114-708: The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan , named after the island of Bougainville . It was part of Operation Cartwheel , the Allied grand strategy in the South Pacific . The campaign took place in the Northern Solomons in two phases. The first phase, in which American troops landed and held
228-462: A Europe first stance, giving first priority to defeating Nazi Germany. The Japanese had great difficulty replacing their losses in ships and aircraft, while American factories and shipyards produced ever increasing numbers of both. Fighting included some of the largest naval battles in history and massive Allied air raids over Japan , as well as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Japan surrendered unconditionally on 15 August 1945 and
342-781: A bombing of the city of Darwin on 19 February, which killed at least 243 people. At the Battle of the Java Sea in late February and early March, the IJN defeated the main ABDA naval force, under Admiral Karel Doorman . The Dutch East Indies campaign ended with the surrender of Allied forces on Java and Sumatra. In March and April, an IJN carrier force launched a raid into the Indian Ocean . British Royal Navy bases in Ceylon were hit and
456-500: A defensive perimeter to absorb and defeat Allied counterattacks; Japanese decisonmakers believed such a military situation would lead to a negotiated peace that would preserve Japanese territorial gains. Japanese planning divided the early war into two operational phases. The First Operational Phase was further divided into three separate parts in which the major objectives of the Philippines, British Malaya, Borneo, Burma, Rabaul and
570-511: A degree of success, sinking a destroyer and damaging three destroyers and two cruisers. Defense and expansion of the US lodgment at Cape Torokina involved protracted and often bitter jungle warfare , with many casualties resulting from malaria and other tropical diseases. Except for patrol skirmishes, all the major combat to expand the beachhead occurred in the Marines sector. From 6 to 19 November,
684-746: A four-month campaign. The Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the US—was hostile to Japan's invasion, especially after the Panay incident . In addition, the Japanese had failed to destroy the Chinese army, which continued to resist from the new Nationalist capital in Chongqing , or in the case of the Communists, Yan'an . In 1939, Japanese forces tried to push into
798-559: A halt. The Japanese media, influenced by military propagandists, began to refer to the embargoes as the " ABCD line " ("American-British-Chinese-Dutch"). The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (GHQ) began planning for a war with the Western powers in April or May 1941. Japan increased its naval budget and placed large formations of the Army, along with their attached air components, under
912-475: A major armed clash in January 1941 , effectively ending their co-operation. Japanese strategic bombing efforts mostly targeted large Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan , and Chongqing , with around 5,000 raids from February 1938 to August 1943. Japan's strategic bombing campaigns killed between 260,000 and 350,934 non-combatants . As early as 1935, Japanese military strategists had concluded that
1026-699: A military alliance with Germany and Italy, becoming one of the three main Axis Powers . The war entered a new phase with Japanese defeats at the Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang , the 1st Battle of Changsha , the Battle of Kunlun Pass and the Battle of Zaoyi . After these victories, Chinese nationalist forces launched a large-scale counter-offensive in early 1940; however, due to a lack of military-industrial capacity, they were repulsed in late March 1940. In August 1940, Chinese communists launched an offensive in Central China ; in retaliation, Japan instituted
1140-553: A plan the Japanese called Operation RO. In the event, this plan achieved very little besides further attrition to the Japanese air arm as the Japanese aircraft suffered heavy losses, which later prevented the Japanese aircraft from intervening against the US landings in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands . To confuse the Japanese as to the Allies' real target, two other invasions were carried out. The Treasury Islands , just southwest of
1254-900: Is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The major Allied participants were China , the United States and the British Empire . China had already been engaged in a war against Japan since 1937 . The US and its territories, including the Philippine Commonwealth , entered the war after being attacked by Japan . The British Empire was also a major belligerent consisting of British troops along with colonial troops from India as well as from Burma , Malaya , Fiji , Tonga ; in addition to troops from Australia , New Zealand and Canada . The Dutch government-in-exile (as
