Battle of Buna-Gona
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Buna–Gona was a battle in the New Guinea campaign
, a major part of the Pacific campaign
of World War II
. On 16 November 1942, Australian
and United States forces
attacked the main Japanese
beachhead
s in New Guinea
, at Buna
, Sanananda
and Gona
. Both forces were riddled by disease and lacking the most basic supplies, including medicine and food. The Japanese were under pressure to hold Guadalcanal
, which had forced them to withdraw their forces when they were within sight of Port Moresby. Since arriving in June, the Japanese had built on the north coast hundreds of well-camouflaged, reinforced bunker
s in mutually supporting positions blocking all available approaches. Combined with the forces who had returned from the Kokoda Track, the Japanese initially had nearly 5,500 troops on the northern coast. This rose to about 6,500 later in the battle.
Because of poor intelligence, Supreme Commander
MacArthur
and his staff vastly underestimated the number of defenders and the superior quality of the Japanese defensive system. MacArthur’s chief of staff Lt. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland
glibly referred to the Japanese fortifications as "hasty field entrenchments." When the Allies attacked on three fronts beginning on 16 November, they were immediately stymied by the excellent Japanese defensive position. The Allies suffered heavy casualties and gained virtually no ground. They had only a few artillery pieces and their mortar ammunition was so limited it was rationed. Although requested, the Allies lacked tank and naval support. They received only partially effective air support.
MacArthur repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the U.S. 32nd Infantry Division's inability to defeat the Japanese. On 29 November, after 13 days of poor results and high casualties, he ordered Lieutenant General
Eichelberger
—commander of the U.S. I Corps in the South West Pacific Area
—to relieve Major General Edwin F. Harding
along with most of his regimental and battalion commanders.
Harding was replaced in turn by first, his former artillery commander Albert W. Waldron, then Eichelberger's Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Clovis E. Byers
, and finally by Eichelberger himself. Only then did Eichelberger fully appreciate the difficulty faced by the Allies in overcoming the Japanese forces. He learned that the majority of his troops had fevers and were sick with a variety of illnesses including malaria
, dengue fever
, bush typhus
, and tropical dysentery
.
Supplies, including food, were a major problem for both the Allied and Japanese forces. The Japanese were at first resupplied by destroyers who slipped through from Rabaul, and later by submarines that arrived by night, until the Allies' increasingly effective air and naval forces cut off further supply. After the battle ended, the Allies found evidence of cannibalism among the Japanese.
The Allies were at first supplied only by air drop and by sea until they could build rough airstrips at Wanigela and then Pongani. Even then, they remained short on ammunition, medicine, and food. Some U.S. troops were reduced to a small portion of a C ration each day.
The Allied forces only made significant progress when they were finally given the tanks and artillery they had long sought. On 2 January, they captured Buna, and on 22 January 1943, after prolonged intense fighting in extraordinarily difficult conditions, the Allied
forces killed or captured almost the entire defending Japanese forces. Only a few hundred escaped to the north. Casualties on both sides were extremely high. General Eichelberger later compared the casualty ratio to the American Civil War
. As a percentage of casualties, killed or wounded in action at Buna exceeded the better known Battle of Guadalcanal
by a margin of three to one.
to take Port Moresby by sea, they had landed on the north coast of New Guinea on 21 July 1942 and established beachheads at Buna
, Gona
and Sanananda
. From there, they had attacked
over the Kokoda Track
in an attempt to take Port Moresby
by land. Meeting the Japanese on the Kokoda Track
, the vastly outnumbered Australian forces fought a two-month defensive battle, pushed back over the track toward Port Moresby over very difficult terrain by the superior Japanese forces. Within 48 km (29.8 mi) of Port Moresby, 80% of the Japanese forces had been wounded, killed or disabled by disease. The Japanese troop's medical care was virtually non-existent, many were out of food, and nearly all of the men were sick. Nonetheless, General Horii wanted to push forward to Port Moresby. His unit paused on a hill just east of Imita Ridge, where his troops could see Port Moresby's lights reflected in the sky, and waited for the reinforcements promised him. When he instead received orders to withdraw so the Imperial Forces could concentrate their resources on the battle for Guadalcanal
, he was despondent.
The Australian forces counterattacked the retreating Japanese, fighting a series of tough battles against Japanese rearguard defenses on the narrow mountain track. The Japanese established a defensive line at Eora Creek, but after several days of fighting, they left their position to be defended by sick and wounded troops while the remainder escaped to the coast. The Australians continued to attack the withdrawing Japanese until they reached the more heavily defended lines near the Buna-Gona perimeter. Australian forces meanwhile defeated the Japanese's attempt to capture strategically important Milne Bay
on the eastern tip of New Guinea. It was the first time in the Pacific war that the Japanese had been prevented from capturing their objective.
Tangled among the closely spaced 25–100 ft (7.6–30.5 m) high trees was a tangle of roots, creepers, and brush. If a man stood, which guaranteed he would be shot at, he could only see 5–30 yd (4.6–27.4 m). Visibility from a fox hole was practically zero. If the ground was not actually swamp, it was thoroughly waterlogged. The only way across was via a few native tracks that followed the higher ground, but even they were always muddy and thoroughly soaked in wet weather. The Japanese had placed their camouflaged bunkers on dry ground at key points across all possible access points. Vehicle travel was impossible. The bush, swamp, forest, rivers and beach made it virtually impossible to flank the Japanese positions. Along the edge of the sea was a strip of dry, sandy soil where the Japanese had built emplacements.
The Japanese were now commanded by Maj. Gen. Oda, succeeding General Horii
, who had drowned in the ocean off shore from the Kumusi River while retreating from their initial attack across the Kokoda Track
on Port Moresby
. Unable to dig deep trenches or shelters due to the 0.91 m (3 ft) deep water table, the Japanese had instead built hundreds of coconut log bunker
s. These had been built with mutually supporting lines of fire and were organized in depth. The bunkers were often linked by trenches allowing the Japanese to move at will among them, reinforcing one another. The bunkers were normally supported by infantry in firing pits to the front, sides and rear. Some of the larger bunkers were protected with steel plate or steel rails and 40-gallon barrels filled with sand. Some blockhouse
s were covered in earth that protected them from artillery fire and concealed with fast-growing jungle vegetation. Some bunkers concealed four or five machine gun emplacements and could hold 20-30 soldiers. A handful of pillboxes near the abandoned airstrip about a mile from the Buna Mission were built using steel and concrete.
Many smaller fortifications were placed in perimeter positions that were thick with trees or jungle vegetation. Well-concealed firing slits were a few feet above ground. The bunkers rose only 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m) high, and were so well concealed that the emplacements were virtually invisible to attackers until the Japanese unleashed their weapons on the unsuspecting Allied troops. All of these positions could generate devastating interlocking fields of fire, supported by many sniper
s hidden in tall trees.
and to evacuate wounded personnel by sea, using submarines to maintain contact with the beachheads. It took almost two months for the Allies to finally cut the Japanese sea lanes of communication, reinforcement, and re-supply.
The Japanese garrison was a mix of army and naval forces. It initially numbered about 5,500 Imperial Japanese Army combat personnel: the remnants of the 144th Infantry Regiment
, the 15th Independent Engineer Regiment, the 3rd Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment, a divisional cavalry
detachment, and the 47th Field Anti-Aircraft Battalion. A few field artillery batteries were guarding the beachheads proper. In addition to these army units, there were about 500 marines from the 5th Yokosuka and 5th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Force
s. Additional troops were landed after the battle began, bringing Japanese strength to about 6,500.
and marines from the Special Naval Landing Forces held the beachhead. The Allies had very poor maps and limited reconnaissance photos of the area, which would later make it extremely difficult to accurately position and target artillery. Based on what little they knew about the area, Allied intelligence believed that widespread swampland would render the construction of strongpoints in the Buna-Gona area impossible. Supreme Commander
Douglas MacArthur
received intelligence from Brigadier General
Charles A. Willoughby, who told MacArthur before the operation that there was "little indication of an attempt to make a strong stand against the Allied advance." Unfamiliar with the state of Japanese defenses, Lt. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland
, MacArthur’s chief of staff, glibly referred to these fortifications as "hasty field entrenchments." All of this information led MacArthur to believe that Buna could be taken with relative ease.
—Commander in Chief, United States Fleet
and Chief of Naval Operations
—was not completely satisfied with MacArthur sharing command with Admiral Chester Nimitz
and held out hope that Nimitz might get overall command. MacArthur's repeated requests for naval support were often simply put aside, and MacArthur felt the Admiral's antipathy. MacArthur's position as Supreme Commander
was mostly a political and strategic appointment and did not give him any direct combat command. MacArthur did however enjoy a close relationship with Australian Prime Minister
John Curtin
, who strongly admired MacArthur. MacArthur—who had to depend on Australian commanders to carry out his plans—often used his influence with Curtin to obtain changes in Australian decisions. Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey
exercised command of all Allied land forces but he was not well liked.
MacArthur insisted that the U.S. 32nd Infantry Division be immediately moved from Australia to New Guinea in October 1942. The 2nd Battalion of the 126th Infantry Regiment was called on to trek 210 km (130.5 mi) from 14 October-12 November across the extremely rugged Kapa Kapa Trail
. They did not encounter a single enemy soldier, but more than ⅔ of their men became casualties, sick with malaria
, dengue fever
, bush typhus
, amoebic dysentery
, bacillary
, along with jungle rot
, dobie itch, trench foot
, athlete's foot
and ringworm.
