The Landing at Lae was an amphibous landing

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

, as part of (Operation POSTERN), to the east of Lae

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...

 in 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...

 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...

 between 4–6 September 1943.

The landing sites identified were Red Beach to the east of the mouth of the Buso River and Yellow Beach near Hopoi.

The Australian 9th Division

Australian 9th Division

The 9th Division was a division of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was the fourth division of the Second Australian Imperial Force and was formed in the United Kingdom in late 1940 from infantry brigades and support units which had been previously raised in Australia and...

 quickly established a beachhead and began a pincer advance on Lae. The amphibious landing was unopposed by Imperial Japanese land forces. Japanese bombers staged an air attack on the second wave of amphibious landings, and killed about 100 Allied naval and army personnel.