The key position here, Hill 660, was finally captured on 16 January, the same day on which Arawe was declared secure. This was the key position in the western part of the island. Operation SR (1942) 5. The final step in MacArthur's long preparation for his return to the Philippines was the invasion of Morotai (15 September 1944). General Adachi realised that neither town could be defended. The invasion fleet sailed south from Rabaul, and was to steal around the eastern tip of Papua. The Japanese made one more attempt to attack Port Moresby. The Japanese invasion of Australian and Dutch New Guinea lasts from November 1941 until April 1942. Australians took to calling the New Guineans “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels,” and journalists made much of their heroism and presumed loyalty. The main Japanese position on Shaggy Ridge was captured on 22 January, and the ridge cleared on 23 January. Dutch New Guinea becomes involved in World War II in 1942. Their first major success actually came without much combat, when a patrol discovered that the Japanese had left their positions on Green Pinnacle, the first major peak on the ridge. They were followed in by the 7th Australian Division, and the two Australian forces then began to advance on Lae. World War Ii Over the hornet's nest: Rabaul New Guinea, May 1943. The Japanese were stunned by the pre-invasion bombardment and the airfield area quickly fell. The Allies now decided to secure new bases around the coast of Papua. Early in 1944 MacArthur decided that he wanted to bypass Wewak and Hansa Bay and attack Aitape and Hollandia, further west along the coast. By 19 October the attack lost force, and the Australians were able to push the Japanese away. The Japanese frequently treated New Guineans with extreme brutality, just as they did other indigenous peoples across Asia. Operation Mo (1942) 6. When the Americans landed at Biak the Japanese decided that this was the chance they had been looking for. New Ireland sits to the north of New Britain, running from south-east to north-west. Battle of the Coral Sea (1942) 7. Free resources for your classroom to commemorate the December 7,1941 attack. This resulted in a series of plans given the codename Elkton, ending with Elkton III. This involving landing a large force at Buna and Gona on the north-eastern coast of Papua, and then advancing across the towering Owen Stanley Mountains to Port Moresby. The Japanese attacked Isurava on 26 August, and the Australians were forced to retreat by the end of the month. The New Guinea campaign (January 1942-September 1945) was one of the longest campaigns of the Second World War. The Allied offensive provides the last three phases of the New Guinea campaign. Food was always scarce, and Japanese forces arriving in native villages often simply requisitioned all the food they wanted, murdering some villagers and leaving the rest to starve. On New Guinea that meant that they attacked east from Aitape towards Wewak. Likewise, the “coastwatchers”—Australian planters who remained behind after the Japanese occupied parts of New Guinea, and small Australian and American military detachments—absolutely depended on native peoples to provide them with supplies, and to serve as guides. This was the turning point on New Guinea. New Britain became a German protectorate in 1884 (as New Pomerania). At last progress began to be made. Australian forces fighting the Japanese in this forbidding region suffered heavy casualties, and often in the course of fighting wounded men became separated from their units, or isolated away from adequate medical care. Seealder and Manus would become an important American naval base for the rest of the war. The carrier strike force came from Truk, and operated further east. On the same day all thee airfields on the island were captured and two were in use by the end of July. The ridge was steep sided and narrow, and in most places the only way to attack was along the narrow summit, sometimes only one man wide. The valiant defense of Wake Island by US Marines, sailors, soldiers, and civilians became a potent rallying point for Americans in the dark days after Pearl Harbor. This was taken after an amphibious landing at Talasea, half way up the peninsula, on 6 March. The last major fighting on New Guinea was the most controversial. The resulting battle of the Bismarck Sea (2-4 March 1943) was a major Allied victory. The Australians primarily regarded native New Guineans as sources for supply and labor. At first the area was known as British New Guinea, but it was officially renamed as Papua in 1905. The offensive itself achieved most of its aims, and by the end of the war General Adachi had been forced away from his coastal bases and was preparing for a last ditch defence of his food producing areas inland. Mainland Papua New Guinea reaches its maximum north-south expanse of some 510 miles (820 km) along its western border with Indonesian Papua. Hollandia, the former capital of Dutch New