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#17327797123061368-578: The 21st Marine Regiment . A Japanese ambush in the area resulted in the 13–14 November Battle of the Coconut Grove , which ended with the Marines gaining control of the point where the Numa Numa and East West Trails crossed. Throughout early November, the Japanese carried out air raids against the US forces around Torokina; however, by 17 November losses were such that the Japanese 1st Carrier Division, which had begun with 370 planes on 1 November,
1482-886: The Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theater , was the theater of World War II that was fought in eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean , the Indian Ocean , and Oceania . It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the Pacific Ocean theater , the South West Pacific theater , the Second Sino-Japanese War , and the Soviet–Japanese War in the last few months of the war. The Second Sino-Japanese War between
1596-754: The Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, the Allied governments appointed the British General Archibald Wavell to the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), a supreme command for Allied forces in Southeast Asia. This gave Wavell nominal control of a huge force, albeit one that was thinly spread across a vast area, from Burma to the Philippines to northern Australia. Other regions, including India, Hawaii, and
1710-635: The Empire of Japan and the Republic of China had been in progress since 7 July 1937, with hostilities dating back to 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria . However, it is more widely accepted that the Pacific War itself began on 7 December (8 December Japanese time) 1941, when the Japanese simultaneously attacked American military bases in Hawaii , Wake Island , Guam , and the Philippines ,
1824-495: The Japanese 17th Army , commanded by General Harukichi Hyakutake . Hyukatake reported to General Hitoshi Imamura , commander of the Japanese Eighth Area Army , headquartered at Rabaul on New Britain . Naval command at Rabaul was the responsibility of Vice Admiral Jinichi Kusaka , commander Southeast Area Fleet . The level of cooperation between these two officers was greater than that usually found between
1938-700: The Khmer Issarak , and the Hukbalahap . The Soviet Union fought two short, undeclared border conflicts with Japan in 1938 and again in 1939 , then remained neutral through the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941, until August 1945 when it (and Mongolia ) joined the rest of the Allies and invaded the territory of Manchukuo , China, Inner Mongolia , the Japanese protectorate of Korea and Japanese-claimed territory such as South Sakhalin . Mexico provided air support in
2052-1016: The Kwantung Army to oversee its occupation of Manchukuo and the China Expeditionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, created the Southern Expeditionary Army Group at the outset of its conquests of South East Asia. This headquarters controlled the bulk of the Japanese Army formations which opposed the Western Allies in the Pacific and South East Asia. In 1931, without declaring war, Japan invaded Manchuria , seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industrial economy. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and
2166-581: The Shortlands , were occupied 27 October by the 8th Brigade Group , 3rd New Zealand Division under the command of Brigadier Robert Row, and a temporary landing was effected on Choiseul , one of the major islands in the Solomons chain. Unlike on Guadalcanal and the New Georgias , Allied planners were unable to gain valuable intelligence from coastwatchers or small Australian Army detachments as
2280-654: The South West Pacific . US sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War: the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater (CBI). However, these were not operational commands. In the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area . The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) did not integrate its units into permanent theater commands. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), which had already created
2394-675: The Soviet Far East . They were defeated in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol by a mixed Soviet and Mongolian force led by Georgy Zhukov . This caused the Japanese to abandon attempts to expand to the north , while Soviet aid to China ceased as a result of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact. In September 1940, Japan decided to invade French Indochina , which was controlled at the time by Vichy France . On 27 September Japan signed
