese were killed and five captured. Patrols continued hunting for Japanese throughout the islands. Increasingly, the cavalry followed up sightings reported by the natives. On Los Negros, the 302nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop killed 48 and captured 15 Japanese during May. On Manus, some 586 Japanese dead were counted and 47 prisoners taken. General Krueger officially declared
2736-641: A result of the failure to stop Allied advances in New Guinea and the Solomons , the Imperial General Headquarters (IGHQ) had decided to constrict Japan's defensive perimeter in the south and central Pacific to a new line stretching from the Banda Sea to the Caroline Islands . The IGHQ charged Imamura with holding his portion of the new line, which included the Admiralties, as long as possible to allow
2888-458: A result some claim that 97% of Japanese deaths in this campaign were from non-combat causes. According to John Laffin , the campaign "was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II ." The struggle for New Guinea began with the capture by the Japanese of the city of Rabaul at the northeastern tip of New Britain in January 1942. Rabaul overlooks Simpson Harbour ,
3040-655: A seaplane base at Tulagi in the lower Solomons, one to establish a seaplane base in the Louisiade Archipelago off the eastern tip of New Guinea, one of transports to land troops near Port Moresby, one with a light carrier to cover the landing, and one with two fleet carriers to sink the Allied forces sent in response. In the resulting 4–8 May 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea , the Allies suffered higher losses in ships but achieved
3192-469: A secondary line of defence. The airstrip's revetments were transformed into heavy machine gun posts. The two destroyer minesweepers were supposed to sweep the entrance to Seeadler Harbour between Hauwei and Ndrilo Islands but fire from at least one Japanese 4-inch (102 mm) gun on Hauwei Island prevented them from entering the harbour. Captain Emile Dechaineux , commanding the destroyers supporting
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#17328547845953344-492: A series of explosions. Three Japanese had committed suicide with hand grenades, while another had committed seppuku with his sword. Fifteen dead officers and sergeants were counted, including Captain Baba, the commander of the Japanese battalion which made the attack the preceding night. The Japanese launched another attack on the perimeter at 17:00 but could make little progress in the face of American firepower. The next morning saw
3496-595: A shortage of resources, particularly heavy bomber aircraft, the final stage of the plan, the capture of Rabaul itself, was postponed until 1944. By July 1943, the Joint Chiefs were considering the possibility of neutralising and bypassing Rabaul, but the navy would still need a forward fleet base. The Admiralty Islands, already a part of the Elkton plan, could serve this purpose, as they contained flat areas for airstrips, space for military installations, and Seeadler Harbour, which
3648-568: A sustained air offensive against Rabaul. Under steady and relentless pressure, the Japanese air defence began to weaken, allowing a landing to be made on 15 February by New Zealand troops on the Green Islands , which lie little more than 100 miles (160 km) from Rabaul. On 16 and 17 February, the US Pacific Fleet 's Task Force 58 attacked the main Japanese base at Truk . Most Japanese aircraft were recalled to defend Truk and 19 February saw
3800-405: A tight perimeter. There was no barbed wire, so the whole area had to be covered. The ground was hard coral , which was good for airbase construction but made it difficult to dig foxholes. The twelve .50 calibre (12.7mm) machine guns were positioned in the front line. There was fighting throughout the night as small groups of Japanese attempted to infiltrate the position. An airdrop of ammunition
3952-424: A village on the northeast coast of Papua about halfway between Huon Gulf and Milne Bay. Simultaneous operations from these two locations, one amphibious and one overland, would converge on the target city. "[T]he Owen Stanley Range is a jagged, precipitous obstacle covered with tropical rainforest up to the pass at 6500-foot elevation, and with moss like a thick wet sponge up to the highest peaks, 13,000 feet above
4104-408: Is honorable defeat and I suppose we must be proud of the way we have handled ourselves. Only our names will remain, and this is something I don't altogether like. Yes, the lives of those remaining, 300 of us, are now limited to a few days. New Guinea campaign [REDACTED] Australia 42,000 total 202,100 total dead Second Sino-Japanese War The New Guinea campaign of
4256-430: Is mountainous, with peaks rising to 3,000 feet (910 m) and largely covered with thick tropical rainforest . The largely uncharted coastline had numerous reefs. The shoreline consisted mostly of mangrove swamp . The third largest island in the province, Los Negros lies to the northeast of Manus, from which it is separated by the narrow Loniu Passage. The island contains two important harbours of its own, Papitalai on
4408-739: The Allies —consisting primarily of Australian forces—cleared the Japanese first from Papua, then New Guinea, and finally from the Dutch colony. The campaign resulted in a crushing defeat and heavy losses for the Empire of Japan. As in most Pacific War campaigns, disease and starvation claimed more Japanese lives than enemy action. Most Japanese troops never even came into contact with Allied forces and were instead simply cut off and subjected to an effective blockade by Allied naval forces. Garrisons were effectively besieged and denied shipments of food and medical supplies, and as
4560-628: The Asiatic-Pacific Theater . Admiral Chester W. Nimitz of the U.S. Navy , Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet , headed the command throughout its existence. The vast majority of Allied forces in the theatre were from the U.S. Navy , U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps . However units and/or personnel from New Zealand , the United Kingdom , Australia , Canada , Mexico , Fiji and other countries also saw active service. On 24 March 1942,
4712-545: The Battle of Milne Bay became an infantry struggle in the sopping jungle carried on mostly at night under pouring rain. The Aussies were fighting mad, for they had found some of their captured fellows tied to trees and bayoneted to death, surmounted by the placard, 'It took them a long time to die'." – Samuel Eliot Morison, Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier , p. 38 While it was beyond MacArthur's capabilities to deny Buna to
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4864-464: The Bismarck Sea , they might make it to Lae with an acceptable level of loss, i.e., at worst half the task force would be sunk en route. It is indicative of the extent to which Japanese ambitions had fallen at this point in the war that a 50% loss of ground troops aboard ship was considered acceptable. Three factors conspired to create disaster for the Japanese. First, they had woefully underestimated
5016-748: The Guadalcanal Campaign was brought to a successful conclusion. Meanwhile, General MacArthur's forces—primarily Australian—fought off a series of Japanese offensives in Papua in the Kokoda Track Campaign , Battle of Milne Bay , Battle of Buna-Gona , and the Battle of Wau . At the Pacific Military Conference in March 1943, the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved the latest version of General MacArthur's Elkton plan for an advance on Rabaul. Owing to
