japanese invasion of dutch new guinea

[18], "[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 the sea. [13] Because aircraft carriers had not been previously used to support Allied amphibious landings in the South-West Pacific, in early 1944 the Japanese leadership judged that Hollandia was safe from a direct attack as it was beyond the range of the available Allied fighter aircraft. Two months after JICPOA was formed US forces invaded the Gilbert Islands. [39] 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. }); The Capture and Exploitation of Japanese Records during World War II, From Rabaul to Stack 190: The Travels of a Famous Japanese Army Publication., Japanese War Crimes and Related Records: A Guide to Records in the National Archives,, The Beginnings of the United States Armys Japanese Language Training: From the Presidio of San Francisco to Camp Savage, Minnesota 1941-1942,, The Sinking of the Japanese Submarine I-1 off of Guadalcanal and the Recovery of its Secret Documents., A Letter from Somewhere in Burma, June 1944, Seventy Years Ago: The Makin Island Raid, August 1942., The Marines and Japanese Souvenirs on Guadalcanal August-October 1942, Seventy Years Ago: Colonel Sidney F. Mashbir and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), September-October 1942., The National Archives Arthur Evarts Kimberly and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Sections Document Restoration Sub-Section, 1944-1945., The Z Plan Story: Japans 1944 Naval Battle Strategy Drifts into U.S. Hands, Part I, Allied Translator and Interpreter Section. In New Guinea, U.S. and Australian infantry were moving along the northern coast, pushing the Japanese before them. [59], Operation Reckless was an unqualified success, as were the landings around Aitape under the guise of Operation Persecution. Rabaul became the forward base for the Japanese campaigns in mainland New Guinea, including the pivotal Kokoda Track campaign of July 1942 - January 1943, and the Battle of Buna-Gona. 76) and Japanese efforts to fight Plague and Cholera (No. The landing was unopposed as the enemy garrison indicated its intention of surrendering by hoisting a white flag at the first sight of the invasion force. The battle of Hollandia (22-27 April 1944) was part of Operation Reckless and saw the Americans leapfrog past a series of Japanese bases to capture a key position on the northern coast of New Guinea, catching the Japanese almost entirely by surprise and winning an unexpectedly easy victory.. According to Morison, "the Japanese retreat down the Kokoda Trail had turned into a rout. The report contained 28 pages of translations, each translation accompanied by a photostatic copy of the original document and authenticated under oath by the translation. They arrived off Hollandia during the night of 21/22 April and about 20 miles (32km) offshore, the convoy split again with the Central Attack Group preceding for Humboldt Bay while the Western Attack Group turned towards Tanahmerah Bay. Late in June, an officers notebook captured at Mokmer, Dutch New Guinea on June 11th, contained a sketch showing strength and company dispositions surrounding the airfield. While military planners argued the merits of one approach over another, two main lines of attack were actually followed during 1944: (1) MacArthurs ground forces (including Army, Marine, and Navy elements) strengthened their hold in New Guinea and eventually invaded the Philippines; (2) Nimitzs naval forces drove across the central Pacific from the Gilberts to the Marianas and then covered the landing in the Philippines. In New Guinea, U.S. and Australian infantry were moving along the northern coast, pushing the Japanese before them. MacArthur, the supreme commander in the area, also commanded all U.S. Army troops in the Southwest Pacific in his capacity as commanding general, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East. The plane in which Fukudome was flying also crashed into the sea, near the island of Cebu. Meanwhile, on 30 March and continuing to 3 April these air forces attacked Hollandia itself and the airfields on the Sentani plain. In addition, at the request of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 [Intelligence], USAFFE (US Army Forces in the Far East), an ATIS officer periodically delivered lectures on the importance and classification of Japanese documents to Army Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) classes. The Japanese entered Lae and Salamaua, two locations on Huon Gulf, on 8 March 1942 unopposed. [27] As the Japanese ground forces pressed toward Port Moresby, the Allied Air Forces struck supply points along the Kokoda Track. [41] After rehearsals and loading, on 16 to 18 April the amphibious forces sailed from their bases at Finschafen and Goodenough Island; they joined up with other ships carrying troops bound for Aitape from Seeadler Harbour and then rendezvoused with the escort aircraft carriers providing air cover off Manus Island early on 20 April. 25 with Anti-Japanese activities in Java; and No. They totaled 104 in number. 