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#17327797123062508-773: The Thai government signed an armistice and entered an alliance with Japan. Although Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire , the declaration was not delivered until after Japanese forces had already struck British and American targets. In the early hours of 7 December (Hawaiian time), carrier-based Japanese aircraft launched a surprise, large-scale air strike on the U.S. Pacific Fleet's anchorage at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, which knocked eight American battleships out of action, destroyed 188 American aircraft, and killed 2,403 Americans. The Japanese believed that
2622-586: The " Three Alls Policy " ("Kill all, Burn all, Loot all") in occupied areas, killing at least 2.7 million civilians. By 1941 the conflict had become a stalemate. Although Japan had occupied much of northern, central, and coastal China, the Nationalist Government had retreated to the interior and set up a provisional capital at Chongqing , while the Chinese communists remained in control of base areas in Shaanxi . Japanese offensive action against
2736-660: The 132nd, together with elements of the Fiji Defence Force, was tasked with securing the heights west of Saua River. The Allied troops captured Hills 155, 165, 500, and 501 in fierce fighting that lasted until 18 April, when the last of the Japanese defenders were killed or driven off. The Americans were reinforced by the 93rd Infantry Division , the first African American infantry unit to see action in World War II. The Japanese, isolated and cut off from outside assistance, primarily concentrated on survival, including
2850-681: The 37th Division recaptured these positions on the afternoon of 12 March. Griswold gave credit to the destroyers that provided bombardment of the Japanese positions, suppressing their attempts at reinforcement. Hyakutake's second thrust was delayed until 12 March. The Japanese advanced through a deep ravine to approach the Piva Yoke fighter strip, and succeeded in penetrating the Perimeter at one point. Beightler responded by sending combined tanks and infantry to drive them back. Also, Japanese artillery that had been bombarding all three American airstrips
2964-544: The Allied embargo. This was known as the Southern Plan . It was decided—because of the close relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., and the belief that the U.S. would inevitably become involved in the ongoing war in Europe—that Japan would also seize the Philippines, Wake Island and Guam . Japan had initially planned for a limited war, where Japanese forces would seize key objectives and then establish
3078-539: The Allies staging areas from which to mount a counteroffensive. By November 1941 these plans were mostly complete, and were modified only slightly over the next month. Japanese military planners' expectation of success rested on the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union being unable to effectively respond to a Japanese attack because of the threat posed to each by Nazi Germany; in particular, the Soviet Union
3192-545: The American phase of operations, while a further 16,600 had died of disease or malnutrition. Of those killed or wounded in combat, the large majority had come during the attack on the US-held perimeter around Torokina, with Japanese losses amounting to 5,400 killed and 7,100 wounded before Imamura cancelled the attack. The invasion of the Philippines had been scheduled for January 1945, but the rapid pace of Allied victories in
3306-474: The Americans, faced with such a sudden and massive blow to their naval power in the Pacific, would agree to a negotiated settlement. However, American losses were less serious than initially thought: the three American aircraft carriers were at sea during the attack, and vital naval infrastructure, Honolulu's submarine base, and signals intelligence units were unscathed. The fact that the bombing happened while
3420-597: The Americans. Nevertheless, the Marines annihilated this force the next day in the Battle of Koromokina Lagoon . In conjunction with the landing forces, the Japanese 23rd Infantry Regiment , which was assigned to the 6th Division, also began attacking the US forces with some success on 7 November before being beaten back the following day. While escorting one of the invasion echelons to the Torokina beachhead on 9 November, Morison recounts that some of Merrill's sailors witnessed an extraordinary incident that highlighted some of
3534-668: The Australian forces advance north towards the Bonis Peninsula and south towards the main Japanese stronghold around Buin , although the war ended before these two enclaves were completely destroyed. Before the war, Bougainville had been administered as part of the Australian Territory of New Guinea , even though geographically Bougainville is part of the Solomon Islands chain. As a result, within