Exhausted from their march, the division stopped for one week at Natunga to resupply. They then were directed to the front lines against seasoned Japanese combat veterans, and in the ensuring battle soon ran short of weapons, medicine and even food.
when the division was suddenly redirected to Australia. When in Australia, they had moved to three different camps and were tasked with building one of them. What limited training they had received in Australia had been to prepare them to fight in Australia's outback to defend the country from Japanese attack. Their heavy-weight Herringbone Twill
combat uniforms were the wrong color. Learning from the experience of Australian soldiers, who in the early part of the Kokoda Track campaign
wore tan uniforms that stood out against the jungle, the Americans had two sets of their uniforms dyed a darker green at a dry cleaner in Brisbane. Unfortunately, the dye was more like paint and would not allow the cloth to wick moisture away from the skins, causing skin diseases. The 32nd was not trained, equipped or prepared to fight in the jungle nor taught Japanese tactics.
s and twelve 155 mm (6.1 in) howitzer
s. Due to a lack of transportation, these had all been left in Australia. American officers argued against artillery support
as unnecessary. General George Kenney
—Commander of the Allied
air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area
—was confident that his planes would supplant the role of traditional artillery. His opinion was respected by MacArthur.
Major General Edwin F. Harding
and his artillery commander—Brig. Gen. Samuel Waldron—finally persuaded MacArthur's headquarters to break down one 105 mm howitzer and fly it to Pongani, where it was moved closer to Buna for fire support. They also borrowed eight 25-pounder gun
s from the Australians.
and Milne Bay
—were distant. The Owen Stanley Ranges were impassable to motor vehicles. The Imperial Japanese Navy
and air forces controlled the Bismarck Sea
to the north of New Guinea. The attacking troops initially were dependent on airdrop
s by the Liberator
cargo planes of the U.S. Fifth Air Force
and makeshift transport units assembled by the Royal Australian Air Force
, as well as coastal shipping, which was vulnerable to air attack. On 2 November, while the 126th Infantry Regiment was crawling on their hands and knees over portions of the Kapa Kapa Track and the 9000 ft (2,743.2 m) Owen Stanley Range, a local missionary suggested an alternative. Cecil Abel came into Port Moresby and told the Allies that they might be able to build an airstrip on the far side of the Owen Stanley Range at Fasari in the Musa River valley and at Pongani. Col. Lief Sverdrup
set out from Abau on foot with 190 men, including Flight Lieutenant
M. J. Leahy, an expert on Papua, who knew many of the tribal chiefs personally. They reached Fasari on 18 October and hired local villages to clear the site by burning the bush and clearing a few stumps.
Sverdrup and Leahy explored further north and found another suitable airstrip site near the village of Embessa and Kinjaki, which Sverdrup had cleared. A message dropped by air instructed him to go to Pongani
, where he found troops of Company C, 114th Engineer Battalion that had flown to Wanigela airstrip
and had made their way to Pongani by traveling along the coast by boat. Sverdrup supervised the construction of Pongani airstrip
. All three airstrips were soon in use. Sverdrup was later awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
for his efforts, including walking across the Owen Stanley Range three times far forward of friendly forces, and building the essential air strips.
While the airfields were under construction, supplies were severely limited, and even food was in such short supply during November and early December that many Allied soldiers sometimes received only a small portion of a C ration each day. Mortar crews were given very limited ammo and told to ration it. However, USAAF and RAAF ground attack and bomber aircraft, typified by the Douglas A-20 Havoc and Bristol Beaufighter
respectively, represented a significant and ever-increasing advantage for the Allies, although given the jungle overhead combined with poor maps, the Allies dropped bombs on their own units more than once.
In October, the Allies captured Goodenough Island
to the east of New Guinea without much Japanese resistance and began to use it staging point for air and naval patrols. General Kenney procured a flotilla of local water craft along with a few military ships and ferried supplies from Milne Bay around the southern end of New Guinea to Wanigela, arriving on 16 October.
On 14 October 1942, elements of 2/6th Independent Company
were flown from 14-Mile Drome
across the mountains to Wanigela Airfield
, Wangiela
.A and D Patrols were still in the Kokoda area at this time along with Y Patrol which was heading to the Yodda River. Only about 100 men were available at Wanigela in mid-October. (Trigellis-Smith 1992, p. 82) From Wanigela, the company moved to Pongani
. When the offensive started, the 2/6th patrolled in front of the U.S. 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment along the coast from Pongani to Buna
. Under the command of Major Harry Harcourt, they provided flank protection and reconnaissance and was engaged in heavy fighting around the airfield named New Strip until early December 1942. Situated in the coastal area south of Cape Endaiadere, on a line running inland to Sinemi Creek, this became known as the Warren Force.
The U.S. 32nd Infantry Division—commanded by Major General Edwin F. Harding
—launched the initial attack on Buna on 16 November. Deployed along the Ango-Buna track, they contacted the enemy about 1 mi (1.6 km) south of Buna. General Harding requested tanks from Milne Bay
but the Allies lacked the boats required to ship them. They were later sent thinly armored, open-top, and lightly armed Bren gun carriers
, a machine gun or mortar and transport platform. These were rapidly knocked out by the Japanese. Tanks and artillery did not arrive until 18 December, a month after the battle began, when they made a significant impact.
s through the slits. General Vasey requested that Lieutenant General
Edmund Herring
send the 21st Brigade
as reinforcements. The 32nd Division had only two howitzers belonging to Battery A of the 129th Field Artillery in New Guinea, the remaining batteries having remained at Camp Cable in Australia due to a lack of transport. The four gun sections of Battery A were the first howitzers flown into combat, first landing at Port Moresby
. Then, ½ of Battery A—two gun sections—were air-lifted over the Owen Stanley Mountains to Buna and reassembled, becoming the first U.S. Army artillery flown into combat in the Pacific in World War II.
When additional artillery finally arrived on 26 November, the accuracy of artillery fire was limited by poor maps and the inability of the forward artillery observer
's to see far enough through the dense jungle. On that morning, the Japanese lines were strafed
and bombed at tree-top level for nearly an hour by P-40s and Beaufighters. A-20s bombed the Japanese rear areas for another 30 minutes. The air attacks were then followed by 30 minutes of pounding by mortar
s, machine guns, and the newly available artillery. At 9:30, the infantry advanced as scheduled, but it immediately became apparent that the two hours of bombardment had not touched the enemy, still hidden in their bunkers.
Harding reluctantly accepted MacArthur's decision to rely on direct air support, and his troops were stopped cold by the formidable Japanese field fortifications. One battalion of the U.S. 126th Infantry Regiment, detached from the 32nd Division crossed the Girua River at Inonde and joined the Australian 7th Division
—minus one brigade—under Maj. Gen. George Vasey. This group, named the Urbana Force, were charged with defending Soputa and with the subsequent attack on Sanananda.
.jpg)
The Gona push was reinforced by the remnants of Maroubra Force
, made up of the battered 30th Brigade
, a Militia unit which included the "ragged bloody heroes" of the Kokoda Track, the 39th Battalion. The Australian 16th Brigade
—detached from the 6th Division
—would push toward Sanananda. The Australian and U.S. forces were shifted between the Buna and Sanananda fronts, resulting in blurred lines of communication and leadership.
By the evening of the first day, the Allied lines had barely moved. Units of the U.S. 1/126th Infantry got close enough to the Japanese positions to learn that the Japanese machine guns were positioned in bunkers reinforced with oil drum
s and covered with roofs. Fighting was bitter from the outset: the Australian 7th Division took 204 casualties in the first three days of its thrust.
Each Japanese bunker contained several well-concealed machine guns. At times, the jungle was so dense that the Allied troops could not tell from which direction the Japanese were firing. Japanese Sniper
s tied themselves to the tops of coconut trees and picked off targets. By the time the Allied advance on Buna had stalled in late November, morale was low due to heavy casualties and disease. Self-inflicted wound
s were increasingly responsible for American casualties.
On 20 November, MacArthur—operating from his comfortable headquarters in Port Moresby—ordered Harding to attack "regardless of losses". The following day, he sent another missive to Harding, telling him to "take Buna today at all costs". General Edmund Herring
arrived at the American front on 25 November and reported that the American infantry had "maintained a masterly inactivity at Buna".
When MacArthur offered the 41st American Division as reinforcements for the advance on Gona, Australian General Thomas Blamey
declined. This was later seen as payback for earlier statements by MacArthur about the fighting ability of Australian troops. Blamey stated he would rely on his depleted 21st Brigade as he "knew they would fight".
On 19 November, Blamey sent a communication through MacArthur and tried to persuade Admiral Arthur S. Carpender
—who controlled U.S. Navy vessels—to provide support.
Carpender would not commit destroyers to the mission and gave the lack of charts for the area as the reason. Even as the U.S. and Australian attack was bogging down, they were offered no naval support.
On 29 November, the Japanese were reinforced by the remaining 500 troops from the South Seas Detachment
(mostly the 41st Infantry Regiment under Colonel Kiyomi Yazawa), which had led the Kokoda Track campaign
and retreated to the sea at a point north of Gona. They were shuttled by boat to the Sananada stronghold.
, had become frustrated at what he saw as poor performance by the 32nd Division, especially its commissioned officers. He told the US I Corps commander, Major General Robert L. Eichelberger
:
On 30 November, the 2/126th became the first to significantly penetrate the enemy lines at Buna, successfully pushing the Japanese back several hundred metres. On 1 December, Harding directed attacks on both the Urbana and the Warren front. On the Urbana front, Company E of the 126th, reinforced by the headquarters companies of both battalions, was able with support from the available 25-pounder artillery piece and mortar support to advance across an open area below the bridge over the Girua River, but then inexplicably withdrew, perhaps due to a communications problem. E and F Companies from the 126th, along with a platoon from the 128th, resumed the attack on 2 December, but were stopped by heavy machine gun fire from every direction they approached. A visiting medical officer reported that the men looked like "Christ of the Cross." These and other reports did not mollify Eichelberger's view of the situation.
On the Warren front, the attack on 2 December began with an air attack, but a planned artillery barrage was late. When the infantry finally advanced, they were stopped once again by the Japanese without significant gains. Many troops dropped from heat exhaustion.