141, for example, contained random poems of a Prisoner of War. Miscellaneous identifications taken from documents captured in early November in the Pinamopoan Area, Leyte, gave the first indication of the Japanese 1st Divisions presence in this area. He had planned to move first to Hansa Bay, but with airfields operational in the Admiralty Islands, the Hansa Bay assault was deemed unnecessary. According to Morison, the Japanese "never again risked a transport larger than a small coaster or barge in waters shadowed by American planes. Horikoshi was in the Philippine Islands from May 1942 to August 1943, and the diary contained a good coverage of that period, depicting atrocities, conditions in Allied prisoner-of-war camps, and conditions in the Philippine Islands in general. This document was immediately translated and subsequently provided new bombing targets for the B-29s over Japan and during the early occupation provided a means of quickly locating and seizing armaments. During the landing, the first JICPOA team accompanied the invasion forces. hbspt.enqueueForm({ [25] But fighters did provide cover for the transports, and for bombers when their targets were within range. Dutch Indies Japan Nava Occupation Sulawesi GORONTALO with orange disc (2X) $3.25 . Both Information Request Reports and Information Bulletins were supplanted in June 1944, by Research Reports which fulfilled both requirements. [7], MacArthur met with the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, at Brisbane between 25 and 27 March to discuss the role of the Navy in the operation. They included plans, charts, air defense details on all Japanese-held Pacific islands, and battle orders. 76, Part 4, Prominent Factors in Japanese Military Psychology.. 17 with Allied and Japanese Operations Among Natives of Dutch New Guinea; No. [4] See The Beginnings of the United States Armys Japanese Language Training: From the Presidio of San Francisco to Camp Savage, Minnesota 1941-1942,. Simultaneous operations from these two locations, one amphibious and one overland, would converge on the target city. [5], According to John Laffin, the campaign "was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II". portalId: 20973928, With New Guinea well under control, the Allies made their first strike toward the Philippines on September 15, 1944, when the U.S. XI Corps landed on Morotai Island, halfway between the Vogelkop Peninsula and Mindanao, the southernmost large island of the Philippines. [12] General Headquarters South West Pacific Area Operational Instruction No.7 of 25 May 1942, issued by Commander-Allied-Forces, General Douglas MacArthur, placed all Australian and US Army, Air Force and Navy Forces in the Port Moresby Area under the control of New Guinea Force. This information was transferred to a G-2 overlay and became a factor in the tactics adopted in that particular operation. Intelligence gained from breaking the codes protecting Imperial Japanese Army radio messages led the Allies to learn that the Hollandia area was only lightly defended, with Japanese forces being concentrated in the Madang-Wewak region. Between November 1943 and March 1944 18 Squadron was ordered to prevent Japanese reinforcements reaching the north-east part of Papua and New Guinea. Red 2 beach was found to be highly unsuitable and the promised roads were non-existent. This success was attributable to Milne Bay's Australian and US defenders together with the crews of the (mostly Dutch) merchantmen that had delivered vital supplies and reinforcements to the garrison. The Battle for Milne Bay was a small one as World War II engagements went, but very important. While captured records were quickly evaluated in the field, almost all were eventually sent back to Hawaii, and some of those on to the Washington Document Center in Washington, D.C.[12] Although JICPOA was a major player in the captured documents intelligence business, it was ATIS, however, during the war years that handled the most documents. The diary covered the period January 1942-January 1944. During the period of October 1942-July 1943, the work of indexing, abstracting and collating information from captured documents and prisoners of war, answering internal queries, and providing information to assist translators and examiners, was carried on by a staff consisting of six officers and ten enlisted personnel. Through this, a complete picture of the organization, strength and disposition of this force was gleaned. This was usually done in the form of listings (usually termed bulletins) that provided a brief description of the records and various types of publications containing full or partial translations of specific documents and publications containing full or partial translations of documents relating to a general or specific topic. [48][55], According to historian Stanley Kirby, the collapse of Japanese resistance was due to a lack of preparedness, changes in the command structure and a lack of combat troops; many of the 11,000 men based there were administrative and support units. The heavy cruiser Nachi, which was sunk in Manila Bay in November 1944, provided a massive quantity of annotated charts of minefields and defenses, diaries, logs, blueprints, fleet operation plans and orders dating back to before the Pearl Harbor attack, and numerous books on Japanese naval tactics and doctrine. It held what turned out to be a gold mine of valuable documents, including battle plans, codes and letters. The U.S. built Naval Base Morotai, . They were numerical inventories under 17 principal categories of documents considered to be of probable or general value. Approval was granted four days later. [21][22] Of the total force, 22,500 combat troops were assigned to the landing at Aitape; while the rest (nearly 30,000) were allocated to the Hollandia landings. 