Phillip Bradley - Hells Battlefield: The Australians in New Guinea in World War II

HELLS
BATTLEFIELD

HELLS
BATTLEFIELD

The Australians in
New Guinea in World War II

PHILLIP BRADLEY

First published in 2012

Copyright Phillip Bradley 2012

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ISBN 978 1 74237 270 9

Internal design by Lisa White
Maps by Keith Mitchell
Set in 11/16 pt Minion by Post Pre-press Group, Australia
Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Michael,
the best of brothers and a better man

CONTENTS

The island of New Guinea had three governing powers in 1884. The Dutch controlled the western half of the main island as Netherlands New Guinea. The Germans controlled the northern sector of the islands eastern half, together with New Britain, New Ireland and Bougainville, as German New Guinea. The southern sector of the eastern half was a British protectorate known as the Territory of Papua. In 1906, the Territory of Papua became an Australian protectorate; in 1920, after the First World War, the League of Nations assigned the German sector to Australian control as the mandated Territory of New Guinea. During the Second World War, the Australians fought in both Papua and the Territory of New Guinea. This regionreferred to by commanders and troops alike as New Guineais today the nation of Papua New Guinea.

Following the outbreak of war in the Pacific on 8 December 1941, the Japanese moved rapidly to establish a far-flung defensive perimeter. New Guinea was a critical part of this perimeter, providing a formidable shield against any future Allied advance from Australia. The invasion of New Guinea began on 23 January 1942, when the Japanese South Seas Force landed at Rabaul, on New Britain, and at Kavieng, on New Ireland. The small Australian garrisons were overwhelmed. On New Britain, the Japanese troops set the pattern for what would become a vicious war by massacring some 150 unarmed Australian prisoners. The invasion of mainland New Guinea soon followed, with landings at Lae and Salamaua on 8 March 1942. However, a successful attack on both anchorages by carrier-borne US aircraft delayed the planned assault on Port Moresby until early May, when the Japanese force was turned back in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Meanwhile, meagre Australian forces hit back at the garrisons at Lae and Salamaua with attacks from the air and commando raids on the ground.