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3648-448: The Battle of the Perimeter, AirSols aircraft continued bombing Rabaul completely reducing its offensive capability. According to Morison, "...AirSols delivered at least one strike on Rabaul every day that weather permitted. An average of 85 tons of bombs was dropped on the area daily from 20 February to 15 May – a total of 7,410 tons by almost 9,400 sorties." The Japanese army, having taken heavy losses during these operations, withdrew
3762-518: The Bougainville coast that the Allies possessed were highly unreliable German Admiralty charts from about 1890. A few corrections had been made by reconnaissance flights and submarine scouting, but some longitudes were still wrong. Indeed, Morison recounts that "near the end of the approach, when the navigating officer of a transport was asked by the captain for his ship's position, he replied, 'About three miles inland, sir!'" Morison further recounts
3876-563: The British colonies of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong , and invaded Thailand . The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan, the latter aided by Thailand and to a lesser extent by the Axis powers , Germany and Italy . The Japanese achieved great success in the initial phase of the campaign, but were gradually driven back using an island hopping strategy. The Allies adopted
3990-873: The British retreated to Imphal in Manipur, abandoning most of their transportation and equipment. They reached Imphal in May just as the monsoon descended, which halted the operations of both sides in the area. Within China, cooperation between the Chinese Nationalists and the Communists had waned from its zenith at the Battle of Wuhan, and the relationship between the two had soured as both attempted to expand their areas of operation and influence. The Japanese exploited this lack of unity to press their offensive operations in China. Japanese Eighth Area Army The Eighth Area Army ( 第8方面軍 , Dai-hachi hōmen gun )
4104-507: The Chinese 38th Division, led by Sun Li-jen . Meanwhile, in the Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road , the Japanese captured Toungoo after hard fighting and sent motorized units to capture Lashio . This cut the Burma Road , which was the western Allies' supply line to Chinese Nationalist troops. Many of Chinese troops were forced either to retreat to India, or withdraw in small parties to Yunnan . Accompanied by large numbers of civilian refugees,
4218-711: The Dutch East Indies were, due to their abundant oil reserves, crucially important for further expansion by the Japanese Empire. By 1940 the Japanese also included Indochina, Malaya, and the Philippines within their concept of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japanese troop build-ups in Hainan, Taiwan, and Haiphong were noted in foreign media, Japanese military officers were increasingly and openly talking about
4332-428: The Dutch East Indies would be occupied. The Second Operational Phase called for further expansion into the South Pacific by seizing eastern New Guinea, New Britain, Fiji, Samoa, and strategic points in around Australia. In the Central Pacific, Midway Island was targeted, as were the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific. Japanese strategists believed that the seizure of these key areas would provide defensive depth and deny
4446-406: The Fifth Air Force— sank no ships but inflicted enough damage to convince Koga to withdraw the heavy cruisers, without having been able to attack the beachhead. A second raid was launched on 11 November with aircraft from the Essex , Bunker Hill and Independence , along with a sizeable force of land-based B-24 bombers. The bombers proved ineffective, but the carrier-based aircraft achieved
4560-500: The IJN and IJA launched simultaneous surprise attacks on the United States and the British Empire on 7 December (8 December in Asia/West Pacific time zones). The locations of this first wave of Japanese attacks included the American territories of Hawaii, the Philippines , Guam , and Wake Island and the British territories of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong . Concurrently, Japanese forces invaded southern and eastern Thailand and were resisted for several hours, before
4674-442: The Japanese landed on Bougainville as part of their advance into the South Pacific. At the time, there was only a small Australian garrison on the island which consisted of about 20 soldiers from the 1st Independent Company and some coastwatchers . Shortly after the Japanese arrived, the bulk of the Australian force was evacuated by the Allies, although some of the coastwatchers remained behind to provide intelligence. Once secured,