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. After the cessation of hostilities, the War Crimes Echelon, a separate part of ATIS, was established. New Guinean porters carry a load through the jungle. ", John Vader, New Guinea: The Tide Is Stemmed, p. 93, The Australian 7th Division under the command of Major General George Alan Vasey, along with the revitalized US 32nd Division, restarted the Allied offensive. On November 5th, a map was captured in the Capoocan Area, Leyte, which presumable showed proposed operations, and was possibly connected with the Grand Offensive of mid-November. [1][2], Hollandia was situated on the east side of a headland separating Humboldt Bay to the east and Tanahmerah Bay, 25 miles (40km) to the west. When Japanese Americans on the West Coast were moved into internment camps in the late spring of 1942, the school moved to temporary quarters at Camp Savage, Minnesota. 67 (Japanese Warships and Merchant Vessels Sunk, Damaged or not Previously Listed); No. A map, also captured on March 21st, and quickly translated, proved to be more accurate than maps possessed by the attacking forces. Blog of the Textual Records Division at the National Archives. 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). However, using 27 tons, at 40 lbs. When the Japanese invaded New Guinea in early 1942, they began a struggle for control of the island which would last until the end of the Second World War. Capturing it would both neutralize the Allies' principal forward base and serve as a springboard for a possible invasion of Australia. The U.S. 24th Division's 19th and 21st Regimental Combat Teams (RCTs) were to land at Tanahmerah Bay. These were supported by a force of eight escort carriers of the 5th Fleet. Although the quantity of documents captured in South East Asia and China were not as voluminous as those found elsewhere, nevertheless there were major collections captured. 72 was published as an accumulation of documentary evidence for the Commission Regarding Breaches of the Rules of Warfare by the Japanese Forces of the Australian Commonwealth. The Battle of Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway in 1942 represented crucial losses for the Japanese and marked a turning point in the war. This document provided a complete list of approximately 40,000 Japanese Army officers together with their assignments. Red 1 was found to be better, allowing LVTs and LCMs to come ashore with their infantry charges, but the approaches had to be cleared by engineers to allow the passage of the larger LCMs and even after this had been completed. [18] A large number of Japanese aircraft were stationed at airfields near Hollandia in March 1944. The sinking of over 25,000 tones of Japanese ships earned the unit the nickname . Researchers should, of course, use the National Archives Catalog. Consequently, the volume of documents captured was very small, and was largely confined to those of a personal nature which individuals were apt to carry upon their persons. Before the operation against the Japanese at Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, 41 st CIC Detachment Special Agent in Charge Duval Edwards at Finschhaven during March and April 1944 gave many lectures on the great importance of soldiers turning in any captured documents. In the early months of 1944, both at Bougainville and at Rabaul, large numbers of Japanese troops were effectively put out of action without being confronted in bloody combat. ATIS was directed to make available to the board any and all information having to do with the identification of Japanese war criminals. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "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"[37] About one week later, the Japanese completed their evacuation of Guadalcanal. [15] The only Allied response was a bombing raid of Lae and Salamaua by aircraft flying over the Owen Stanley Range from the carriers USSLexington and USSYorktown, leading the Japanese to reinforce these sites. The first appeared on October 19, 1944, and as of September 1, 1945, eight had been completed and published. The area was selected by the Second Area Army as a key base for the defense of western New Guinea in September 1943, though by November it had been decided that it would form an outpost to the main defensive positions which were located further to the west. This document was used as a measuring standard for Japanese military activities on Luzon. [50], Three transports were assigned to the operation, Westralia, Gunston Hall and Ganymede. After the Japanese invasion of New Guinea the Americans, aided by Australian troops, organized a series of landings and other offensive actions against the Japanese in New Guinea. [14] Some sources indicate the figure was 50 tons. It stated also that the land offensive was scheduled to commence some time in the middle of November. West Papua: Forgotten War, Unwanted People. Having been organized along lines completely unorthodox, these were invaluable documents to the G-2 Section, especially as this Force was a major enemy unit on the left flank near La Union, Luzon, at that time. 1, List of Japanese Military Conventional Signs and Abbreviations (March 4, 1943); No. 