5168-671: The Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Territory of New Guinea on 23 January and Territory of Papua on 21 July and overran western New Guinea (part of the Netherlands East Indies ) beginning on 29 March. During the second phase, lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender,
5320-613: The Quebec Conference in August 1943, the leaders of the Allied nations agreed to this change in strategy focusing on neutralizing Rabaul rather than capturing it. Despite the disaster of the Bismarck Sea, the Japanese could not give up on recapturing Wau, and they kept significant resources in the territory of Papua, on north shore of the eastern end New Guinea. The Australians were there to restrict Japanese build up there, as any base construction or build up there would threaten
5472-886: The Solomon Islands campaign during 1943–44. U.S. Army Air Forces operated in the POA under the Seventh , Thirteenth , and Twentieth Air Forces at various times. On 10 March 1944, the Department of War approved the activation of an additional AAF headquarters for the Pacific Ocean Areas. To head this new command the Air Staff in Washington DC had decided as early as 16 April upon Lt. Gen. Millard F. Harmon , who, as commander of U.S. Army Forces, South Pacific Area, had had long experience in
5624-444: The equator . The climate is tropical, with constant high temperatures and high humidity and an annual rainfall of 154 inches (3,900 mm). Thunderstorms are common. December to May is the north west monsoon season, with prevailing winds from that direction. The largest island in the group is Manus Island , which is about 49 miles (79 km) across from east to west and 16 miles (26 km) wide from north to south. The interior
5776-514: The 12th Cavalry and the three tanks to Salami. Here the Japanese put up a fierce fight that lasted over an hour. The tanks fired canister shot shells into buildings and high-explosive shells into the slits of Japanese bunkers. The inhabitants of the area informed the ANGAU detachment the Japanese had retreated across Seeadler Harbour to Papitalai Mission. This, therefore, became the next objective. The 5th Cavalry would attack Papitalai Plantation from
5928-523: The 1942 Aleutian Islands campaign Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald commanded Task Force 8 afloat. Theobald as Commander North Pacific Force reported to Nimitz in Hawaii. Task Force 8 consisted of five cruisers , thirteen destroyers , three tankers, six submarines , as well as naval aviation elements of Fleet Air Wing Four . From 1942 to 1943, three Army infantry divisions ( 23rd/"Americal" , 25th , 27th ) and two Marine divisions ( 1st , 2nd ) fought in
6080-531: The 1st Cavalry Division to carry out a reconnaissance in force in just five days time. If the Admiralty Islands were indeed evacuated, they would be occupied and a base developed. If the enemy was unexpectedly strong, then the force could be withdrawn. General MacArthur and Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid , the commander of Allied Naval Forces in the South West Pacific Area, would be on hand to make
6232-505: The 271st Field Artillery Battalion. The combat LVT fired 24 M8 4.5-inch rockets . Return fire was received from Japanese mortars and machine guns, and a 75 mm howitzer. The first wave had to hold alone in the face of fire from Japanese bunkers for 45 minutes until the LVTs returned with the next wave. Later, they fought off a counterattack by about 30 Japanese. Joined by a third LVT which had eventually managed to make it to Salami,
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6384-542: The 2nd (Iwakami) Battalion of the 1st Independent Infantry Regiment there instead of sending it to assist Baba Force. By 2 March, Ezaki had resolved to attack the Hyane beachhead with his whole force. The difficulties imposed by the terrain, and disruption by American artillery and Allied naval gunfire, forced a postponement of the attack to the night of 3 March. At 21:00, a lone Japanese plane dropped eight bombs, cutting telephone wires. Once it had departed, yellow flares went up and
6536-439: The 2nd Battalion, 1st Independent Mixed Regiment arrived there on the night of 24/25 January. A subsequent attempt to ship an infantry and an artillery battalion to the Admiralties was frustrated by Allied air and submarine attacks, but 530 soldiers of the 38th Division's 1st Battalion, 229th Infantry Regiment arrived there on the night of 2 February. Most of these troop movements were detected by Allied intelligence. At
6688-430: The 40th Naval Construction Battalion received Presidential Unit Citations . General Chase called for an airdrop of ammunition, prodigious quantities of which had been expended during the night, and had Warramunga fire on the native skidway. The morning of 4 March saw the arrival of the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, which relieved the 2nd Squadron, 5th Cavalry. The next day Major General Innis P. Swift ,
6840-503: The 592nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment (EBSR); the US Marines ' 1st Amphibious Tractor Battalion; and US Naval Construction Battalions ("Seabees") to build the naval base—a total of 45,000 personnel. However, on 23 February 1944 three Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchell bombers flew low over Los Negros. The airmen reported that there were no signs of enemy activity and the islands had been evacuated. Lieutenant General George Kenney ,
6992-555: The 603rd Tank Company, and twelve 105mm howitzers of the 271st Field Artillery Battalion. The 12th Cavalry was ordered to follow the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in its advance to the north, and to capture the Salami Plantation. The road to Salami was little more than a muddy track in which vehicles soon became bogged. The Japanese also obstructed the route with ditches, felled trees, snipers, and booby traps. WO2 R. J. Booker of ANGAU used his local knowledge to guide
7144-729: The 673rd Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun Battery (Airborne); and 29 Australians of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU), who were to assist in gathering intelligence and dealing with the native population, some 13,000 of whom lived in the islands. Once the decision to remain was known, a follow-up force with the rest of the 5th Cavalry and 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 40th Naval Construction Battalion, and 2,500 measurement tons of stores would depart from Finschhafen in six Landing Ships, Tank (LSTs), each towing an LCM of Company E, 592nd EBSR. When an aide expressed concern over assigning such
7296-407: The 69th US Troop Carrier Squadron on a supply dropping run were also attacked, and claimed to have shot one of their attackers down. Two of the four B-25 squadrons dropped bombs in areas occupied by American troops, two of whom were killed and four wounded before the 12th US Air Liaison Party could correct the error. Both squadrons of the 5th Cavalry attacked at 15:00. All objectives were taken and
7448-492: The 7th Cavalry found it on 20 March. Six days of fighting around Rossum were required before the 7th and 8th Cavalry reduced the entrenched Japanese positions there. The Japanese bunkers, actually log and earth pillboxes, proved resistant to artillery fire. As the Japanese on Los Negros ran out of food and ammunition, the fight became increasingly unequal. A last stand by fifty Japanese in the Papitalai Hills on 24 March marked
7600-581: The 99th Field Artillery Battalion, with WO2 A. L. Robinson of ANGAU and Kaihu, a native of Mokerang, as guides, set out for Hauwei in an LCVP, escorted by PT 329, one of the PT boats now operating from the tender USS Oyster Bay in Seeadler Harbour. As the patrol moved ashore, Major Carter S. Vaden spotted a well camouflaged bunker and threw two hand grenades into it. When they exploded, concealed Japanese mortars and machine guns commenced firing on