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4788-459: The Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo (consisting of most of Manchuria ), and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime (which controlled the coastal regions of China), respectively. Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Taiwan . Collaborationist security units were also formed in Hong Kong , Singapore , the Philippines , the Dutch East Indies , British Malaya , British Borneo , former French Indochina (after
4902-432: The Japanese base was no longer able to project air power to interfere in attacks on Rabaul. The Greens provided a site for a PT boat base, and during the night of 1 March PT-319 entered Simpson Harbor and went undetected by the Japanese. This would have been inconceivable just two months earlier. In addition, a detachment of Seabees constructed an airfield, putting the Japanese base at Kavieng in range of AirSols planes for
5016-438: The Japanese began constructing airfields across the island. The main airfields were on Buka Island; the Bonis Peninsula in the north; Kahili and Kara in the south; and Kieta on the east coast; while a naval anchorage was constructed at Tonolei Harbor near Buin on the southern coastal plain, along with anchorages on the Shortland Islands group. The airfield at Kahili was known by the Japanese as Buin Airfield, and to its south
5130-403: The Japanese counterattacked heavily and the Marines, facing being overrun, had to be rescued by landing craft, which took three attempts to get ashore. Under extremely difficult conditions, the Naval Construction Battalions (CBs or Seabees) and a group of New Zealand engineers carried out work on the three airstrips. The fighter strip at the beach was the first to begin full-time operations with
5244-450: The Japanese had driven them off the island long before plans for Operation Cherry Blossom began. Rear Admiral Theodore Wilkinson , Commander Third Fleet Amphibious Forces, was assigned by Halsey to direct the landings at Cape Torokina from aboard his flagship, the attack transport George Clymer . The ships under Wilkinson's command would disembark the I Marine Amphibious Corps , commanded by Major General Alexander Vandegrift , victor of
5358-563: The Japanese on 15 February 1942. About 130,000 Indian, British, Australian and Dutch personnel became Japanese prisoners of war. Bali and Timor fell in February. The rapid collapse of Allied resistance left the "ABDA area" split in two. Wavell resigned from ABDACOM on 25 February, handing control of the ABDA Area to local commanders and returning to the post of Commander-in-Chief, India . Meanwhile, Japanese aircraft had all but eliminated Allied air power in Southeast Asia and were carrying out air attacks on northern Australia , beginning with
5472-504: The Japanese that, according to Gailey, "the normal rice ration of 750 grams of rice for each soldier was cut in April 1944 to 250 grams, and beginning in September there was no rice ration. A large portion of the available army and naval personnel had to be put to work growing food. Allied pilots took delight in dropping napalm on these garden plots whenever possible." Australian intelligence officers, after studying records, estimated that 8,200 Japanese troops had been killed in combat during
5586-514: The Japanese to attack was a much surer way to victory than undertaking his own offensive operations in a jungle. As far as the press and the American public were concerned, the war had moved on from Bougainville. As Morison writes, "the struggle for the Perimeter went almost unnoticed outside the Pacific." Hyakutake opened his all-out effort to throw the Americans off Bougainville, which came to be known simply as The Counterattack , on 9 March, and his men succeeded in capturing Hill 700 and Cannon Hill;
5700-571: The Pacific caused MacArthur to bring forward the Philippines operation to October 1944. MacArthur would need all the ground troops he could get for the Leyte landings , so by mid-July MacArthur had decided to withdraw Griswold's XIV Corps from Bougainville for rest and refit, to be replaced by the Australian II Corps . Pacific War Allied occupation of Japan Second Sino-Japanese War Taishō period Shōwa period Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Pacific War , sometimes called
5814-404: The Solomons. To achieve this, Allied planners formulated Operation Cartwheel . By 1943 Rabaul was within range of Allied heavy bombers, but a closer airfield was needed for light bombers and escort fighters. Thus, the entire island of Bougainville did not need to be occupied; only enough relatively flat land to support an airbase was required. According to historian Samuel Eliot Morison , this "was