Guinea, became the main transhipment centre for the South-West Pacific. Even within the 6th Division there was a feeling that this was a pointless offensive, and the main motivation appears to have been to improve Australia's political standing after the war. The Allies were aware of the Japanese threat, and in late June had created 'Maroubra Force', which was given the task of securing the airfield at Kokoda, but only one company had been sent forward by the time the Japanese landed. The Swamp Ghost during recovery operations - Contact Us - Search - Recent - About Us -  Subscribe in a reader - Join our Google Group They sailed in a convoy given the code name 'Takeichi', and suffered very heavy losses on the way. The Japanese created a series of bases along the coast of New Guinea. The most important of these form the Bismarck Archipelago, which sit to the north-east of New Guinea and north of Papua. World War II airfield complex in Papua New Guinea located at Dobodura near the north coast of New Guinea. Troops from the South Seas Detachment took both places without opposition early on 8 March. The Turning Point On 20 January the few Wirraway aircraft at Rabaul were all lost and on 21 January the coastal guns were destroyed. The Japanese had been attempting to build a road from Madang to Lae, but they hadn't reached very far. The Americans at Saidor didn't have the authority to try and trap the retreating Japanese, and the survivors of the division eventually limped into Madang. New airfields were built near the north coast of Papua and supplies were moved around by sea. They were unable to take advantage of this early success, and an American counterattack on 13 July restored the river line. After the failure of the amphibious attack the Japanese decided to attack Port Moresby by land. The battle ended in … On 7 December 1941, Japan turned its war on the Asian mainland eastward into the Pacific. In January 1943 they sent the 102nd Infantry Regiment by sea from Rabaul to Lae. The Japanese built three airfields at Hollandia, and a series of fortifications in the nearby hills. Manokwari fell on 12 April, followed by Morni, Nabira and Seroei. Kaiapit, at the top of the Markham Valley fell on 20 September, and Dumpu in the Ramu Valley, fell on 4 October. Their first objective was the mountain town of Wau, from where it was possible (if difficult) to reach the south coast of Papua. The main attack followed on 26 December when the Americans landed at Cape Gloucester, on the north-western corner of the island. Wakde Island was secured very quickly, but the Japanese fought on for longer on the mainland. The Australians had moved two companies of Commandoes to Wau when the Japanese first occupied Lae and Salamaua, but they were badly outnumbered by the approaching Japanese. Edward G. Lengel is Senior Director of Programs for the National WWII Museum’s Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. The attack began on 20 January 1944, and the key point, Prothero 1, to the west of the saddle, fell on 21 January. The waters to the west form the Bismarck Sea. 1943 At first the Allies dismissed the possibility of a threat to Port Moresby, underestimating yet again the Japanese ability to cross difficult terrain. The largest of these islands is New Britain, which runs east from the north-eastern corner of New Guinea. This left Madang undefended, and it fell to the Australians on 24 April, two days after the start of the next major leapfrogging attack. The guns may have fallen silent almost 75 years ago, but the history of WWII is very much alive and evident across Papua New Guinea. Inevitably they were shot down in large numbers. When the Japanese first decided to take Port Moresby it probably couldn't have been held by the Allies, but they didn’t attack immediately. Operation R (1942) 2. The Australians, and, subsequently, Americans like Leckie, often attempted to reciprocate these acts of kindness with gestures of their own, providing food, medical attention, and other relief to suffering villagers. A great deal of planning went into the Allied counterattack in the South Pacific. The 1942 Battle of Milne Bay, at the southern tip of the main New Guinea island, involved Japanese planes that flew from Rabaul. In an attempt to bolster the defence of Rabaul he decided to use his naval aviators to defend the base. More than 60,000 women wed by American servicemen during World War II hoped to leave their old homes behind and rejoin their husbands for a new life in the United States. The Americans began a major counterattack on 31 July and by 9 August General Adachi had decided to abandon the attack. All of the New Guinea operations were successful - Woodlard and Kiriwina were undefended and the nearest Japanese troops to Nassau Bay failed to intervene. Some of the islands off the coast of New Guinea also played a major part on the fighting. An airfield was to be built at Milne Bay, at the eastern tip, while another force was to advance north to secure the Dobodura