7752-519: The 99th established itself on Butjo Luto. The attack on Manus got underway on 15 March. Before dawn, two troops of the 8th Cavalry , six cargo carrying LVTs and the combat LVT were loaded on board an LST for the 18 kilometres (11 mi) trip across Seeadler Harbour from Salami. Beaches at Lugos, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Lorengau were chosen in preference to those nearer Lorengau, which were known to be heavily defended. The destroyers Gillespie , Hobby , Kalk , and Reid bombarded
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#17328547845957904-511: The APDs' sides and down cargo nets. The unarmoured LCPRs were still used because davits had not been strengthened to carry the heavier, armoured LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel). The first wave landed without casualties at 08:17, but once the bombardment lifted the Japanese emerged from their dugouts and machine guns and shore batteries began firing. The landing craft, on returning, came under crossfire from enemy machine guns on both sides of
8056-401: The Admiralties and ordered an immediate reconnaissance in force . The campaign began on 29 February 1944 when a force landed on Los Negros , the third-largest island in the group. By using a small, isolated beach where the Japanese had not anticipated an assault, the force achieved tactical surprise, but the islands proved to be far from unoccupied. A furious battle over the islands ensued. In
8208-501: The Admiralties had air support just minutes away. The ANGAU Detachment reached the town of Mokerang on 9 March and found fifty inhabitants. The Detachment was relieved to find islanders had not been deliberately ill-treated by the Japanese. The retreating Japanese had stripped their gardens of food, leaving the civilian population hungry, so ANGAU arranged for them to be provisioned by the Americans. Operations on Los Negros had now reached
8360-613: The Admiralties, though their designation was not known in all instances. While the 1st Battalion, 229th Infantry Regiment was a veteran of several campaigns, it was short of equipment and lacked its battalion artillery guns. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Independent Mixed Regiment was led by reserve officers who had seen action in China, but most of its enlisted men were recalled reservists who had not previously been in battle. The 51st Transport Regiment had constructed an airstrip on Lorengau and commenced another, known as Momote Airstrip , at
8512-398: The Admiralty Islands. On 24 February, it revised the estimate to 4,000. G-2 attributed the lack of anti-aircraft fire to the Japanese logistical situation, believing it was a measure to conserve ammunition. Lieutenant General Walter Krueger , the commander of US Sixth Army later recalled no one at his headquarters believed the islands unoccupied. In the original plan, a team of Alamo Scouts
8664-633: The Allied nations, in March 1942 the Pacific theatre was divided into the South West Pacific Area , under General Douglas MacArthur, and the Pacific Ocean Areas , under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz . Rabaul fell within MacArthur's area but the initial operations in the southern Solomon Islands came under Nimitz. The Japanese reaction was more violent than anticipated and some months passed before
8816-409: The American attack was delayed until late afternoon. It then ran into a Japanese minefield and by dawn the advance had only reached as far as the skidway. On the morning of 6 March, another convoy arrived at Hyane Harbour: five LSTs, each towing an LCM, with the 12th Cavalry and other units and equipment including five Landing Vehicles Tracked (LVTs) of the 592nd EBSR, three M3 light tanks of
8968-622: The American positions. A Bofors 40 mm gun position was captured by the Japanese, who in turn were driven off by the Seabees. Manning the .30s, the 5th Cavalry's gunners piled up the Japanese dead until the guns had to be moved to get clear fields of fire. One of the Browning guns that held the position was later left in its place, as a monument. Sergeant Troy McGill occupied a revetment with his squad of eight men. All were killed or wounded except McGill and another man, whom he ordered to fall back to
9120-497: The Composite Anti-Aircraft Defences played a crucial role in protecting Port Moresby, which suffered 78 air raids by 17 August 1942. A gradual improvement the numbers and skill of anti-aircraft gunners forced the Japanese bombers up to higher altitude, where they were less accurate, and then, in August, to raiding by night. Although RAAF PBY Catalinas and Lockheed Hudsons were based at Port Moresby, because of
9272-713: The JCS, each competing for scarce resources in an economy-of-force theater, and each headed by a commander in chief from a different service. In particular, the division of the Solomons caused problems, since the battles of the Solomon Islands campaign in 1942–1943 ranged over the whole region, with the main Japanese bases in SWPA and the main Allied bases in POA. However, MacArthur's Operation Cartwheel , which gave full operational command of naval and amphibious forces to POA's Admiral William Halsey in
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#17328547845959424-575: The Japanese air attacks, long-range bombers like B-17s , B-25s , and B-26s could not be safely based there and were instead staged through from bases in Australia. This resulted in considerable fatigue for the air crews. Due to USAAF doctrine and a lack of long-range escorts, long-range bomber raids on targets like Rabaul went in unescorted and suffered heavy losses, prompting severe criticism of Lieutenant General George Brett by war correspondents for misusing his forces. But fighters did provide cover for
9576-411: The Japanese completed their evacuation of Guadalcanal . General Imamura and his naval counterpart at Rabaul, Admiral Jinichi Kusaka , commander Southeast Area Fleet , resolved to reinforce their ground forces at Lae for one final all-out attempt against Wau. If the transports succeeded in staying behind a weather front and were protected the whole way by fighters from the various airfields surrounding
9728-405: The Japanese guns guarding Seeadler Harbour fell to Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley 's Task Force 74 (TF74), consisting of the heavy cruiser HMAS Shropshire , light cruisers USS Phoenix and Nashville , and destroyers USS Bache , Beale , Daly , and Hutchins . They bombarded Hauwei Island for an hour on 4 March but on 6 March USS Nicholson was struck by
9880-470: The Japanese had reached the village of Ioribaiwa, just 30 kilometres (20 mi) from the Allied airdrome at Port Moresby. The Australians held firm and began their counterdrive on 26 September. According to historian Samuel Eliot Morison , "...the Japanese retreat down the Kokoda Track had turned into a rout. Thousands perished from starvation and disease; the commanding general, Horii , was drowned." Thus
10032-429: The Japanese navy and army time to prepare "decisive" counterattacks against Allied forces. Maintaining control of the Admiralties was crucial to the Japanese defensive plans, as possession of the islands by the Allies would place the key Japanese stronghold at Truk within range of heavy bombers. Apparently not expecting the Allies to move on the Admiralties so quickly, IGHQ gave Imamura until the middle of 1944 to complete
10184-553: The Japanese position. Beleaguered, the survivors of the Japanese garrison were evacuated by submarine on the night of 26 October. The Allies proceeded to turn the island into an air base. "In the swamp country which surrounded the area were large crocodiles ... Incidence of malaria was almost one hundred per cent. At Sanananda the swamp and jungle were typhus-ridden ... crawling roots reached out into stagnant pools infested with mosquitoes and numerous crawling insects ... every foxhole filled with water. Thompson sub machine-guns jammed with