Eichelberger arrived in Buna to inspect the troops on 2 December after the combat action for the day had played itself out. Accompanied by Harding and Brigadier General Albert W. Waldron, Eichelberger stopped to visit an aid station. They found among the casualties unwounded men who were sick with fever and exhaustion and a few with combat fatigue. Eichelberger was further upset when he learned that day's attack had failed. They walked forward, and when he was not fired on by the Japanese concluded that the U.S. troops faced little opposition. He was disturbed when he found there wasn't a continuous front and criticized the placement of a machine gun, seeing this as proof the men were not pressing a weak enemy. He queried troops about where a path led and was told it was covered by a Japanese machine gun. He offered to decorate any man who would run 50 yd (45.7 m) down the path. No one took him up on his offer, and he decided they were cowards.
Eichelberger vented his anger on Major Mott and Smith, pointing out the unwounded men in the aid station and the machine gunner's hesitance. Mott vehemently exploded, pointed out the suffering and bravery of his men. Harding angrily threw his cigarette on the ground, agreeing with Mott. Eichelberger responded, "You're licked."
Two of Eichelberger's staff officers—Col. Clarance Martin and Col. Gordon Rogers—inspected the Warren front. They arrived in midafternoon, after the conclusion of an intense battle which had put all available reserves on the line. Martin could not understand why the men were not pushing forward. They questioned whether there had been any fighting at all. They found the troops were ill with malaria, dengue fever, tropical dysentery, and other ailments. They discovered the men had few rations causing them to lose weight, and lacked hot meals, vitamins, and cigarettes. Some were unshaven, their uniforms and boots were dirty and in tatters, and they showed "little discipline or military courtesy." Without fresh clothing, walking through swamps, and lacking sanitation, many were afflicted with trench foot
. Having been on the front at Buna for two weeks with virtually no progress to show for it except for hundreds of casualties, the U.S. troops' morale was very poor.
Martin and Rogers arrived back at the 32nd Division headquarters at Dobodura
at 22:00 to find that Eichelberger had already relieved Harding. He replaced him with the division's artillery commander, General Waldron. Eichelberger also sacked the regimental commanders and most battalion commanders, ordered improved food and medical supplies, and halted operations on the Buna front for two days, to allow units to reorganize.
Eichelberger later noted that after he relieved Harding he "ordered the medicos to take the temperature of an entire company of hollow-eyed men near the front. Every member, I repeat, every member of that company was running a fever." Eichelberger found the men lacked even the oil and patches required to keep their guns free of rust. He put an officer in charge of supply who ignored all protocols to obtain whatever the men needed. Eichelberger conspicuously wore his three stars on his shoulders among the front-line troops, ignoring the rule that officers remove their insignia at the front because they will attract the enemy. He lost thirty pounds in thirty days at the front.
Martin later admitted, after some experience with the Japanese defenses, that had attacks been continued on the day he conducted his inspection, they would not have been successful.
On the same day, 500 Japanese reinforcements, in the form of the inexperienced 21st Independent Mixed Brigade (based on the 170th Infantry Regiment), arrived at Gona under Maj. Gen. Kurihanao Yamagata. The Japanese fought tenaciously and the 32nd Division lost 392 personnel within the first two weeks.
On 5 December, Eichelberger ordered an attack across the entire front. Waldron was shot in the shoulder by a sniper while observing the fighting, and Eichelberger replaced him with his Chief of Staff, Brig. Gen. Clovis E. Byers
. The Allies finally split the Japanese lines. Staff Sergeant Herman Bottcher
led a 31-man platoon forward against the attacking Japanese forces. He stood up and threw hand grenades at the enemy and was able to drive a wedge between Buna and Buna village. The tide of the battle of Buna turned and Bottcher was awarded the battlefield commission of captain and his first of two Distinguished Service Cross Medals
.
On 8 December, following savage close-quarter fighting, the Australians captured Gona village. That same day, Eichelberger organized a new attack on Buna Village and the 32nd Division captured the position on 14 December. General Clovis Byers was in turn wounded on 16 December, forcing Eichelberger to take direct command of the division. The Japanese landed 1,300 reinforcements, but by 18 December the Allies were reinforced by the Australian 7th Division's 18th Brigade
along with the M3 Stuart light tanks of the 2/6th Armoured Regiment
—the first tanks available to the Allied forces. In spite of this boost, the Australians suffered some of their worst losses of the entire battle, although they eventually broke through the Japanese defensive positions along the coast.
In 10 days of fighting, the Allies advanced along the coast from Duropa plantation to Buna Mission, taking the remaining Japanese positions by 28 December. In the Japanese positions they located the bodies of Allied soldiers who had been captured and found evidence of cannibalism. During the prior attempt to capture Port Moresby over the Kokoda Track, and during their defense of Buna-Gona, the Japanese regularly practiced cannibalism
.In September 1942, Japanese daily rations had consisted of 800 grams of rice and tinned meat; by December, this had fallen to 50 grams. Happell (2008), p. 78.. None of the Allied soldiers taken captive during the entire Kokoda Track campaign
and the fight for Buna-Gona was allowed to live, and a number of those who were captured had been tortured, eaten, or used for bayonet practice.
The battle of Sanananda was the longest of the three battles. The Japanese position was well-defended, astride a raised road on relatively dry ground, surrounded by waist-deep jungle swamp. In an attempt to cut off the forward Japanese positions, the elements of 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment flanked the Japanese road block and capture the road behind them. Although they were successful in establishing the roadblock, the Japanese maintained their position, receiving resupply through the swamp.
The Australian 16th Brigade—by now half-strength—was sent to attack the position, but their march was poorly organised. From 16 November to their first contact with the enemy on the 19th, the troops went without food. The 1,400 men of 126th Infantry regiment were ordered to report to the Australians but did not arrive until 21 November, by which time the Australians had suffered more than 30% casualties. On 7 December, the Australian 30th Brigade relieved the 16th Brigade, and Brigadier Porter took overall command. The 126th was also relieved but 635 troops manned a roadblock under constant Japanese attack. The remainder of the 2/6th
was withdrawn to Soputa
and then Port Moresby, where they spent Christmas prior to returning to Australia for re-organization and refurbishment.
The Americans received their first reinforcements on 18 December when 350 men from the Australian 2/7th Cavalry Regiment
fought their way through to the roadblock. The following day, the 2/7th outflanked the Japanese and established another roadblock 300 m (984.3 ft) ahead of the American position and the Australian 49th Battalion now reinforced the 126th. By now, illness and low morale was taking its toll and the 126th were retired on 22 December
On 25 December, eight companies of the 127th Infantry followed a large artillery and mortar barrage and attacked the Japanese position in the "Government Gardens" section of Buna. The commanding officer of Company C was killed. Eichelberger later wrote that "the fighting was desperate and the outcome of the whole miserable, tortured campaign was in doubt".
Privately, MacArthur constantly pressured Eichelberger to act quickly and obtain results. Eichelberger recorded multiple instances when MacArthur urged him to hasten his efforts to rapidly defeat the Japanese. Having never visited the front, MacArthur sent his Chief of Staff—Richard K. Sutherland
—with a letter for Eichelberger which Sutherland delivered on Christmas Day.
Eichelberger wrote back that he was pushing the offensive with the kinds of numbers he felt the situation warranted. He reassured MacArthur that his men were fighting hard. On 28 December, he received a communique from MacArthur that he had released to the press describing the action at Buna Gona. It read, "On Christmas Day, our activities were limited to routine safety precautions. Divine services were held." It left Eichelberger fuming.
On the night of 25 December, a Japanese submarine unloaded supplies and ammunition at Buna Government Station, the last time the Japanese received supplies.
After the campaign's conclusion, MacArthur publicly stated that there was no reason to hurry the Papuan campaign. He said, "The utmost care was taken for the conservation of our forces with the result that probably no campaign in history against a thoroughly prepared and trained Army produced such complete and decisive results with so low an expenditure of life and resources." Of the 635 American troops who engaged the Japanese, only 244 effective troops remained by the end of December.
The preliminary attacks began with a failed attack on the Japanese position between the two roadblocks on 8 January. Two days later, the Allies supported by tanks attacked the Japanese position at the trail junction. The attack failed but convinced Col. Tsukamoto to order a retreat. Japanese Imperial Headquarters had already decided on 4 January to retreat to Lae
and Salamaua
, but the order did not reach Sanananda until 12 January. On 14 January, the Allies discovered that most of the Japanese defenders had left and quickly overran the junction stronghold now held by only 158 Japanese.
15 January saw the U.S. 163rd Infantry finally broke the Japanese position between the road blocks. The main attack began the next day with the 163rd attacking the Japanese troops north of the two roadblocks while the Australian 18th Brigade's attack reached the coast on both sides of Sanananda and also supported the American attack, effecting a link-up at Huggins and on the Killerton Track. Japanese resistance was stiff; nevertheless, by 17 January, they had been pinned down in three positions, on the coast north of Sanananda, on the coast west of Giruwa and on the main track north of the roadblocks which was still holding out. On 20 January, General Yamagata ordered an evacuation and escaped while General Oda and Colonel Yazawa ran into Australian troops and were killed; the Japanese positions on the coast collapsed with little resistance. Evacuation of the main track was not possible and this last position was overrun on 22 January.
of both Japanese and Allied solidiers in captured Japanese positions.
s—especially malaria
, dengue fever
and bush typhus
(known to the Japanese as tsutsugamushi)—caused far more casualties than the effects of battle. The 32nd Division suffered the extraordinary illness rate of 66%. Of the 9,825 men who entered combat in the 32nd Division, 7,125 were casualties due to illness (with 2,952 requiring hospitalisation), compared to 586 killed in action, 1,954 wounded, and 100 more dead from other causes. Total casualties of 9,956 exceeded the Division's entire battle strength. Overall, about 60,000 Americans fought on Guadalcanal, suffering 5,845 casualties, including 1,600 killed in action
. On Papua more than 33,000 Americans and Australians fought, and they suffered 8,546 casualties, of whom 3,095 were killed. On Guadalcanal, one in 37 died, while troops in New Guinea had a one in 11 chance of dying.