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. The attack force comprised 84,000 personnel, including 52,000 combat troops, 23,000 support personnel, and a naval task force of 200 vessels of 7th Fleets Task Force 77 under Rear Admiral Daniel Barbey. Advancing on Australia The Japanese effort at the start of World War Two was focused on conquest. Gen. Millard F. Harmon, who was also subordinate to Nimitz. 7 was cancelled and no record is held that No. The battle took place between 22 April and 6 June 1944 and formed part of the New Guinea campaign. A unified American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, ABDACOM, under Wavell, responsible for holding Malaya, Sumatra, Java, . Except for some fairly heavy air raids, the Japanese reacted feebly to this penetration of their last defenses before the Philippines. [9] See Seventy Years Ago: The Makin Island Raid, August 1942., [10] The Armys Counter Intelligence Corps faced similar problems with souvenir hunters. The convoy split around 80 miles (130km) offshore, with the Eastern Attack Group, consisting of troops assigned to Operation Persecution turning away for Aitape. 'We are repeating the failure of Guadalcanal. Other organizations were established throughout the Pacific Theater to translate and exploit the records. The Allies made good use of the information in the naval campaigns that followed. Admiral Nimitz exploited the same intelligence advantage when he planned the next stage of the Navys campaign in the central Pacific. He told soldiers that ATIS personnel had told him that they had seen Japanese . The students were mostly second-generation Japanese-Americans (Nisei) from the West Coast. These provided the first clues to breaking the Japanese Navys operational codes. Also that summer, the 441st CIC unit established a clinical laboratory, which, among other things, restored charred documents. Fukudome was still carrying the Z Plan and the cipher codes. It made the term amphibious a household word throughout the English-speaking world. [63][64], Meanwhile, the Allies quickly made the Sentani airfields operational and were able to mount bombing raids on Japanese positions as far west as Biak, making them useless for air operations. Tweet. Between the mountain ridge and the lake was a narrow plain where the Japanese had built a number of airfields; three had been constructed by April 1944 and a fourth was under construction. This information and the examination of shattered emplacements by engineers enabled marine and navy experts to construct in Hawaii exact copies of the Japanese pillboxes on Tarawa and then find the best way to destroy them. [21] Japanese bombers were often escorted by fighters which came in at 30,000ft (9,100m)too high to be intercepted by the P-39s and P-40sgiving the Japanese an altitude advantage in air combat. 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Make available to the board any and all information having to do with the identification of Japanese ships the! Overlay and became a factor in the naval campaigns that followed English-speaking World planned the next of... Guinea, U.S. and Australian infantry were moving along the northern coast, pushing the Japanese forces. Across from the article title their assignments, and battle orders March 1942 unopposed to.! Z Plan and the cipher codes the Z Plan and the cipher codes this document provided a picture. Serve as a measuring standard for Japanese military activities on Luzon the stage! Us forces invaded the Gilbert Islands land at Tanahmerah Bay first JICPOA team accompanied the invasion forces land... 21St Regimental Combat Teams ( RCTs ) were to land at Tanahmerah Bay directed to make available to board... The sea, near the island of Cebu September 1, list of Japanese were... 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Penetration of their last defenses before the Philippines forces invaded the Gilbert Islands raids, the CIC... 25 with Anti-Japanese activities in Java ; and No as were the landings around Aitape the! Ships earned the unit the nickname, pushing the Japanese before them Prisoner War. Tactics adopted in that particular Operation the island of Cebu eight escort carriers of the page across the... On the target city a springboard for a possible invasion of Australia the Kokoda Trail had turned into a.... Formed part of ATIS, was established used as a measuring standard for Japanese activities! Not Previously Listed ) ; No the Z Plan and the promised roads non-existent. Used as a springboard for a possible invasion of Australia it stated also that summer, War!

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