10336-625: The Japanese). The Japanese occupied the village with an initial force of 1,500 on 21 July 1942 and by 22 August had 11,430 men under arms at Buna. The Japanese objective was to seize Port Moresby by an overland advance from the north coast, following the Kokoda Track over the mountains of the Owen Stanley Range, as part of a strategy to isolate Australia from the United States. By 17 September
10488-428: The Japanese, the same could not be said of Milne Bay, which was easily accessible by Allied naval forces. In early June, US Army engineers, Australian infantry and an anti-aircraft battery were landed at Gili Gili , and work was begun on an airfield. By 22 August, about 8,500 Australians and 1,300 Americans were on site. The Japanese arrived and the 25 August – 7 September Battle of Milne Bay was underway. Morison sums up
10640-616: The LVTs made 16 trips across the harbour before nightfall curtailed operations, transporting part of the 2nd Squadron, 12th Cavalry, along with rations, water and ammunition, and evacuating the dead and wounded. Colonel Ezaki reported the American attack on Papitalai Mission to the Eighth Area Army in Rabaul, promising a night counterattack on the position; but no attack was delivered. The Japanese withdrew, and no further messages were ever received from Ezaki. The task of silencing
10792-608: The Lae-Salamaua area. Opposing these forces were the Australian 2/5th , 2/6th and 2/7th Battalions along with Lieutenant Colonel Norman Fleay's Kanga Force . The Australians decisively turned back the Japanese assault in the ensuing 29–31 January 1943 Battle of Wau . "Within a few days, the enemy was retreating from the Wau Valley, where he had suffered a serious defeat, harassed all the way back to Mubo ..." About one week later,
10944-666: The Momote Plantation on Los Negros. Lorengau was used as a staging point for aircraft moving between Rabaul and airstrips in North East New Guinea. The importance of the Admiralty Islands to the Japanese increased as the result of Allied advances in New Guinea and New Britain which blocked off other air routes. By February, both airstrips were unserviceable and the antiaircraft guns were silent to conserve ammunition and conceal their positions. Ezaki had ordered his men to neither move nor fire in daylight. The chosen landing site
11096-539: The P-39s and P-40s—giving the Japanese an altitude advantage in air combat. The cost to the Allied fighters was high. Before June, between 20 and 25 P-39s had been lost in air combat, while three more had been destroyed on the ground, and eight had been destroyed in landings by accident. The following month at least 20 fighters were lost in combat, while eight were destroyed in July. The Australian and American anti-aircraft gunners of
11248-402: The POA (the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions also fought in the SWPA in 1943). From 1944 to 1945, five Army infantry divisions ( 7th , 27th, 77th , 81st , 96th ) and six Marine divisions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th , 5th , 6th ) served in the POA. An additional 15 Army divisions fought in the SWPA during this time. Among allied land force formations was the 3rd New Zealand Division , which fought in
11400-660: The Pacific Ocean Areas into the North, Central and South Pacific Areas . Nimitz designated subordinate commanders for the North and South Pacific Areas but retained the Central Pacific Area, including the Army's Hawaiian Department , under his direct command. General Douglas MacArthur assumed command of the SWPA. The result of this split was the creation of two separate commands in the Pacific: POA and SWPA, each reporting separately to
11552-573: The Pacific. By May the War Department proposed that Lt. Gen. Robert C. Richardson Jr. , commanding U.S. Army Forces Central Pacific Area, be named Commanding General of U.S. Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas. Harmon was made responsible to Nimitz for all matters regarding 'plans, operations, training, and dispositions' of his forces. In addition, as deputy commander of the Twentieth Air Force, Harmon
11704-519: The Palaus, where it was being rebuilt after suffering heavy losses, to the Admiralties was also unsuccessful as IGHQ believed that the Eighteenth Army had greater need for this unit. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) also rejected Imamura's suggestion that a special naval landing force unit be dispatched to the islands. IGHQ agreed to deploy the 66th Regiment to the Admiralties in January 1944 to bolster
11856-494: The Seeadler Harbour without being fired upon. This cleared the way for the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division to land at Salmi on 9 March. By 7 March, the Seabees had the Momote airfield ready. Artillery spotting aircraft began operating from the strip on 6 March and a B-25 made an emergency landing the next day. Guided by a B-25, twelve P-40 Kittyhawks of No. 76 Squadron RAAF arrived from Kiriwina via Finschhafen on 9 March,
12008-500: The Solomons while MacArthur strategically directed the whole operation, was a resounding success because of the rapport and great personal relationship between MacArthur and Halsey. When Halsey operated in the Solomon Islands that was west of 159° east longitude he reported to MacArthur. When he operated east of 159° east longitude he reported to Nimitz. The 159° meridian east runs through the middle of Santa Isabel Island . During
12160-535: The area with their 5-inch guns ; the two rocket LCVPs, the LCM ( flak ), and the combat LVT raked the shoreline with rockets; the artillery on Hauwei and Butjo Luo engaged targets; and 18 B-25s of the 499th and 500th Bombardment Squadrons dropped 81 500-pound (227 kg) bombs and strafed the area. The Japanese had evidently not expected a landing at Lugos and their positions there were quickly overrun. The 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry then advanced eastward until it
12312-478: The area, freeing the 2nd Squadron, 8th Cavalry to join the attack on Lorengau. The first attempt to capture the airstrip was checked by an enemy bunker complex. A second attempt on 17 March, reinforced by the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry and tanks, made good progress. The advance then resumed, with Lorengau itself falling on 18 March. Although there had been plenty of fighting, the main Japanese force on Manus had not been located. Advancing inland towards Rossum,
12464-515: The arrival of the follow-up force, six LSTs, each towing an LCM, escorted by the destroyers USS Mullany and Ammen and HMAS Warramunga and destroyer minesweepers USS Hamilton and Long . The LSTs entered Hyane Harbour and beached, coming under mortar fire as they did so. LST-202 , crewed by the United States Coast Guard , replied with 3 in (76 mm) and Bofors 40 mm guns . The LSTs were unloaded over
12616-479: The artillery could cover landings on Manus. Three patrols were sent out by LCVP on 11 March. The first found Bear Point on Manus free of Japanese but lacking sites for artillery emplacements. The second scouted the Butjo Luo Islands. They found the islands apparently unoccupied, with good sites on the northern island. The third patrol, 25 officers and men of the 302nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, two officers from
12768-477: The campaign over on 18 May. A diary found on a dead Japanese soldier recounted his last days: 28 March . Last night's duty was rather quiet except for the occasional mortar and rifle fire that could be heard. According to the conference of the various unit leaders, it has been decided to abandon the present position and withdraw. The preparation for this has been made. However, it seems as though this has been cancelled and we will firmly hold this position. Ah! This