Area. This part of the campaign began in the spring of 1944 with the leap forward to Aitape and Hollandia. This part of the island is now part of Indonesia. The Japanese suffered a heavy blow at sea in the spring of 1944. Finschhafen was a former German port at the eastern tip of the Huon Peninsula. A force of RAAF Hudsons based at Rabaul had to be withdrawn. American and Australian forces relied on native New Guineans to achieve victory. The Biak relief force was recalled, and the combined Japanese fleet sailed to defeat in the battle of the Philippine Sea (19-20 June 1944). The Japanese expected the Allies to attack Salamaua and Lae. Operation Cartwheel (1943) 1. The Bismarck Archipelago and eastern New Guinea were the target of the South Seas Detachment, a force of around 5,000 men that had also been used to seize Guam. On 12 March the Americans moved to nearby Manus, and this island was secured by the end of March. The Japanese then proceeded to turn Rabaul into their main base along the … It began with the easy Japanese conquest of most of the north coast of the massive island. The Japanese forces landed first at Kavieng in New Ireland on the 21st January 1941. On 30 November General Eichelberger was ordered to go to the front and take command. The Allied fight back started on 26-27 September when the Australians attacked at Ioribaiwa and found that most of the Japanese had retreated. The best known is the attack on Pearl Harbour (Hawai), in which the American fleet was severely damaged. On 18 April 1943 Admiral Yamamoto was killed by US aircraft after his travel plans were captured. The Japanese lost the light carrier Shoho, and suffered heavy damage to the Shokaku, while the Zuikaku lost most of its air group. See more ideas about world war two, papua new guinea, anzac. The next stage of the plan was originally given the code-name Operation II in the Elkton III plan, and was implemented as Operation Postern. After the war ended, researchers seeking oral testimonies from New Guineans who had lived through the war were astonished to learn that the native peoples were united in one opinion: that they wanted the “whites”—among whom they included Japanese, Australians, and Americans—just to go away and leave them alone. The next Japanese target was Port Moresby, on the south coast of Papua. Battles with names like Tarawa, Saipan, and Iwo Jima overshadow it. The one intact stretch ran from Madang down to Bogadjim, then left the coast to run inland down a series of valleys. The most famous feature in the area, Shaggy Ridge, was the steep sided ridge on the western side of the Faria Valley. The Japanese now decided to retreat east, and fought a series of delaying actions along the north coast to allow their scattered troops to escape. Hospitals, Military World War II Equipment and Supplies Papua New Guinea United States. The fifth and final phase of the campaign saw the Allies mop up some of the remaining Japanese troops on New Guinea and in the surrounding area, while leaving others to fade away. Those captured by the Japanese could expect long, horrific imprisonments, if they weren’t killed outright. Next came the invasion of Biak Island. Others were forcibly conscripted into service of one kind or another. 504-528-1944, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Coming To America: The War Brides Act of 1945, “America Remembers Wake Island and Is Proud”: The Battle That Lifted a Nation’s Morale in 1941, The Path Through the Soviet Union and China to Pearl Harbor, Curator's Choice: The Book of the Dead and Dying. Lae in the Huon Gulf was the main Japanese port on the eastern tip of New Guinea, east of the Vitiaz Straits and New Britain. The airfield was captured on 29 December, and a counterattack defeated on 30 December. Hollandia and Sarmi were captured on 19 April. 1944. And soon after at Rabaul in New Britain. In light of developments in the Solomon Islands campaign, Japanese forces approaching … By the end of the war the Japanese had been pushed back into a few isolated strongholds in the mountainous interior, although they did still hold their once-powerful base at Rabaul on New Britain and all of nearby New Ireland. Native stretcher bearers carry a wounded Allied soldier through rough terrain near Sanananda, New Guinea. During the Second World War most of the European settlements were on or close to the long coastline of the island but the interior was populated by many of the nearly 1,000 tribes who inhabit the island. Seventy-six years after his plane went down in Papua New Guinea, a World War II U.S. Army Air Corps aviator is being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery Tuesday with … Much of the fighting during this part of the campaign was done by Australian troops. At the same time a second front had been opened at Milne Bay, at the eastern end of New Guinea. Battle of Lababia Ridge 5. The plan contained a series of subsidiary operations, which were bundled together as Operation Cartwheel. The battle of the