United States Army in WWII - the Pacific - Victory in Papua: [Illustrated Edition][Includes 23 maps and 95 illustrations] This is a companion volume to the one on Guadalcanal in the series on the war in the Pacific. Both record the operations designed to halt the advance of the enemy toward the vital transpacific line of communications with Australia and secure Australia as a base. Success in Papua and Guadalcanal, achieved in February 1943, put the Allied forces in a position to neutralize Rabaul and, this accomplished, to advance to the Philippines. The present volume concentrates on the action of one United States Army division. In telling the story of a comparatively limited number of troops, the author has been able to present the combat experience of small units in sharper focus than has been possible in most of the other full-scale campaign volumes. The campaign abounds in lessons. The strategic significance of the Papuan Campaign can be briefly stated. In addition to blunting the Japanese thrust toward Australia and the transpacific line of communications, it put General MacArthur’s forces in a favorable position to take the offensive. But this little known campaign is significant for still another reason. It was the battle test of a large hitherto-inexperienced U. S. Army force and its commanders under the conditions which were to attend much of the ground fighting in the Pacific. Costly in casualties and suffering, it taught lessons that the Army had to learn if it was to cope with the Japanese under conditions of tropical warfare. |
Contents
xv | |
xxii | |
xxiii | |
xxxix | |
xlvii | |
lvi | |
lxxiv | |
1Battle of Coral Sea 58 May 1942 | lxxvi |
CHAPTER IX | xcviii |
The 16th Brigade Moves on Sanananda 171 | xcviii |
8Establishing Roadblock | xcviii |
The First Two Weeks at Buna 189 | xcviii |
I Corps Reaches the Front 219 | xcviii |
The Fighting West of the Girua 237 | xcviii |
The Second Two Weeks 258 | xcviii |
Warren Force Takes the Initiative 284 | xcviii |
2Bulolo Valley Area | lxxxiv |
Providence Forestalled 59 | lxxxviii |
3The Pacific Areas 1 August 1942 | xciv |
Kokoda Thrust 70 | xcviii |
4KokodaTempletons Crossing Area | xcviii |
The Japanese Offensive Collapses 87 | xcviii |
5Japanese Attack at Milne Bay 2631 August 1942 | xcviii |
The Advance on the Beachhead 117 | xcviii |
6Plan of 1 October 1942 | xcviii |
The Allies Close In 143 | xcviii |
7Plan of Attack 16 November 1942 | xcviii |
Urbana Force Closes on the Mission 305 | xcviii |
The Fall of Buna 327 | xcviii |
Clearing the Track Junction 352 | xcviii |
The Final Offensive 375 | xcviii |
The Victory 394 | lx |
REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 405 | lxxix |
Published Materials 411 | xcii |
November 1942 | xcvi |
IVAllied Advance Across Owen Stanley Range | 26 |
September15 November 1942 | 37 |
Common terms and phrases
128th Infantry 163d Infantry 18th Brigade 1st Battalion 1st Lt 2/10 Battalion 25-pounders 2d Battalion 32d Division advance air force airfield Allied American ammunition antiaircraft arrived artillery attack Australian beachhead began Blamey Boerem bridge Buna bunkers Cape Endaiadere Captain carriers coast Colonel Colonel Grose Colonel Tomlinson command Company G crossing December defense Dobodura east Eichelberger enemy positions engineer Entrance Creek fighting fire flank Giruwa Gona grenades Guinea Force headquarters heavy Horii Imperial General Headquarters island Japanese jungle Killerton Kokoda Kumusi kunai landing MacArthur machine guns Major miles Milne Bay mission morning mortars naval night November operations ordered Oro Bay patrol perimeter plantation platoon of Company Pongani Popondetta Port Moresby Rabaul reached rear regimental reinforced roadblock Salamaua Sanananda Simemi Soputa South Seas Detachment strip supply swamp tanks track junction trail Triangle troops U.S. Pacific Fleet units Urbana Force village Wanigela Warren front wounded yards Zeeff