In his book, Our Jungle Road to Tokyo written in 1950, Eichelberger wrote, "Buna was...bought at a substantial price in death, wounds, disease, despair,and human suffering. No one who fought there, however hard he tries, will ever forget it." Fatalities, he concluded, "closely approach, percentage-wise, the heaviest losses in our Civil War battles." He also commented, "I am a reasonably unimaginative man, but Buna is still to me, in retrospect, a nightmare. This long after, I can still remember every day and most of the nights."
Historian Stanley Falk agreed. "The Papuan campaign was one of the costliest Allied victories of the Pacific war in terms of casualties per troops committed." The Ghost Mountain Boys of the 2/126th were especially hard hit. When Buna was taken they finished the fight with only six officers and 126 troops standing out of the 900 plus who had started out from Kapa Kapa.
The march
by the U.S. 2/126th from Kapa Kapa to Jaure and the brutal combat at Buna-Gona taught the Allied armies important lessons that they applied throughout the Pacific Theater and remainder of the war in the Pacific.
and Sgt Kenneth E. Gruennert
) —were later awarded the Medal of Honor
. Herman Bottcher
was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
twice. Allied operations against Japanese forces in New Guinea, including Operation Cartwheel
and the Salamaua-Lae campaign
, continued through 1945.
A brass memoral plaque on a pole was mounted in a concrete base on the site of the Huggins roadblock after the war.
The Japanese also erected a monument commemorating their soldiers' struggle.
Australian units placed a plaque memorializing their fallen comrades.
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...
, a major part of the Pacific campaign
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. On 16 November 1942, Australian
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
and United States forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
attacked the main Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
beachhead
Beachhead
Beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. It is sometimes used interchangeably with Bridgehead and Lodgement...
s in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, at Buna
Buna, Papua New Guinea
Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...
, Sanananda
Sanananda
-History:Occupied by the Imperial Japanese in 1942 during World War II and became a heavily fortified defensive area.Liberated by the Australian Army and US Army on 18 January 1943 during the Battle of Buna-Gona.-References:**...
and Gona
Gona
-History:Gona was the site of an Anglican church and mission.During World War II, Imperial Japanese troops invaded on 21–22 July 1942 and established it as a base. Three missionaries were captured at Gona, Father James Benson, May Hayman and Mavis Parkins. The two women and a six year old boy were...
. Both forces were riddled by disease and lacking the most basic supplies, including medicine and food. The Japanese were under pressure to hold Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
, which had forced them to withdraw their forces when they were within sight of Port Moresby. Since arriving in June, the Japanese had built on the north coast hundreds of well-camouflaged, reinforced bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s in mutually supporting positions blocking all available approaches. Combined with the forces who had returned from the Kokoda Track, the Japanese initially had nearly 5,500 troops on the northern coast. This rose to about 6,500 later in the battle.
Because of poor intelligence, Supreme Commander
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
and his staff vastly underestimated the number of defenders and the superior quality of the Japanese defensive system. MacArthur’s chief of staff Lt. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland
Richard K. Sutherland
Richard Kerens Sutherland was a Lieutenant General of the US Army and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff in the South West Pacific Area during World War II.-Early life:...
glibly referred to the Japanese fortifications as "hasty field entrenchments." When the Allies attacked on three fronts beginning on 16 November, they were immediately stymied by the excellent Japanese defensive position. The Allies suffered heavy casualties and gained virtually no ground. They had only a few artillery pieces and their mortar ammunition was so limited it was rationed. Although requested, the Allies lacked tank and naval support. They received only partially effective air support.
MacArthur repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the U.S. 32nd Infantry Division's inability to defeat the Japanese. On 29 November, after 13 days of poor results and high casualties, he ordered Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
Eichelberger
Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert Lawrence Eichelberger was a general in the United States Army, who commanded the US Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. His Army was among the very first to engage the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operations.-Pre-World War II service:Eichelberger was born...
—commander of the U.S. I Corps in the South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
—to relieve Major General Edwin F. Harding
Edwin F. Harding
Edwin Forrest Harding commanded the 32nd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. He graduated 74th among his classmates from the United States Military Academy in 1909, who included George S. Patton , Jacob L. Devers , John C. H. Lee , Horace H. Fuller , Robert L. Eichelberger , and...
along with most of his regimental and battalion commanders.
Harding was replaced in turn by first, his former artillery commander Albert W. Waldron, then Eichelberger's Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Clovis E. Byers
Clovis E. Byers
Lieutenant General Clovis E. Byers was an American soldier and General in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II and in the Occupation of Japan. He was wounded while leading American...
, and finally by Eichelberger himself. Only then did Eichelberger fully appreciate the difficulty faced by the Allies in overcoming the Japanese forces. He learned that the majority of his troops had fevers and were sick with a variety of illnesses including malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
, bush typhus
Scrub typhus
Scrub typhus or Bush typhus is a form of typhus caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi first isolated and identified in 1930 in Japan., accessdate: 16 October 2011...
, and tropical dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
.
Supplies, including food, were a major problem for both the Allied and Japanese forces. The Japanese were at first resupplied by destroyers who slipped through from Rabaul, and later by submarines that arrived by night, until the Allies' increasingly effective air and naval forces cut off further supply. After the battle ended, the Allies found evidence of cannibalism among the Japanese.
The Allies were at first supplied only by air drop and by sea until they could build rough airstrips at Wanigela and then Pongani. Even then, they remained short on ammunition, medicine, and food. Some U.S. troops were reduced to a small portion of a C ration each day.
The Allied forces only made significant progress when they were finally given the tanks and artillery they had long sought. On 2 January, they captured Buna, and on 22 January 1943, after prolonged intense fighting in extraordinarily difficult conditions, the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
forces killed or captured almost the entire defending Japanese forces. Only a few hundred escaped to the north. Casualties on both sides were extremely high. General Eichelberger later compared the casualty ratio to the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. As a percentage of casualties, killed or wounded in action at Buna exceeded the better known Battle of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
by a margin of three to one.
Background
After the failure of the Japanese in the Battle of the Coral SeaBattle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
to take Port Moresby by sea, they had landed on the north coast of New Guinea on 21 July 1942 and established beachheads at Buna
Buna, Papua New Guinea
Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...
, Gona
Gona
-History:Gona was the site of an Anglican church and mission.During World War II, Imperial Japanese troops invaded on 21–22 July 1942 and established it as a base. Three missionaries were captured at Gona, Father James Benson, May Hayman and Mavis Parkins. The two women and a six year old boy were...
and Sanananda
Sanananda
-History:Occupied by the Imperial Japanese in 1942 during World War II and became a heavily fortified defensive area.Liberated by the Australian Army and US Army on 18 January 1943 during the Battle of Buna-Gona.-References:**...
. From there, they had attacked
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
over the Kokoda Track
Kokoda Track
The Kokoda Trail or Track is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland — in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea...
in an attempt to take Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
by land. Meeting the Japanese on the Kokoda Track
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
, the vastly outnumbered Australian forces fought a two-month defensive battle, pushed back over the track toward Port Moresby over very difficult terrain by the superior Japanese forces. Within 48 km (29.8 mi) of Port Moresby, 80% of the Japanese forces had been wounded, killed or disabled by disease. The Japanese troop's medical care was virtually non-existent, many were out of food, and nearly all of the men were sick. Nonetheless, General Horii wanted to push forward to Port Moresby. His unit paused on a hill just east of Imita Ridge, where his troops could see Port Moresby's lights reflected in the sky, and waited for the reinforcements promised him. When he instead received orders to withdraw so the Imperial Forces could concentrate their resources on the battle for Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
, he was despondent.
The Australian forces counterattacked the retreating Japanese, fighting a series of tough battles against Japanese rearguard defenses on the narrow mountain track. The Japanese established a defensive line at Eora Creek, but after several days of fighting, they left their position to be defended by sick and wounded troops while the remainder escaped to the coast. The Australians continued to attack the withdrawing Japanese until they reached the more heavily defended lines near the Buna-Gona perimeter. Australian forces meanwhile defeated the Japanese's attempt to capture strategically important Milne Bay
Battle of Milne Bay
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese retreated on 5...
on the eastern tip of New Guinea. It was the first time in the Pacific war that the Japanese had been prevented from capturing their objective.
Impenetrable terrain
The terrain in the Buna-Gona area was principally a swamp. From the foothills of the Owen Stanley Range, the Girua River spread out into a vast tidal swamp and broke into several minor creeks from Sanananda Point to Buna Village. The land at Buna was 5 ft (1.5 m) above sea level. Near the foothills, it rose to only 10 ft (3 m). Between two of these creeks, Entrance Creek and Simemi Creek, lay an impenetrable swamp. On the periphery lay dense jungle bush including 6–10 ft (1.8–3 m) tall, sharp-edged, kunai grass, thick forest and more swamp. The temperature averaged 95 °F (35 °C) and the humidity 85%.Tangled among the closely spaced 25–100 ft (7.6–30.5 m) high trees was a tangle of roots, creepers, and brush. If a man stood, which guaranteed he would be shot at, he could only see 5–30 yd (4.6–27.4 m). Visibility from a fox hole was practically zero. If the ground was not actually swamp, it was thoroughly waterlogged. The only way across was via a few native tracks that followed the higher ground, but even they were always muddy and thoroughly soaked in wet weather. The Japanese had placed their camouflaged bunkers on dry ground at key points across all possible access points. Vehicle travel was impossible. The bush, swamp, forest, rivers and beach made it virtually impossible to flank the Japanese positions. Along the edge of the sea was a strip of dry, sandy soil where the Japanese had built emplacements.