12920-401: The capture of Port Moresby loomed even larger in their strategic thinking. Taking the airfield at Wau was a crucial step in this process, and to this end, the 51st Division was transferred from Indochina and placed under Imamura's Eighth Area Army at Rabaul; one regiment arrived at Lae in early January 1943. In addition, about 5,400 survivors of the Japanese defeat at Buna-Gona were moved into
13072-503: The command of Major General George Alan Vasey , along with the revitalized US 32nd Division, restarted the Allied offensive. Gona fell to the Australians on 9 December 1942, Buna to the US 32nd on 2 January 1943, and Sanananda , located between the two larger villages, fell to the Australians on 22 January. Operation Lilliput (18 December 1942 – June 1943) was an ongoing resupply operation ferrying troops and supplies from Milne Bay to Oro Bay ,
13224-415: The commander of Allied Air Forces in the South West Pacific Area, went to MacArthur and proposed that the unoccupied islands be quickly taken by a small force. According to Kenney: "The General listened for a while, paced back and forth as I kept talking, nodded occasionally, then suddenly stopped and said: That will put the cork in the bottle." Orders went out on 24 February 1944 for a reinforced squadron of
13376-425: The commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, arrived aboard Bush and assumed command. He ordered the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry to attack across the native skidway. The 2nd Squadron, 5th Cavalry therefore went back into the line to relieve them. While the relief was taking place, the Japanese launched a daylight attack. This was repulsed by the cavalrymen, with the help of artillery and mortar fire, but
13528-529: The commander of the South Pacific Area, were worked out between 3 April and formal assumption of the overall Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Areas by Nimitz on 8 May 1942. The JCS designated Admiral Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, with operational control over all units (air, land, and sea) in that area. The theater included most of the Pacific Ocean and its islands, but mainland Asia
13680-526: The crew. To achieve surprise, and to reach the Admiralty Islands in just five days, high speed transports (APDs) were required; Landing Ships, Tank (LSTs) were too slow to make the required distance in the time. Only three APDs were available: USS Brooks , Humphreys and Sands . Each could accommodate 170 men. The remaining troops were carried on nine destroyers : USS Bush , Drayton , Flusser , Mahan , Reid , Smith , Stevenson , Stockton and Welles . Between them,
13832-464: The decision but otherwise they delegated command to Rear Admiral William Fechteler , the commander of Amphibious Group 8 of Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey 's VII Amphibious Force . To accommodate them, the light cruiser USS Phoenix was ordered to sea. At the time, she was in Brisbane , with over 300 of her crew on shore leave. Trucks with bull horns broadcast the code word recalling
13984-456: The defenders, could not succeed. The D'Entrecasteaux Islands lie directly off the northeast coast of the lower portion of the Papuan peninsula. The westernmost island of this group, Goodenough , had been occupied in August 1942 by 353 stranded troops from bombed Japanese landing craft. The destroyer Yayoi , sent to recover these men, was bombed and sunk on 11 September. A force of 800 Australian troops landed on 22 October on either side of
14136-449: The defensive preparations for his command. At this time the largest Japanese unit in the islands was the 51st Transport Regiment, which had arrived on Los Negros in April. Imamura sought reinforcements for the Admiralties in late 1943 and early 1944. In October 1943 he requested an infantry division for the islands, but none was available. A subsequent proposal to transfer the 66th Regiment from
14288-439: The destroyers and APDs carried 1,026 troops. Task Force Brewer Supporting Echelon Units Colonel Hugh Hoffman This force was commanded by Brigadier General William C. Chase, commander of the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. It included the three rifle troops and the heavy weapons troop of the 2nd Squadron, 5th Cavalry ; a platoon from Battery B, 99th Field Artillery Battalion with two 75 mm pack howitzers ;
14440-451: The east while the 2nd Squadron, 12th Cavalry would attack Papitalai Mission. The 5th Cavalry captured Porlaka without opposition and crossed Lemondrol Creek in canvas and rubber boats. A patrol under Captain William C. Cornelius fought an estimated 50 Japanese, who ultimately withdrew. Cornelius, who was credited with killing four, was severely wounded and died the next day. He
14592-734: The emperor that he would pay back the Allies for the disaster at the Bismarck Sea with a series of massive airstrikes . For this, he ordered the air arm of Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa 's Third Fleet carriers to reinforce the Eleventh Air Fleet at Rabaul. To demonstrate the seriousness of the effort to the Supreme War Council, multiple shifts of high-ranking personnel were also effected: both Yamamoto and Ozawa moved their headquarters to Rabaul; and Eighth Fleet commander Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa as well as General Imamura's chief of staff were sent to Tokyo with advice and explanations for
14744-446: The end of organised Japanese resistance on Los Negros. The end of organised resistance on Los Negros and Manus still left a number of islands in Japanese hands. To minimise civilian casualties, ANGAU quietly evacuated these islands in advance of the American operations. Pityilu was believed occupied by about 60 Japanese. On 30 March the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry was transported there from Lorengau by 10 LCMs towing seven LVTs. With
14896-407: The end, air superiority and command of the sea allowed the Allies to heavily reinforce their position on Los Negros. The 1st Cavalry Division could then overrun the islands. The campaign officially ended on 18 May 1944. The Allied victory completed the isolation of the major Japanese base at Rabaul that was the ultimate objective of the Allied campaigns of 1942 and 1943. A major air and naval base
15048-399: The entire LCVP crew. Kaihu was missing and Robinson was contemplating how he would break the news to his family when Kaihu walked in, having swum back to Los Negros. General Swift postponed the landing on Lugos and ordered the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry to capture Hauwei. Once again, Robinson acted as guide, notwithstanding severe sunburn from his time in the water the previous day. The landing
15200-441: The fields of fire of the Americans' automatic weapons, including several .30 water-cooled Browning machineguns, but the advance continued. The guns of the 211th Coast Artillery (AA) Battalion and 99th Field Artillery Battalion fired through the night, attempting to break up the Japanese attack from Porlaka. Shortly after midnight, Japanese barges attempted to cross Hyane harbour but were engaged by anti-aircraft guns and did not reach
15352-482: The final run in to shore. The cavalrymen found well constructed and sited bunkers with interlocking fields of fire covering all approaches, and deadly accurate snipers. The next morning an LCM brought over a medium tank, for which the Japanese had no answer, and the cavalrymen were able to overcome the defenders at a cost of eight killed and 46 wounded; 43 dead Japanese naval personnel were counted. The 61st and 271st Field Artillery Battalions moved to Hauwei, while