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#17327797123065928-500: The South Pacific... From the difficult landings at Guadalcanal and the New Georgias , Admiral Wilkinson had learned a significant lesson about the necessity of rapid unloading and getting his slow, vulnerable transports away from the landing area. To this end, he loaded his transports only half full and his cargo ships one-quarter full, and made sure that 30% of the troops on the beach assisted in unloading. The Japanese, having been taken by surprise, were unable to mount an air assault on
6042-439: The US forces around the perimeter, and throughout the early months of 1944 his staff made the necessary preparations and plans. Hyakutake's attack would employ the 12,000 men of the 6th Infantry plus 3,000 reserves. His faith in the ultimate victory was such that he planned on taking Griswold's surrender at the Torokina airstrip on 17 March. The Japanese dragged the greatest concentration of field artillery they had yet assembled onto
6156-422: The US was not officially at war caused a wave of outrage across the country. Japan's fallback strategy, relying on a war of attrition against the United States, was beyond the Imperial Japanese Navy's capabilities. Opposition to war in the United States vanished after the attack. On 8 December, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands declared war on Japan, followed by Australia
6270-503: The Western powers through armed forces of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident ( 日支事変 , Nisshi Jihen ) into the Greater East Asia War. During the Occupation of Japan (1945–52), these terms were prohibited in official documents (although their informal usage continued). The war became officially known as the Pacific War ( 太平洋戦争 , Taiheiyō Sensō ) . The Fifteen Years' War ( 十五年戦争 , Jūgonen Sensō )
6384-458: The accuracy required to pinpoint these installations, as well as neutralising anti-aircraft weapons and attacking vessels in the harbor. To achieve this, the Allies began constructing several airstrips on Bougainville that would allow them to use their smaller and more manoeuvrable aircraft against Rabaul. The fighter strip on the beach at Torokina began operations on 10 December, while the inland bomber strip "Piva Uncle" followed on Christmas Day, and
6498-403: The aircraft carrier HMS Hermes was sunk, along with other Allied ships. The attack forced the Royal Navy to withdraw to the western part of the Indian Ocean, paving the way for a Japanese assault on Burma and India. In Burma, the Japanese captured Moulmein on 31 January 1942, and then drove outnumbered British and Indian troops towards the Sittang River . On 23 February, a bridge over
6612-515: The area for two airstrips (the fighter strip at the beach was already being built). Also on 9 November, Major General Roy S. Geiger took over command of the I Marine Amphibious Corps from Vandegrift. Four days later, he assumed command of the entire Torokina beachhead area from Wilkinson. By this time, the Perimeter, as it was called, covered about 7,000 yards of beach front and had a circumference of about 16,000 yards. The trails to new airstrip sites had to be cleared, and Turnage assigned this task to
6726-402: The branches of the Japanese armed forces. The 17th Infantry Group occupied Bougainville and consisted of the 81st Infantry Regiment and the III Battalion, 53rd Infantry Regiment under Major General Kesao Kijima . Elements of the 6th Division had responsibility for the island south of Tarina. Reduction of the main Japanese base at Rabaul was the ultimate goal of the Allied offensive in
6840-496: The city, which fell to Japan after three months of fighting. The Japanese continued to push deeper into China, capturing the capital Nanjing in mid-December 1937 and committing atrocities in the Nanjing Massacre , including rape, murder and torture. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang , but the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan and captured it in October after
6954-403: The command of General Douglas MacArthur , whose headquarters were in Brisbane, Australia. Although MacArthur had to approve all major moves, he gave planning and operational control to Admiral William F. Halsey , Commander U.S. Third Fleet , headquartered at Nouméa on New Caledonia . In mid-October, Halsey set 1 November 1943 as the date for the invasion of Bougainville. By early October, it
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#17327797123067068-407: The command of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Historically, the IJA consumed the majority of the state's military budget (with a 73% - 27% split in 1940), but from 1942 to 1945 the IJA would account for 60% of Japan's military spending, while the IJN would account for 40%. Japan's key initial objective was to seize economic resources in the Dutch East Indies and Malaya, in order to alleviate the effects of