Japanese strong defenses
Tomitaro Horii
was a major general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.-Biography:Born in Hyōgo Prefecture, Horii became an infantry officer following his graduation from the 23rd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1911....
, who had drowned in the ocean off shore from the Kumusi River while retreating from their initial attack across the Kokoda Track
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
on Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
. Unable to dig deep trenches or shelters due to the 0.91 m (3 ft) deep water table, the Japanese had instead built hundreds of coconut log bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s. These had been built with mutually supporting lines of fire and were organized in depth. The bunkers were often linked by trenches allowing the Japanese to move at will among them, reinforcing one another. The bunkers were normally supported by infantry in firing pits to the front, sides and rear. Some of the larger bunkers were protected with steel plate or steel rails and 40-gallon barrels filled with sand. Some blockhouse
Blockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
s were covered in earth that protected them from artillery fire and concealed with fast-growing jungle vegetation. Some bunkers concealed four or five machine gun emplacements and could hold 20-30 soldiers. A handful of pillboxes near the abandoned airstrip about a mile from the Buna Mission were built using steel and concrete.
Many smaller fortifications were placed in perimeter positions that were thick with trees or jungle vegetation. Well-concealed firing slits were a few feet above ground. The bunkers rose only 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m) high, and were so well concealed that the emplacements were virtually invisible to attackers until the Japanese unleashed their weapons on the unsuspecting Allied troops. All of these positions could generate devastating interlocking fields of fire, supported by many sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
s hidden in tall trees.
Japanese forces and supply lines
The Japanese defences were concentrated in three strongholds. One was at Gona, under Major Tsume Yamamoto; another was around Sanananda, under Col. Yosuke Yokoyama (who was in overall command of Imperial Japanese Army forces in the Buna-Gona area); and the third and largest Japanese stronghold was in the Buna area, under Special Naval Landing Forces Capt. Yoshitatsu Yasuda. Although these positions were separate, communications between them and Japanese supply lines were initially strong. At the outset, the Japanese were able to maintain supply lines to RabaulRabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
and to evacuate wounded personnel by sea, using submarines to maintain contact with the beachheads. It took almost two months for the Allies to finally cut the Japanese sea lanes of communication, reinforcement, and re-supply.
The Japanese garrison was a mix of army and naval forces. It initially numbered about 5,500 Imperial Japanese Army combat personnel: the remnants of the 144th Infantry Regiment
144th Infantry Regiment (Imperial Japanese Army)
The 144th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Imperial Japanese Army. The regiment was attached to the 55th Division. The regiment participated during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and during World War II, the regiment fought at in the Pacific at Guam, Rabual, Salamaua, invasion of...
, the 15th Independent Engineer Regiment, the 3rd Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment, a divisional cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
detachment, and the 47th Field Anti-Aircraft Battalion. A few field artillery batteries were guarding the beachheads proper. In addition to these army units, there were about 500 marines from the 5th Yokosuka and 5th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Force
5th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Force
The 5th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Force were troops of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Special Naval Landing Forces.Formed at the Sasebo Naval District, the 5th Sasebo SNLF participated in the invasion of Buna-Gona, the Guadalcanal Campaign and the battle of Milne Bay.-References:*Nila, Gary, et al...
s. Additional troops were landed after the battle began, bringing Japanese strength to about 6,500.
Allied intelligence deficient
Allied intelligence in the lead-up to the battle was deficient in two key areas. First, "In a major intelligence blunder, Allied staffs told frontline commanders that they faced no more than 1,500 to 2,000 enemy and could expect the Japanese to surrender about 1 December." Other intelligence described the Japanese defenders as "sick and malnourished" when in fact some 6,500 enemy from the Imperial Japanese ArmyImperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
and marines from the Special Naval Landing Forces held the beachhead. The Allies had very poor maps and limited reconnaissance photos of the area, which would later make it extremely difficult to accurately position and target artillery. Based on what little they knew about the area, Allied intelligence believed that widespread swampland would render the construction of strongpoints in the Buna-Gona area impossible. Supreme Commander
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
received intelligence from Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Charles A. Willoughby, who told MacArthur before the operation that there was "little indication of an attempt to make a strong stand against the Allied advance." Unfamiliar with the state of Japanese defenses, Lt. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland
Richard K. Sutherland
Richard Kerens Sutherland was a Lieutenant General of the US Army and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff in the South West Pacific Area during World War II.-Early life:...
, MacArthur’s chief of staff, glibly referred to these fortifications as "hasty field entrenchments." All of this information led MacArthur to believe that Buna could be taken with relative ease.
Allied forces unprepared
Although staff officers considered the U.S. 32nd Infantry Division unready for combat, MacArthur felt pressure to produce a victory. In Washington, Fleet Admiral Ernest KingErnest King
Fleet Admiral Ernest Joseph King was Commander in Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations during World War II. As COMINCH, he directed the United States Navy's operations, planning, and administration and was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was the U.S...
—Commander in Chief, United States Fleet
United States Fleet
The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The abbreviation CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet. This title was disposed of and officially replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 . This...
and Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
—was not completely satisfied with MacArthur sharing command with Admiral Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
and held out hope that Nimitz might get overall command. MacArthur's repeated requests for naval support were often simply put aside, and MacArthur felt the Admiral's antipathy. MacArthur's position as Supreme Commander
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
was mostly a political and strategic appointment and did not give him any direct combat command. MacArthur did however enjoy a close relationship with Australian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
, who strongly admired MacArthur. MacArthur—who had to depend on Australian commanders to carry out his plans—often used his influence with Curtin to obtain changes in Australian decisions. Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
exercised command of all Allied land forces but he was not well liked.
MacArthur insisted that the U.S. 32nd Infantry Division be immediately moved from Australia to New Guinea in October 1942. The 2nd Battalion of the 126th Infantry Regiment was called on to trek 210 km (130.5 mi) from 14 October-12 November across the extremely rugged Kapa Kapa Trail
Kapa Kapa Trail
The Kapa Kapa Trail is a steep, little-used, mountain trail that stretches from the Kapa Kapa village on the south coast of Papua New Guinea, across the extremely rugged Owen Stanley Range, to the vicinity of Jaure on the north side of the Peninsula...
. They did not encounter a single enemy soldier, but more than ⅔ of their men became casualties, sick with malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
, bush typhus
Scrub typhus
Scrub typhus or Bush typhus is a form of typhus caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi first isolated and identified in 1930 in Japan., accessdate: 16 October 2011...
, amoebic dysentery
Amoebic dysentery
Amoebic dysentery is a type of dysentery caused primarily by the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica. Amoebic dysentery is transmitted through contaminated food and water. Amoebae spread by forming infective cysts which can be found in stools, and spread if whoever touches them does not sanitize their...
, bacillary
Bacillary angiomatosis
Bacillary angiomatosis is a form of angiomatosis associated with bacteria of the Bartonella genus.-Causes:It is caused by either Bartonella henselae or Bartonella quintana....
, along with jungle rot
Jungle rot
-In medicine:*Tropical ulcer...
, dobie itch, trench foot
Trench foot
Trench foot is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary, and cold conditions. It is one of many immersion foot syndromes...
, athlete's foot
Athlete's foot
Athlete's foot is a fungal infection of the skin that causes scaling, flaking, and itch of affected areas. It is caused by fungi in the genus Trichophyton and is typically transmitted in moist areas where people walk barefoot, such as showers or bathhouses...
and ringworm.
Exhausted from their march, the division stopped for one week at Natunga to resupply. They then were directed to the front lines against seasoned Japanese combat veterans, and in the ensuring battle soon ran short of weapons, medicine and even food.
Inadequate training
The beginning of the campaign revealed that the American troops were completely unprepared for jungle warfare. In the U.S., the division had trained for a European war. While standard U.S. Army practices dictated that a division should train together for a year, the 32nd had picked up more than 3,000 replacements fresh out of boot campRecruit training
Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...
when the division was suddenly redirected to Australia. When in Australia, they had moved to three different camps and were tasked with building one of them. What limited training they had received in Australia had been to prepare them to fight in Australia's outback to defend the country from Japanese attack. Their heavy-weight Herringbone Twill
Herringbone (cloth)
Herringbone describes a distinctive V-shaped weaving pattern usually found in twill fabric. It is distinguished from a plain chevron by the break at reversal, which makes it resemble a broken zigzag. The pattern is called herringbone because it resembles the skeleton of a herring fish...
combat uniforms were the wrong color. Learning from the experience of Australian soldiers, who in the early part of the Kokoda Track campaign
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
wore tan uniforms that stood out against the jungle, the Americans had two sets of their uniforms dyed a darker green at a dry cleaner in Brisbane. Unfortunately, the dye was more like paint and would not allow the cloth to wick moisture away from the skins, causing skin diseases. The 32nd was not trained, equipped or prepared to fight in the jungle nor taught Japanese tactics.
Scant artillery support
The Allies initially lacked armor, artillery, naval support and air support for their attack. The normal complement of howitzers assigned the 32nd Division included thirty-six 105 mm (4.1 in) howitzerM101 howitzer
The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...
s and twelve 155 mm (6.1 in) howitzer
M114 155 mm howitzer
The M114 155 mm howitzer was a towed howitzer used by the United States Army. It was first produced in 1942 as a medium artillery piece under the designation of 155 mm Howitzer M1. It saw service with the US Army during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, before being...
s. Due to a lack of transportation, these had all been left in Australia. American officers argued against artillery support
Fire support
Fire support is long-range firepower provided to a front-line military unit. Typically, fire support is provided by artillery or close air support , and is used to shape the battlefield or, more optimistically, define the battle...
as unnecessary. General George Kenney
George Kenney
George Churchill Kenney was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He was commander of the Allied air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area from August 1942 until 1945.-Early life:...