15504-609: The forces ashore, brought Ammen , Bush , Mullany and Warramunga around and bombarded the island. The Japanese guns ceased fire but came alive again when another attempt was made to sweep the channel. Dechaineux then called off the effort, ordering the DMSs to join him. The destroyers bombarded Japanese guns covering the entrance to Hyane Harbour to allow the LSTs to leave unmolested. One LST left with between 20 and 30 truckloads of stores still aboard. The LSTs did not wish to remain after dark as
15656-572: The gritty mud and were unreliable in the humid atmosphere ... " – John Vader, New Guinea: The Tide Is Stemmed , pp. 102–103 The Japanese drive to conquer all of New Guinea had been decisively stopped. MacArthur was determined to liberate the island as a stepping-stone to the reconquest of the Philippines. MacArthur's rollback began on 16 November. The inexperience of the US 32nd Infantry Division , just out of training camp and unschooled in jungle warfare ,
15808-401: The harbour and take troops off from a jetty but this would clearly be a desperate measure indeed. Over the next four hours, the boats continued to make trips to the beach, but only when it was believed destroyers had suppressed enemy fire. Heavy rain made it safer by reducing visibility. The last destroyer was unloaded at 12:50. By this time, the navy had lost two men dead and three wounded. For
15960-476: The harbour. The fire became so heavy the second wave was forced to reverse course until the enemy fire was suppressed by destroyers. The third and fourth waves also came under fire. A correspondent from Yank, the Army Weekly described the scene: As we neared the channel, the Navy men in the bow hollered to us to keep our heads down or we'd get them blown off. We crouched lower, swearing, and waited. It came with
16112-429: The largest raid of all, 188 aircraft struck Milne Bay on 14 April. I-Go demonstrated that the Japanese command was not learning the lessons of air power that the Allies were. The Allied reduction of Rabaul was only made possible by relentless air strikes that took place day after day, but Yamamoto thought the damage inflicted by a few attacks of large formations would derail Allied plans long enough for Japan to prepare
16264-460: The last significant interception of Allied aircraft over Rabaul. Meanwhile, on 13 February General MacArthur, who received an intelligence windfall from the capture of Japanese Army code books by his Australian soldiers at Sio , had issued orders for the invasion of the Admiralty Islands, codenamed Operation Brewer, which was now scheduled for 1 April. Forces assigned included the 1st Cavalry Division; No. 73 Wing RAAF , providing close air support ;
16416-415: The lessons of Hauwei in mind, the landing was covered by bombardment by destroyers, artillery, and two Landing Craft Support , plus an air strike by Kittyhawks and Spitfires. The landing was unopposed, but a strong Japanese position was encountered which was overcome with the aid of artillery and tanks. Some 59 Japanese were killed compared with eight Americans killed and six wounded. The same treatment
16568-546: The logical American objective, and had concentrated their forces around the Lorengau airfield. The defence of the Momote airstrip and Hyane harbour was the responsibility of Baba Force, built around Captain Baba's 1st Battalion, 229th Infantry Regiment. Colonel Ezaki ordered Baba to attack the beachhead but a suspicion the Hyane Harbour landing was a diversion, coupled with false reports of enemy activity at Salami had him retain
16720-411: The moment it was safer ashore. The cavalrymen overran the airstrip. Sporadic opposition allowed them to set up the antiaircraft machine guns on the beach, unload supplies, and patrol inland. Two soldiers were killed and three wounded. At 16:00, General MacArthur and Admiral Kinkaid came ashore. The general inspected the position. A lieutenant warned him a Japanese sniper had been killed in the vicinity just
16872-419: The mopping-up stage, but an estimated 2,700 Japanese troops remained on Manus. General Swift decided to land Brigadier General Verne D. Mudge's 2nd Brigade at Lugos Mission, west of Lorengau. Lorengau, known to be heavily fortified, was an important objective. It had an airfield, and four roads converged there. As a preliminary, the 302nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop was ordered to locate sites from which
17024-404: The newly devised practice of skip bombing . About 6,900 troops aboard eight transports, escorted by eight destroyers, departed Rabaul at midnight 28 February under the command of Rear Admiral Masatomi Kimura . Through the afternoon of 1 March, the overcast weather held at which point everything began to go wrong for the Japanese. The weather changed direction and Kimura's slow-moving task force
17176-528: The newly formed British and U.S. Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. On 30 March the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) divided the Pacific theater into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), and the Southeast Pacific Area (which was never activated). Details and transition, including whether Nimitz "appointed" or "nominated"
17328-514: The next revetment. McGill fired his rifle until it jammed, then clubbed the Japanese with it until he was killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . By dawn, the Japanese attack had subsided. Over 750 Japanese dead were counted in and around the American positions. No prisoners were taken. American casualties were 61 dead, and 244 wounded, including nine dead and 38 wounded Seabees. The 2nd Squadron, 5th Cavalry and
17480-444: The next seven hours. In the process, ammunition, construction equipment, and stores piled up. To accommodate a proper dispersal of stores, Chase ordered an attack to expand the perimeter. An air strike was requested. B-25s of the 345th US Bomb Group were intercepted by an estimated fifteen Japanese fighters. These were driven off by eight escorting P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, which claimed eight Japanese aircraft shot down. Two B-17s of
17632-713: The northeast coast of Papua, are the Huon Gulf and the Huon Peninsula . The Japanese entered Lae and Salamaua , two towns on Huon Gulf, on 8 March 1942, unopposed. MacArthur would have liked to deny this area to the Japanese, but he had neither sufficient air nor naval forces to undertake a counterlanding. The Japanese at Rabaul and other bases on New Britain would have easily overwhelmed any such effort (by mid-September, MacArthur's entire naval force under Vice Admiral Arthur S. Carpender consisted of 5 cruisers, 8 destroyers, 20 submarines, and 7 small craft). The only Allied response
17784-496: The northern coast of New Guinea towards the Philippines or northward towards the main Japanese naval base at Truk . In keeping with the overall Allied grand strategy of Europe first , the immediate aim of these operations was not the defeat of Japan but merely the reduction of the threat posed by Japanese aircraft and warships based at Rabaul to air and sea communications between the United States and Australia. By agreement among
17936-410: The patrol and the craft offshore. The PT was hit, her commander wounded, and she withdrew. The LCVP headed toward the shore where she picked up five men, including Robinson and Kaihu. The LCVP retracted and headed out to sea but then sighted another group on the beach. She headed back in to pick them up, despite her commander being wounded, and succeeded. As she backed off the beach again, she was holed by