7182-650: The cruisers' arrival in the area of operations greatly concerned Halsey: the Bougainville beachhead was still quite vulnerable, and he had no heavy cruisers oppose a bombardment . Taking a huge gamble, he ordered the only carrier force under his immediate command, Task Force 38 under Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman , to cripple or sink as much of the combat shipping at Rabaul as possible. The resulting air strike , launched from Sherman's fleet carrier Saratoga and light carrier Princeton on 5 November—with fighter escorts being provided by land-based aircraft from Air Solomons command and followed up by land-based aircraft from
7296-434: The development of farms throughout the island. According to Morison, amongst the Japanese troops "morale fell deplorably ... after the loss of the Battle of the Perimeter; Admiral Takeda, in his narrative, notes robberies, insubordination and even mutiny. Hundreds of soldiers deserted and wandered through the jungle, living on anything they could find, even on snakes, rats and crocodiles." The supply situation became so bad for
7410-430: The eastern perimeter. They shelled the beachhead, targeting the airstrips and the supply dumps. The 3rd Marine Division extended its lines to include the hills in a series of operations that lasted from 9–27 December. One hill, dubbed " Hellzapoppin Ridge", was a natural fortress. Overlooking the beachhead, it was 300 feet (91 m) long, with steep slopes and a narrow crest. The Japanese constructed extensive positions on
7524-454: The extreme cultural differences at play in the Pacific: On their way north, the bluejackets topside in destroyer Spence were goggle-eyed at an exhibition of Japanese bushido . Ordered to investigate a life raft, they observed what appeared to be seven bodies in it. The seven bodies suddenly sat up and started talking. One of them, apparently the officer, broke out a 7.7-mm machine gun, which each man in succession placed in his mouth, while
7638-411: The first flights taking place on 10 December. The Japanese Army command at Rabaul was certain that the Allies would be moving on from Torokina; Imamura ordered a build-up of the defenses at Buin, on the southern tip of Bougainville. In November and December the Japanese emplaced field artillery on the high ground around the beachhead, concentrated in a group of hills along the Torokina River overlooking
7752-441: The first time. From 8 March AirSols bombers began flying unescorted to Rabaul. In describing the effect, Morison writes: "it is significant that the splendid harbor which in October 1943 had held some 300,000 tons of enemy shipping, and had sheltered powerful task forces of the Japanese Navy, was reduced to a third-rate barge depot." Hyakutake commanded about 40,000 men of the 17th Army. There were also about 20,000 naval personnel in
7866-425: The following day. On 25 November, as the Battle of Piva Forks was ending, the Battle of Cape St. George took place in the waters between Buka and New Ireland . Three destroyer transports full of troops, escorted by two destroyers, all under the command of Captain Kiyoto Kagawa , were on their way to reinforce Buka. Halsey directed five destroyers under Captain Arleigh Burke to intercept. The encounter resulted in
7980-402: The form of the 201st Fighter Squadron and Free France sent naval support in the form of Le Triomphant and later the Richelieu . The Axis -aligned states which assisted Japan included the authoritarian government of Thailand . Also involved were members of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which included the Manchukuo Imperial Army and Collaborationist Chinese Army of
8094-548: The inland fighter strip "Piva Yoke" on 22 January. General Ralph J. Mitchell, USMC, took over the command of all land-based planes in the theater, called Air Command, Solomons (AirSols) , on 20 November. Once the three airstrips in the Torokina Perimeter became fully functional, Mitchell moved AirSols headquarters there from Munda on New Georgia Island. The first raids by AirSols aircraft had limited success. Japanese anti-aircraft fire, especially from ships, had improved greatly since Kenney's raids and inflicted significant damage on
8208-430: The invasion fleet. Wilkinson, grateful that his transports were able to land almost the entire troop contingent and a large amount of materiel unmolested by air attack, ordered them out of the area around sundown. Japanese forces around the landing area were limited to no more than platoon strength, as they had not expected an attack in the area, and their logistics system was unable to support greater numbers. When word of
8322-558: The land campaign on Guadalcanal . Vandegrift's force, a total of 14,321 men, consisted of the 3rd Marine Division (reinforced), under Major General Allen H. Turnage , the U.S. Army's 37th Infantry Division , under Major General Robert S. Beightler , and the Advance Naval Base Unit No. 7. Three groups of transports converged in Empress Augusta Bay on the morning of 1 November. The existing maps of