—Commander of the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
—was confident that his planes would supplant the role of traditional artillery. His opinion was respected by MacArthur.
Major General Edwin F. Harding
Edwin F. Harding
Edwin Forrest Harding commanded the 32nd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. He graduated 74th among his classmates from the United States Military Academy in 1909, who included George S. Patton , Jacob L. Devers , John C. H. Lee , Horace H. Fuller , Robert L. Eichelberger , and...
and his artillery commander—Brig. Gen. Samuel Waldron—finally persuaded MacArthur's headquarters to break down one 105 mm howitzer and fly it to Pongani, where it was moved closer to Buna for fire support. They also borrowed eight 25-pounder gun
Ordnance QF 25 pounder
The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was introduced into service just before World War II, during which it served as the major British field gun/howitzer. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a...
s from the Australians.
Allied supply lines distant
The Allies' major bases—at Port MoresbyPort Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
and Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
—were distant. The Owen Stanley Ranges were impassable to motor vehicles. The Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
and air forces controlled the Bismarck Sea
Bismarck Sea
The Bismarck Sea lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean to the north of the island of Papua New Guinea and to the south of the Bismarck Archipelago and Admiralty Islands. Like the Bismarck archipelago, it is named in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck...
to the north of New Guinea. The attacking troops initially were dependent on airdrop
Airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. In some cases, it is used to refer to the airborne assault itself. Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from...
s by the Liberator
C-87 Liberator Express
|-References:NotesBibliography* Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Hinckley, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. ISBN 0-904597-22-9....
cargo planes of the U.S. Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
and makeshift transport units assembled by the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
, as well as coastal shipping, which was vulnerable to air attack. On 2 November, while the 126th Infantry Regiment was crawling on their hands and knees over portions of the Kapa Kapa Track and the 9000 ft (2,743.2 m) Owen Stanley Range, a local missionary suggested an alternative. Cecil Abel came into Port Moresby and told the Allies that they might be able to build an airstrip on the far side of the Owen Stanley Range at Fasari in the Musa River valley and at Pongani. Col. Lief Sverdrup
Leif J. Sverdrup
Leif Johan Sverdrup was a Norwegian born, American civil engineer and general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the first half of the 20th century...
set out from Abau on foot with 190 men, including Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
M. J. Leahy, an expert on Papua, who knew many of the tribal chiefs personally. They reached Fasari on 18 October and hired local villages to clear the site by burning the bush and clearing a few stumps.
Sverdrup and Leahy explored further north and found another suitable airstrip site near the village of Embessa and Kinjaki, which Sverdrup had cleared. A message dropped by air instructed him to go to Pongani
Pongani, Papua New Guinea
-History:During World War II, the area around the village was used as a staging area for allied forces for the Battle of Buna-Gona. The United States 126th Infantry Regiment and 128th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd Infantry Division together with Australian 2/6th Independent Company staged in...
, where he found troops of Company C, 114th Engineer Battalion that had flown to Wanigela airstrip
Wanigela Airport
Wanigela Airport is an airport in Wanigela, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea .-History:Built by Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit authorities in July 1942 during World War II. Consisting of a single grassed runway. The airfield was used primarily for transport flights.-Airlines and destinations:...
and had made their way to Pongani by traveling along the coast by boat. Sverdrup supervised the construction of Pongani airstrip
Pongani Airfield
Pongani Airfield was an aerodrome built during World War II at Pongani village Papua New Guinea.Built by native Pongani village men, women and children, under the supervision of Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit officer Jack Wilkinson, cleared a single grass runway built on kunai field...
. All three airstrips were soon in use. Sverdrup was later awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (Army)
The Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Army that is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great...
for his efforts, including walking across the Owen Stanley Range three times far forward of friendly forces, and building the essential air strips.
While the airfields were under construction, supplies were severely limited, and even food was in such short supply during November and early December that many Allied soldiers sometimes received only a small portion of a C ration each day. Mortar crews were given very limited ammo and told to ration it. However, USAAF and RAAF ground attack and bomber aircraft, typified by the Douglas A-20 Havoc and Bristol Beaufighter
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
respectively, represented a significant and ever-increasing advantage for the Allies, although given the jungle overhead combined with poor maps, the Allies dropped bombs on their own units more than once.
In October, the Allies captured Goodenough Island
Goodenough Island
Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and south west of the Trobriand Islands.It should not be confused with Goodenough's Island...
to the east of New Guinea without much Japanese resistance and began to use it staging point for air and naval patrols. General Kenney procured a flotilla of local water craft along with a few military ships and ferried supplies from Milne Bay around the southern end of New Guinea to Wanigela, arriving on 16 October.
Allied forces launch attack
2/6th Commando Squadron (Australia)
The 2/6th Commando Squadron was one of 12 independent companies or commando squadrons raised by the Australian Army during the Second World War. Raised in May 1942 as the 2/6th Independent Company, the 2/6th's main role was to conduct irregular type warfare including small scale raiding, sabotage,...
were flown from 14-Mile Drome
Schwimmer Airfield
Schwimmer Airfield is a former World War II airfield near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It was part of a multiple-airfield complex in the Port Moresby area, located north of the Laloki River....
across the mountains to Wanigela Airfield
Wanigela Airport
Wanigela Airport is an airport in Wanigela, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea .-History:Built by Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit authorities in July 1942 during World War II. Consisting of a single grassed runway. The airfield was used primarily for transport flights.-Airlines and destinations:...
, Wangiela
Wanigela, Papua New Guinea
Wanigela is a village along Collingwood Bay, Papua New Guinea. The village is served by Wanigela Airport.-History:Wanigela became an Allied forward staging base during World War II...
.A and D Patrols were still in the Kokoda area at this time along with Y Patrol which was heading to the Yodda River. Only about 100 men were available at Wanigela in mid-October. (Trigellis-Smith 1992, p. 82) From Wanigela, the company moved to Pongani
Pongani, Papua New Guinea
-History:During World War II, the area around the village was used as a staging area for allied forces for the Battle of Buna-Gona. The United States 126th Infantry Regiment and 128th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd Infantry Division together with Australian 2/6th Independent Company staged in...
. When the offensive started, the 2/6th patrolled in front of the U.S. 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment along the coast from Pongani to Buna
Buna, Papua New Guinea
Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...
. Under the command of Major Harry Harcourt, they provided flank protection and reconnaissance and was engaged in heavy fighting around the airfield named New Strip until early December 1942. Situated in the coastal area south of Cape Endaiadere, on a line running inland to Sinemi Creek, this became known as the Warren Force.
The U.S. 32nd Infantry Division—commanded by Major General Edwin F. Harding
Edwin F. Harding
Edwin Forrest Harding commanded the 32nd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. He graduated 74th among his classmates from the United States Military Academy in 1909, who included George S. Patton , Jacob L. Devers , John C. H. Lee , Horace H. Fuller , Robert L. Eichelberger , and...
—launched the initial attack on Buna on 16 November. Deployed along the Ango-Buna track, they contacted the enemy about 1 mi (1.6 km) south of Buna. General Harding requested tanks from Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
but the Allies lacked the boats required to ship them. They were later sent thinly armored, open-top, and lightly armed Bren gun carriers
Universal Carrier
The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War...
, a machine gun or mortar and transport platform. These were rapidly knocked out by the Japanese. Tanks and artillery did not arrive until 18 December, a month after the battle began, when they made a significant impact.
Limited artillery
By 23 November, it was obvious that capturing Gona was unlikely due to a lack of Allied troops and insufficient tank and artillery support. Without support from tanks that could have taken out a strongpoint in minutes, the Japanese positions were very difficult to defeat and had to be taken one by one, which required troops crawling through murderous cross-fire and snipers to the bunkers and pushing grenadeGrenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s through the slits. General Vasey requested that Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Edmund Herring
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...
send the 21st Brigade
21st Brigade (Australia)
The 21st Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. Formed in April 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force, the unit was raised for service during World War II...
as reinforcements. The 32nd Division had only two howitzers belonging to Battery A of the 129th Field Artillery in New Guinea, the remaining batteries having remained at Camp Cable in Australia due to a lack of transport. The four gun sections of Battery A were the first howitzers flown into combat, first landing at Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
. Then, ½ of Battery A—two gun sections—were air-lifted over the Owen Stanley Mountains to Buna and reassembled, becoming the first U.S. Army artillery flown into combat in the Pacific in World War II.
When additional artillery finally arrived on 26 November, the accuracy of artillery fire was limited by poor maps and the inability of the forward artillery observer
Artillery observer
A military artillery observer or spotter is responsible for directing artillery fire and close air support onto enemy positions. Because artillery is an indirect fire weapon system, the guns are rarely in line-of-sight of their target, often located tens of miles away...
's to see far enough through the dense jungle. On that morning, the Japanese lines were strafed
Strafing
Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...
and bombed at tree-top level for nearly an hour by P-40s and Beaufighters. A-20s bombed the Japanese rear areas for another 30 minutes. The air attacks were then followed by 30 minutes of pounding by mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
s, machine guns, and the newly available artillery. At 9:30, the infantry advanced as scheduled, but it immediately became apparent that the two hours of bombardment had not touched the enemy, still hidden in their bunkers.
Harding reluctantly accepted MacArthur's decision to rely on direct air support, and his troops were stopped cold by the formidable Japanese field fortifications. One battalion of the U.S. 126th Infantry Regiment, detached from the 32nd Division crossed the Girua River at Inonde and joined the Australian 7th Division
Australian 7th Division
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force...
—minus one brigade—under Maj. Gen. George Vasey. This group, named the Urbana Force, were charged with defending Soputa and with the subsequent attack on Sanananda.
Maroubra Force
Maroubra Force was the name given to the Australian infantry force that defended Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from the Japanese, and was involved in the Kokoda Track Campaign of the Pacific War, World War II...