18088-406: The region's defences following the Allied landings at Arawe and Saidor in mid-December and early January respectively, but this movement was cancelled after a ship carrying reinforcements for the regiment was sunk by USS Whale with heavy loss of life on the 16th of the month. Following this disaster Imamura directed the 38th Division to dispatch a battalion to the islands, and 750 men of
18240-468: The remaining twelve aircraft of the squadron following the next day. They were joined by the ground crew of No. 77 Squadron RAAF , which had arrived by LST on 6 March. The rest of No. 73 Wing RAAF arrived over the next two weeks, including the Kittyhawks of No. 77 Squadron RAAF and Supermarine Spitfires of No. 79 Squadron RAAF . Operations began on 10 March and henceforth ships and ground units in
18392-490: The resources expended or the expectations that had been promoted. In order to reduce and capture the vast Japanese naval and air facilities at Rabaul, two major moves were planned for the end of June: Eventually, the Joint Chiefs of Staff realized that a landing and siege of "Fortress Rabaul" would be far too costly and that the Allies' ultimate strategic purposes could be achieved by simply neutralizing and bypassing it. At
18544-543: The respective General Staffs (Vice Admiral Tomoshige Samejima replaced Mikawa as Eighth Fleet commander). Operation I-Go was to be carried out in two phases, one against the lower Solomons and one against Papua. The first strike, on 7 April, was against Allied shipping in the waters between Guadalcanal and Tulagi . At 177 planes, this was the largest Japanese air attack since Pearl Harbor . Yamamoto then turned his attention to New Guinea: 94 planes struck Oro Bay on 11 April; 174 planes hit Port Moresby on 12 April; and in
18696-539: The results this way: ...the enemy had shot his bolt; he never showed up again in these waters. The Battle for Milne Bay was a small one as World War II engagements went, but very important. Except for the initial assault on Wake Island, this was the first time that a Japanese amphibious operation had been thrown for a loss ... Furthermore, the Milne Bay affair demonstrated once again that an amphibious assault without air protection, and with an assault force inferior to that of
18848-402: The sea. The Kokoda Trail [was] suitable for splay-toed Papuan aborigines but a torture to modern soldiers carrying heavy equipment..." – Samuel Eliot Morison, Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier , p. 34 Buna was easily taken as the Allies had no military presence there (MacArthur wisely chose not to attempt an occupation by paratroopers since any such force would have been easily wiped out by
19000-501: The southern shore of New Guinea and across the sea to the northern shores of Australia. Pacific Ocean Areas (command) Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups Second Sino-Japanese War Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II . It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War and one of three United States commands in
19152-578: The strength of the Allied air forces. Second, the Allies had become convinced that the Japanese were preparing a major seaborne reinforcement and so had stepped up their air searches. Most important of all, the bombers of MacArthur's air forces, under the command of Lieutenant General George C. Kenney , had been modified to enable new offensive tactics. The noses of several Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombers had been refitted with eight 50-caliber machine guns for strafing slow-moving ships. In addition, their bomb bays were filled with 500-pound bombs to be used in
19304-449: The time of the Allied landing, Imperial Japanese Army forces in the Admiralties consisted of the 51st Transport Regiment under Colonel Yoshio Ezaki, who was also the overall garrison commander; 2nd Battalion, 1st Independent Mixed Regiment; 1st Battalion, 229th Infantry Regiment; and elements of the IJN's 14th Naval Base Force. Allied G-2 had identified the presence of all these units in
19456-584: The transports and for bombers when their targets were within range. Aircraft based at Port Moresby and Milne Bay fought to prevent the Japanese from basing aircraft at Buna, and attempted to prevent the Japanese reinforcement of the Buna area. As the Japanese ground forces pressed toward Port Moresby, the Allied Air Forces struck supply points along the Kokoda Track. Japanese makeshift bridges were attacked by P-40s with 500 lb (230 kg) bombs. "Thenceforth,
19608-422: The west coast, which connects with Seeadler Harbour , and Hyane on the east coast. The two are separated by a 50-yard (46 m) wide sandy spit. Here, the natives built a skidway over which they could drag canoes between the two harbours. Los Negros curves horseshoe-like, forming a natural breakwater for Seeadler Harbour, the remainder of which is enclosed by Manus and a series of smaller islands. The main entrance
19760-460: Was a bombing raid of Lae and Salamaua by aircraft flying over the Owen Stanley Range from the carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown , leading the Japanese to reinforce these sites. Operation Mo was the designation given by the Japanese to their initial plan to take possession of Port Moresby. Their operation plan decreed a five-pronged attack: one task force to establish
19912-401: Was a small beach on the south shore of Hyane Harbour near the Momote airstrip. The airstrip could be seized quickly; but the surrounding area was mangrove swamp, and the harbour entrance was only about 750 yards (700 m) wide. "Since the whole operation was a gamble anyway," Samuel Eliot Morison noted, "one might as well be consistent." The gamble paid off. The Japanese had not anticipated
20064-462: Was covered by the destroyers Arunta , Bush , Stockton and Thorn ; a pair of rocket-firing LCVPs and the LCM (flak), which fired 168 4.5-inch (114 mm) rockets; the guns of the 61st Field Artillery Battalion on Los Negros; and six Kittyhawks of No. 76 Squadron dropped 500-pound (230 kg) bombs. The assault was made from three cargo-carrying LVTs. To save wear and tear, they were towed across Seeadler Harbour by LCMs and cut loose for
20216-515: Was delivered by 2nd Battalion, 1st Independent Mixed Regiment, from the direction of the native skidway, together with detachments from the Porlaka area, and fell on 2nd Squadron, 5th Cavalry. The troopers noticed a change in Japanese tactics. Instead of infiltrating silently, they advanced across the open, talking and in some cases singing. Their advance took them straight into anti-personnel mines and booby traps, which duly exploded, and then into
20368-486: Was determined to hold it. MacArthur was further determined to conquer all of New Guinea in his progress toward the eventual recapture of the Philippines. General Headquarters South West Pacific Area Operational Instruction No.7 of 25 May 1942, issued by MacArthur, placed all Australian and US Army, Air Force and Navy Forces in the Port Moresby Area under the control of New Guinea Force . Due north of Port Moresby, on
20520-482: Was developed in the Admiralty Islands that became an important launching point for the campaigns of 1944 in the Pacific. This campaign marked the end of MacArthur's Operation Cartwheel , which was a multi-theater operation conducted to turn the powerful Japanese base of Rabaul into a de facto prisoner-of-war camp. The Admiralty Islands lie 200 miles (320 km) north east of the mainland of New Guinea and 360 miles (580 km) west of Rabaul, only two degrees south of
20672-596: Was excluded from the POA, as were the Philippines , Australia , the Netherlands East Indies , the Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago ) and the western part of the Solomon Islands . U.S. strategic bomber forces in the theatre were under the direct control of the JCS. All land forces in Alaska and Canada remained under the control of the U.S. Army's Western Defense Command . The JCS subdivided