Kokoda Trail would take both sides into some of the most difficult terrain in the world, a landscape of precipitous jungle covered mountains where every movement would take a massive effort. Papua 23 July 1942-23 January 1943. Japanese Landing Crafts At Buna Papua New Guinea Marine Guards with Captured Japanese Ammo on New Britain Japanese Transport Ship Bombed Off New Guinea 1944 US Soldiers Heat Rations over Fire near Buna, New Guinea US Invasion Troops on Aitape New Guinea Beach US Troops With Captured Japanese Weapons, Flags New Guinea Developed into an airfield complex by the U.S. Army with fifteen different airfields known as Dobodura No. The Japanese had decided to try and trigger a major naval battle somewhere near their land bases (Operation A-Go). This triggered the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval battle in history in which the opposing ships never sighted each other. This army had originally been limited to the Papua area, the south-eastern tip of the island, but the rest of the Territory of New Guinea was added in January 1943. Adachi's aim had been to reinforce Wewak and Hansa Bay, but Operation Reckless left him trapped between two Allied forces. This is a general view of the 92nd Evacuation Hospital area, Owi Island, just off Biak Island, Dutch New Guinea By this point in the war the Australians had been given the task of containing the Japanese garrisons on New Guinea, New Britain and Bougainville, and for largely political reasons had decided to conduct a vigorous offensive on all three islands. These attacks came too late to help protect Lae and Salamaua, but the South Seas Detachment was operating on very narrow margins, so the losses here delayed their next amphibious attacks. These people possessed rich cultures, and under the pressures of war they would display remarkable courage as well as kindness and compassion. In September 1944 the Australian 6th Division (General Jack Stevens) began to replace the Americans at Aitape. The Japanese attacked again later in the month but made little progress. 3 of 5 4 of 5 Then Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Michael Somare speaks during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, March … The conquest of Los Negros was harder than expected, but the island was secured by 8 March. The population during World War II was about 1.5 million people, descended from the island’s first human inhabitants from tens of thousands of years ago, and divided up into numerous tribes. The Japanese finally ran out of steam during the Papuan Campaign, and were unable to capture Port Moresby on the south coast of Papua New Guinea. The fighting on the Kokoda Trail was now repeated in reverse. At this point the Japanese commander intended to fight to the last man, but events further north changed their plans. The New Guinea campaign can be divided into five phases. However, for these “War Brides” restrictive American immigrations policies posed a major challenge. The expected victory on Guadalcanal would never come, and the Japanese would be on the defensive on New Guinea for the rest of the war (despite some local counterattacks later in the campaign). The two Australian ruled territories now form the independent nation of Papua New Guinea. They put up very little organised resistance, their main effort being a limited counterattack on 6 July. The successful carrier attack on the Huon Gulf on 10 March had alerted the Japanese to their presence and so the Japanese decided to commit the fleet carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku to the attack on Port Moresby. On 7 December 1941, Japan attacks several targets simultaneously. On 16 November 1942, Australian and United States forces attacked the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. The most important place on the island was Rabaul, at the northern tip of the island, built on one of the finest natural harbours in the world. During World War II the Japanese army invaded northern New Guinea in early 1942 and took the territorial headquarters in Rabaul. It was a major offensive base during the Papuan campaign, then the target of the first major Allied offensive after their victory in Papua. Action off Bougainville (1942) 4. Pre-War New Guinea On 29 February 1944 American troops landed on Los Negros in the Admiralty Islands. On 28 April the Japanese decided to follow the Port Moresby landings with the attack on Midway, to be followed by the invasions of Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia. The road itself stopped part of the way up the Mindjim valley. From these, the Japanese had launched an overland attack on Port Moresby. The raid failed in its main objective, the destruction of the British Eastern Fleet, and also gave the Americans the time they needed to get their own carriers into the area. This ended serious resistance around the airfield, and by mid-February 1944 it was ready to take fighter aircraft.
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