, made up of the battered 30th Brigade
30th Brigade (Australia)
The 30th Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. Formed in December 1941, as part of the Militia, the unit was raised for service during World War II. Sent to New Guinea in early March 1942 the brigade initially provided garrison troops to Port Moresby before later taking...
, a Militia unit which included the "ragged bloody heroes" of the Kokoda Track, the 39th Battalion. The Australian 16th Brigade
Australian 16th Brigade
The 16th Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Australian Army. First raised during World War I, when it existed only briefly in 1917 and did not participate in the fighting. Raised again in 1939 for service during World War II, during which it saw action in Libya, Greece and New Guinea before...
—detached from the 6th Division
Australian 6th Division
The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others...
—would push toward Sanananda. The Australian and U.S. forces were shifted between the Buna and Sanananda fronts, resulting in blurred lines of communication and leadership.
By the evening of the first day, the Allied lines had barely moved. Units of the U.S. 1/126th Infantry got close enough to the Japanese positions to learn that the Japanese machine guns were positioned in bunkers reinforced with oil drum
Oil drum
Oil drum may refer to:* Drum , a cylindrical container used for transporting bulk goods such as oil and fuel* The Oil Drum, an energy discussion website...
s and covered with roofs. Fighting was bitter from the outset: the Australian 7th Division took 204 casualties in the first three days of its thrust.
Each Japanese bunker contained several well-concealed machine guns. At times, the jungle was so dense that the Allied troops could not tell from which direction the Japanese were firing. Japanese Sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
s tied themselves to the tops of coconut trees and picked off targets. By the time the Allied advance on Buna had stalled in late November, morale was low due to heavy casualties and disease. Self-inflicted wound
Self-inflicted wound
A self-inflicted wound , is the act of harming oneself where there are no underlying psychological problems related to the self-injury, but where the injurer wanted to take advantage of being injured.-Reasons to self-wound:...
s were increasingly responsible for American casualties.
Advance on Buna Village
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...
arrived at the American front on 25 November and reported that the American infantry had "maintained a masterly inactivity at Buna".
When MacArthur offered the 41st American Division as reinforcements for the advance on Gona, Australian General Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
declined. This was later seen as payback for earlier statements by MacArthur about the fighting ability of Australian troops. Blamey stated he would rely on his depleted 21st Brigade as he "knew they would fight".
On 19 November, Blamey sent a communication through MacArthur and tried to persuade Admiral Arthur S. Carpender
Arthur S. Carpender
Arthur Schuyler Carpender , nicknamed "Chips", was an American vice admiral during World War II commanding US naval forces in the Southwest Pacific.-Family:...
—who controlled U.S. Navy vessels—to provide support.
Carpender would not commit destroyers to the mission and gave the lack of charts for the area as the reason. Even as the U.S. and Australian attack was bogging down, they were offered no naval support.
On 29 November, the Japanese were reinforced by the remaining 500 troops from the South Seas Detachment
South Seas Detachment
The South Seas Detachment of the Imperial Japanese Army was a brigade-size force formed in 1941 to be the army unit used in the Japanese seizure of the South Pacific island groups of Wake, Guam and the Gilberts. As part of the South Seas Force, it fell under Imperial Japanese Navy command and...
(mostly the 41st Infantry Regiment under Colonel Kiyomi Yazawa), which had led the Kokoda Track campaign
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
and retreated to the sea at a point north of Gona. They were shuttled by boat to the Sananada stronghold.
Harding sacked
By 29 November, the Supreme Allied Commander in the South West Pacific, General Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, had become frustrated at what he saw as poor performance by the 32nd Division, especially its commissioned officers. He told the US I Corps commander, Major General Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert Lawrence Eichelberger was a general in the United States Army, who commanded the US Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. His Army was among the very first to engage the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operations.-Pre-World War II service:Eichelberger was born...
:
On the Warren front, the attack on 2 December began with an air attack, but a planned artillery barrage was late. When the infantry finally advanced, they were stopped once again by the Japanese without significant gains. Many troops dropped from heat exhaustion.
Eichelberger arrived in Buna to inspect the troops on 2 December after the combat action for the day had played itself out. Accompanied by Harding and Brigadier General Albert W. Waldron, Eichelberger stopped to visit an aid station. They found among the casualties unwounded men who were sick with fever and exhaustion and a few with combat fatigue. Eichelberger was further upset when he learned that day's attack had failed. They walked forward, and when he was not fired on by the Japanese concluded that the U.S. troops faced little opposition. He was disturbed when he found there wasn't a continuous front and criticized the placement of a machine gun, seeing this as proof the men were not pressing a weak enemy. He queried troops about where a path led and was told it was covered by a Japanese machine gun. He offered to decorate any man who would run 50 yd (45.7 m) down the path. No one took him up on his offer, and he decided they were cowards.
Eichelberger vented his anger on Major Mott and Smith, pointing out the unwounded men in the aid station and the machine gunner's hesitance. Mott vehemently exploded, pointed out the suffering and bravery of his men. Harding angrily threw his cigarette on the ground, agreeing with Mott. Eichelberger responded, "You're licked."
Two of Eichelberger's staff officers—Col. Clarance Martin and Col. Gordon Rogers—inspected the Warren front. They arrived in midafternoon, after the conclusion of an intense battle which had put all available reserves on the line. Martin could not understand why the men were not pushing forward. They questioned whether there had been any fighting at all. They found the troops were ill with malaria, dengue fever, tropical dysentery, and other ailments. They discovered the men had few rations causing them to lose weight, and lacked hot meals, vitamins, and cigarettes. Some were unshaven, their uniforms and boots were dirty and in tatters, and they showed "little discipline or military courtesy." Without fresh clothing, walking through swamps, and lacking sanitation, many were afflicted with trench foot
Trench foot
Trench foot is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary, and cold conditions. It is one of many immersion foot syndromes...
. Having been on the front at Buna for two weeks with virtually no progress to show for it except for hundreds of casualties, the U.S. troops' morale was very poor.
Martin and Rogers arrived back at the 32nd Division headquarters at Dobodura
Girua Airport
-History:Girua Airport is located near Dobodura, to the north-east of the Embi Lakes, north-east of Inonda. To the south is Mt. Lamington, a volcano that dominates the skyline. The airport was built during World War II as part of the Dobodura Airfield Complex during late 1942 and early 1943. ...
at 22:00 to find that Eichelberger had already relieved Harding. He replaced him with the division's artillery commander, General Waldron. Eichelberger also sacked the regimental commanders and most battalion commanders, ordered improved food and medical supplies, and halted operations on the Buna front for two days, to allow units to reorganize.
Eichelberger later noted that after he relieved Harding he "ordered the medicos to take the temperature of an entire company of hollow-eyed men near the front. Every member, I repeat, every member of that company was running a fever." Eichelberger found the men lacked even the oil and patches required to keep their guns free of rust. He put an officer in charge of supply who ignored all protocols to obtain whatever the men needed. Eichelberger conspicuously wore his three stars on his shoulders among the front-line troops, ignoring the rule that officers remove their insignia at the front because they will attract the enemy. He lost thirty pounds in thirty days at the front.
Martin later admitted, after some experience with the Japanese defenses, that had attacks been continued on the day he conducted his inspection, they would not have been successful.
Allied reconnaissance
Eichelberger also ordered additional reconnaissance to help fix the enemy positions. What he learned impressed him.On the same day, 500 Japanese reinforcements, in the form of the inexperienced 21st Independent Mixed Brigade (based on the 170th Infantry Regiment), arrived at Gona under Maj. Gen. Kurihanao Yamagata. The Japanese fought tenaciously and the 32nd Division lost 392 personnel within the first two weeks.
Attack reinitiated
Clovis E. Byers
Lieutenant General Clovis E. Byers was an American soldier and General in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II and in the Occupation of Japan. He was wounded while leading American...
. The Allies finally split the Japanese lines. Staff Sergeant Herman Bottcher
Herman Bottcher
Major Herman J. F. Bottcher was a German national who achieved the rank of Major with two different armies: the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War and the United States Army during World War II. He was awarded two U.S. Distinguished Service Crosses, the second highest U.S....
led a 31-man platoon forward against the attacking Japanese forces. He stood up and threw hand grenades at the enemy and was able to drive a wedge between Buna and Buna village. The tide of the battle of Buna turned and Bottcher was awarded the battlefield commission of captain and his first of two Distinguished Service Cross Medals
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
.
On 8 December, following savage close-quarter fighting, the Australians captured Gona village. That same day, Eichelberger organized a new attack on Buna Village and the 32nd Division captured the position on 14 December. General Clovis Byers was in turn wounded on 16 December, forcing Eichelberger to take direct command of the division. The Japanese landed 1,300 reinforcements, but by 18 December the Allies were reinforced by the Australian 7th Division's 18th Brigade
18th Brigade (Australia)
The 18th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army, which served during the Second World War. The brigade was raised on 13 October 1939 and was one of the first three infantry brigades of the Second Australian Imperial Force to be formed. Initially commanded by Brigadier Leslie...
along with the M3 Stuart light tanks of the 2/6th Armoured Regiment
2/6th Armoured Regiment (Australia)
The 2/6th Armoured Regiment was an armoured regiment of the Australian Army that served during World War II. Raised in 1941 the Regiment took part in the Battle of Buna–Gona in 1942–43, however, it did not see further action during the war and was disbanded in September 1945.-History:The 2/6th...
—the first tanks available to the Allied forces. In spite of this boost, the Australians suffered some of their worst losses of the entire battle, although they eventually broke through the Japanese defensive positions along the coast.