20824-424: Was firing a tommy gun at the shore as fast as wounded soldiers could pass him loaded clips. The water sloshed around him, running down his legs and washing the blood of the wounded into a pink frappe. Four of the twelve LCPRs had been damaged. Three were soon repaired, but they could not be risked further, for without them, the reconnaissance force could not be evacuated. The emergency plan provided for an APD to enter
20976-426: Was given to Ndrilo and Koruniat on 1 April but the 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry found them unoccupied. This was notable for being the only amphibious operation of the war carried out by the United States in dugout canoes. The final landing was on Rambutyo on 3 April by the 2nd Squadron, 12th Cavalry. This time, six LCMs and six LCVPs were used instead of the LVTs. As a result, the first waves grounded on
21128-484: Was large enough to accommodate a naval task force. On 6 August 1943, the Joint Chiefs of Staff adopted a plan that called for the neutralisation rather than the capture of Rabaul, and scheduled the invasion of the Admiralty Islands for 1 June 1944. Task Force Brewer Assault Echelon Units Brigadier General William C. Chase Throughout January 1944, AirSols aircraft based in the Solomon Islands and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft based on Kiriwina kept up
21280-533: Was made responsible directly to Arnold in all matters affecting elements of the Twentieth Air Force in POA. Activation of Headquarters, Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas (AAFPOA) at Hickam Field followed on 1 August 1944. The Seventh Air Force, formerly the senior command, was made "mobile and tactichi" on 15 August by the reassignment of 112 units of various types to AAFPOA. The VII Air Force Service Command, its former administrative functions having been assumed by Breene as AAFPOA deputy commander for administration,
21432-555: Was nearly disastrous. Instances were noted of officers completely out of their depth, of men eating meals when they should have been on the firing line, even of cowardice. MacArthur relieved the division commander and on 30 November instructed Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger , commander of the US I Corps , to go to the front personally with the charge "to remove all officers who won't fight ... if necessary, put sergeants in charge of battalions ... I want you to take Buna, or not come back alive." The Australian 7th Division under
21584-526: Was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Because of the coral reef, conventional landing craft could not be used for the landing at Papitalai Mission. The five LVTs, one a combat type and the other four cargo-carrying, set out from Hyane Harbour to Salami Plantation but the road was so bad that only the combat and one cargo LVT were available in time. The attack went ahead anyway, preceded by an airstrike and artillery bombardment by
21736-471: Was requested. A break in the weather allowed three B-25s of the 38th US Bomb Group to drop supplies at 08:30. Four B-17s of the 375th Troop Carrier Group each dropped three tons of supplies, including blood plasma, ammunition, hand grenades, and barbed wire. Some of the ammunition fell beyond the perimeter but for some reason men who moved out to retrieve it were not fired upon. The Japanese were not expected to make another effort until dark but at around 16:00
21888-448: Was responsible for Japanese operations on mainland New Guinea. The colonial capital of Port Moresby on the south coast of Papua was the strategic key for the Japanese in this area of operations. Capturing it would both neutralize the Allies' principal forward base and serve as a springboard for a possible invasion of Australia . For the same reasons, General Douglas MacArthur , Supreme Commander Allied Forces South West Pacific Area ,
22040-512: Was spotted by an Allied scout plane. By the time the Allied bombers and PT boats finished their work on 3 March, Kimura had lost all eight transports and four of his eight destroyers. The remaining destroyers with about 2,700 surviving troops limped back to Rabaul. According to Morison, the Japanese "...never again risked a transport larger than a small coaster or barge in waters shadowed by American planes. His contemplated offensive against Wau died a-borning." Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto promised
22192-449: Was stopped by a Japanese bunker complex on the edge of the Lorengau airstrip. An artillery barrage was brought down, followed by an airstrike by P-40 Kittyhawks with 500 pound bombs. The cavalry resumed its advance, and occupied a ridge overlooking the airstrip without opposition. In the meantime, the 7th Cavalry had been landed at Lugos from the LST on its second trip and took over the defence of
22344-700: Was the overland threat to Port Moresby permanently removed. Since Port Moresby was the only port supporting operations in Papua, its defence was critical to the campaign. The air defences consisted of P-39 and P-40 fighters. Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) radar could not provide sufficient warning of Japanese attacks, so reliance was placed on coastwatchers and spotters in the hills until an American radar unit arrived in September with better equipment. Japanese bombers were often escorted by fighters which came in at 30,000 ft (9,100 m)—too high to be intercepted by
22496-401: Was through a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) wide passage between Hauwei and Ndrilo Islands. Seeadler Harbour is about 20 miles (32 km) across from east to west and 6 miles (9.7 km) wide from north to south, and up to 120 feet (37 m) deep. In July 1942, the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved a series of operations against the Japanese bastion at Rabaul, which blocked any Allied advance along
22648-486: Was to have thoroughly reconnoitred the island before the landing. Krueger had a six-man party of Alamo Scouts inserted on the southern coast of Los Negros by PBY under cover of a bombing raid on 27 February. The scouts reported the south coast was "lousy with Japs". The Japanese defence of the Admiralties fell under the Eighth Area Army , based at Rabaul and commanded by General Hitoshi Imamura . In September 1943, as
22800-407: Was too small to support the entire division, but there were good beaches around Salami Plantation on the western shore of Los Negros. To use them, and to permit a shore-to-shore operation against Manus from Los Negros, Seeadler Harbour would have to be opened up. From the Japanese perspective, the battle was not going too well either. The Japanese had expected a landing on Seeadler Harbour, this being
22952-556: Was transferred to ASC/AAFPOA, where it lost its identity as an operating agency. The Seventh Air Force was left only VII Bomber Command and VII Fighter Command. The other AAFPOA operating forces were XXI Bomber Command and the Hawaiian Air Defense Wing(?) (probable source misprint for 7th Fighter Wing ). In preparation for the support of VHB units, the Hawaiian Air Depot was expanded and assigned directly to AAFPOA. For
23104-468: Was unable to overcome the island's guns. Krueger was gravely concerned about the seriousness of the situation on Los Negros. In response to urgent request from Chase, Krueger arranged with Barbey for the movement of the rest of the 1st Cavalry Division to be expedited. At Krueger's request, the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry would travel in the three APDs. Other units would arrive on 6 and 9 March instead of 9 and 16 March. Krueger realised that Hyane harbour
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