In 10 days of fighting, the Allies advanced along the coast from Duropa plantation to Buna Mission, taking the remaining Japanese positions by 28 December. In the Japanese positions they located the bodies of Allied soldiers who had been captured and found evidence of cannibalism. During the prior attempt to capture Port Moresby over the Kokoda Track, and during their defense of Buna-Gona, the Japanese regularly practiced cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
.In September 1942, Japanese daily rations had consisted of 800 grams of rice and tinned meat; by December, this had fallen to 50 grams. Happell (2008), p. 78.. None of the Allied soldiers taken captive during the entire Kokoda Track campaign
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
and the fight for Buna-Gona was allowed to live, and a number of those who were captured had been tortured, eaten, or used for bayonet practice.
Battle for Sanananda
The Australian 16th Brigade—by now half-strength—was sent to attack the position, but their march was poorly organised. From 16 November to their first contact with the enemy on the 19th, the troops went without food. The 1,400 men of 126th Infantry regiment were ordered to report to the Australians but did not arrive until 21 November, by which time the Australians had suffered more than 30% casualties. On 7 December, the Australian 30th Brigade relieved the 16th Brigade, and Brigadier Porter took overall command. The 126th was also relieved but 635 troops manned a roadblock under constant Japanese attack. The remainder of the 2/6th
2/6th Cavalry Commando Regiment (Australia)
The 2/6th Cavalry Commando Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Australian Army that served during the Second World War and was later converted into to a commando unit. Initially formed at Ingleburn, New South Wales, on 3 November 1939 following the commencement of Australia's involvement in the...
was withdrawn to Soputa
Soputa, Papua New Guinea
Soputa is a village located inland from Gona, Buna and Sanananda in Papua New Guinea. The village is located at the crossroads of the Kokoda-Sananada Road and Buna-Kokoda Road. Trails lead to Buna and Sananada.-History:...
and then Port Moresby, where they spent Christmas prior to returning to Australia for re-organization and refurbishment.
The Americans received their first reinforcements on 18 December when 350 men from the Australian 2/7th Cavalry Regiment
2/7th Cavalry Commando Regiment (Australia)
The 2/7th Cavalry Regiment was one of three commando regiments raised by the Australian Army for service during World War II. It was originally raised as the 7th Division Cavalry Regiment in 1940 and in this guise it served in North Africa and the Middle East at the beginning of the war, before it...
fought their way through to the roadblock. The following day, the 2/7th outflanked the Japanese and established another roadblock 300 m (984.3 ft) ahead of the American position and the Australian 49th Battalion now reinforced the 126th. By now, illness and low morale was taking its toll and the 126th were retired on 22 December
On 25 December, eight companies of the 127th Infantry followed a large artillery and mortar barrage and attacked the Japanese position in the "Government Gardens" section of Buna. The commanding officer of Company C was killed. Eichelberger later wrote that "the fighting was desperate and the outcome of the whole miserable, tortured campaign was in doubt".
Privately, MacArthur constantly pressured Eichelberger to act quickly and obtain results. Eichelberger recorded multiple instances when MacArthur urged him to hasten his efforts to rapidly defeat the Japanese. Having never visited the front, MacArthur sent his Chief of Staff—Richard K. Sutherland
Richard K. Sutherland
Richard Kerens Sutherland was a Lieutenant General of the US Army and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff in the South West Pacific Area during World War II.-Early life:...
—with a letter for Eichelberger which Sutherland delivered on Christmas Day.
Eichelberger wrote back that he was pushing the offensive with the kinds of numbers he felt the situation warranted. He reassured MacArthur that his men were fighting hard. On 28 December, he received a communique from MacArthur that he had released to the press describing the action at Buna Gona. It read, "On Christmas Day, our activities were limited to routine safety precautions. Divine services were held." It left Eichelberger fuming.
On the night of 25 December, a Japanese submarine unloaded supplies and ammunition at Buna Government Station, the last time the Japanese received supplies.
After the campaign's conclusion, MacArthur publicly stated that there was no reason to hurry the Papuan campaign. He said, "The utmost care was taken for the conservation of our forces with the result that probably no campaign in history against a thoroughly prepared and trained Army produced such complete and decisive results with so low an expenditure of life and resources." Of the 635 American troops who engaged the Japanese, only 244 effective troops remained by the end of December.
Allies attack Japanese-held junction
On 2 January, the U.S. 163rd Infantry Regiment of the 41st Infantry Division—fresh from Australia—arrived and took over the two roadblocks and relieved the Australians.Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
and Salamaua
Salamaua
Salamaua was a small town situated on the north-eastern coastline of Papua New Guinea part of Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland...
, but the order did not reach Sanananda until 12 January. On 14 January, the Allies discovered that most of the Japanese defenders had left and quickly overran the junction stronghold now held by only 158 Japanese.
15 January saw the U.S. 163rd Infantry finally broke the Japanese position between the road blocks. The main attack began the next day with the 163rd attacking the Japanese troops north of the two roadblocks while the Australian 18th Brigade's attack reached the coast on both sides of Sanananda and also supported the American attack, effecting a link-up at Huggins and on the Killerton Track. Japanese resistance was stiff; nevertheless, by 17 January, they had been pinned down in three positions, on the coast north of Sanananda, on the coast west of Giruwa and on the main track north of the roadblocks which was still holding out. On 20 January, General Yamagata ordered an evacuation and escaped while General Oda and Colonel Yazawa ran into Australian troops and were killed; the Japanese positions on the coast collapsed with little resistance. Evacuation of the main track was not possible and this last position was overrun on 22 January.
Aftermath
After almost three months of fighting, the Japanese had lost 1,500 men, the Australians 2,700 and the Americans 798. The Japanese forces had been cut off from resupply during the second week of January and their food had already run out by 2 January. Allied troops found evidence of cannibalismCannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
of both Japanese and Allied solidiers in captured Japanese positions.
Casualty rate exceeds Guadalcanal
Tropical diseaseTropical disease
Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by forcing hibernation. Insects such as mosquitoes and...
s—especially malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
and bush typhus
Scrub typhus
Scrub typhus or Bush typhus is a form of typhus caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi first isolated and identified in 1930 in Japan., accessdate: 16 October 2011...
(known to the Japanese as tsutsugamushi)—caused far more casualties than the effects of battle. The 32nd Division suffered the extraordinary illness rate of 66%. Of the 9,825 men who entered combat in the 32nd Division, 7,125 were casualties due to illness (with 2,952 requiring hospitalisation), compared to 586 killed in action, 1,954 wounded, and 100 more dead from other causes. Total casualties of 9,956 exceeded the Division's entire battle strength. Overall, about 60,000 Americans fought on Guadalcanal, suffering 5,845 casualties, including 1,600 killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
. On Papua more than 33,000 Americans and Australians fought, and they suffered 8,546 casualties, of whom 3,095 were killed. On Guadalcanal, one in 37 died, while troops in New Guinea had a one in 11 chance of dying.
In his book, Our Jungle Road to Tokyo written in 1950, Eichelberger wrote, "Buna was...bought at a substantial price in death, wounds, disease, despair,and human suffering. No one who fought there, however hard he tries, will ever forget it." Fatalities, he concluded, "closely approach, percentage-wise, the heaviest losses in our Civil War battles." He also commented, "I am a reasonably unimaginative man, but Buna is still to me, in retrospect, a nightmare. This long after, I can still remember every day and most of the nights."
Historian Stanley Falk agreed. "The Papuan campaign was one of the costliest Allied victories of the Pacific war in terms of casualties per troops committed." The Ghost Mountain Boys of the 2/126th were especially hard hit. When Buna was taken they finished the fight with only six officers and 126 troops standing out of the 900 plus who had started out from Kapa Kapa.
The march
Kapa Kapa Trail
The Kapa Kapa Trail is a steep, little-used, mountain trail that stretches from the Kapa Kapa village on the south coast of Papua New Guinea, across the extremely rugged Owen Stanley Range, to the vicinity of Jaure on the north side of the Peninsula...
by the U.S. 2/126th from Kapa Kapa to Jaure and the brutal combat at Buna-Gona taught the Allied armies important lessons that they applied throughout the Pacific Theater and remainder of the war in the Pacific.
Recognition and memorials
Two NCOs from the 32nd Division—both of them killed in action near Buna (1st Sgt Elmer J. BurrElmer J. Burr
Elmer J. Burr was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.-Biography:...
and Sgt Kenneth E. Gruennert
Kenneth E. Gruennert
Kenneth E. Gruennert was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.-Biography:...
) —were later awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
. Herman Bottcher
Herman Bottcher
Major Herman J. F. Bottcher was a German national who achieved the rank of Major with two different armies: the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War and the United States Army during World War II. He was awarded two U.S. Distinguished Service Crosses, the second highest U.S....
was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
twice. Allied operations against Japanese forces in New Guinea, including Operation Cartwheel
Operation Cartwheel
Operation Cartwheel was a major military strategy for the Allies in the Pacific theater of World War II. Cartwheel was a twin-axis of advance operation, aimed at militarily neutralizing the major Japanese base at Rabaul...
and the Salamaua-Lae campaign
Salamaua-Lae campaign
The Salamaua–Lae campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian and United States forces sought to capture two major Japanese bases, one in the town of Lae, and another one at Salamaua. The campaign to take the Salamaua and Lae area began with the Australian...
, continued through 1945.
A brass memoral plaque on a pole was mounted in a concrete base on the site of the Huggins roadblock after the war.
The Japanese also erected a monument commemorating their soldiers' struggle.
Australian units placed a plaque memorializing their fallen comrades.
External links
- Southern Cross, a Japanese account of the New Guinea campaigns by the Chief of Staff of the 18th Army, Lt Col Yoshiharu Kane
- Eichelberger at Buna: A Study in Battle Command Thomas M. Huber,
- The 32nd Red Arrow Infantry Division in World War II 32nd Division Veterans Association website
- Battle of Buna Australian Military Units Australian War Memorial
- Battle of Buna, 19 November 1942 – 2 January 1943
- 2/7th Australian Cavalry Regiment