8436-535: The landings reached Rabaul, Vice Admiral Tomoshige Samejima , Commander of the Japanese Eighth Fleet , immediately embarked 1,000 troops from the II Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment onto five destroyer-transports at Rabaul and sent them to Cape Torokina. Escorting the transports was a force of two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and six destroyers led by Vice Admiral Sentaro Omori . During
8550-477: The landings were completed with relative efficiency. In addition, interference from Japanese planes was minimal. Morison attributes this to previous losses inflicted against the Japanese air arm, writing that the fact such a large fleet "could set thousands of troops ashore with impunity only 115 miles from Rabaul proved what good work AirSols had already accomplished." With the capture of the Green Islands,
8664-631: The majority of its force into the deep interior and to the north and south ends of Bougainville. On 5 April the Americal Division's 132nd Infantry Regiment , after establishing patrol sweeps along Empress Augusta Bay, successfully launched an attack to capture the Japanese-held village of Mavavia. Two days later while continuing a sweep for enemy forces, the regiment encountered prepared enemy defences where they destroyed about 20 Japanese pillboxes using pole charges and bazookas . Later,
8778-524: The mountain ranges and thick jungle – meant that mounting a counterattack would be beyond the capabilities of the Japanese for weeks, if not months, which would allow the US forces to consolidate after landing and give them enough time to establish a strong perimeter. The preparation for landings at Cape Torokina became known as Operation Cherry Blossom. Bougainville lay within the Southwest Pacific Area , so operations were nominally under
8892-490: The native Melanesians there were well-disposed toward the Europeans and had been alienated by the Japanese. As a result, Allied planners determined that no preliminary bombing or shelling would be carried out. On 15 February, Wilkinson landed a contingent of New Zealanders from the 3rd Division under Major General Harold E. Barrowclough . Experience gained from previous landings, coupled with detailed staff work, meant that
9006-519: The navy could not convince Imamura of the Americans' real intentions. The 18–25 November Battle of Piva Forks effectively wiped out an entire Japanese infantry regiment. Even so, the beachhead was still not an entirely safe place. The day after the end of the Piva Forks action, as the sixth echelon of the invasion force was unloading at the beachhead, Japanese artillery fired on the landing ships, inflicting casualties. The Marines silenced these guns
9120-580: The nearby Treasury and Shortland Islands they built airfields, naval bases and anchorages. These bases helped protect Rabaul , the major Japanese garrison and naval base in Papua New Guinea, while allowing continued expansion to the southeast, down the Solomon Islands chain, to Guadalcanal and beyond. To the Allies, Bougainville would later also be considered vital for neutralizing the Japanese base around Rabaul. In March–April 1942,
9234-548: The next day. Thailand, with its territory already serving as a springboard for Japan's Malayan Campaign , surrendered within hours of the Japanese invasion. The government of Thailand formally allied with Japan on 21 December. To the south, the IJA seized the British colony of Penang on 19 December, encountering little resistance. Hong Kong was attacked on 8 December and fell to Japanese forces on 25 December 1941. American bases on Guam and Wake Island were seized by Japan at around
9348-467: The night voyage to Torokina, the Japanese ships were spotted by an American submarine and possibly by a search plane. Concerned that he had lost the element of surprise, Omori radioed Samejima to ask permission to send the slow-moving transports back to Rabaul but to continue with the combat ships to attack the American transports that he assumed were still in Empress Augusta Bay. Samejima concurred, and Omori pressed ahead with his cruisers and destroyers. At
9462-543: The officer fired a round which shot the back of the man's head off. After six had been bumped off, the officer stood up, addressed a short speech in Japanese to Spence's commanding officer on the bridge, and then shot himself. Parts of two Marine Raider battalions drove away Japanese who were blocking the Piva branch of the Numa Numa Trail in the 8–9 November Battle for Piva Trail . The Marines then selected sites in
9576-460: The one and only reason why the JCS authorized Halsey to seize a section of Bougainville: to establish forward airfields for strikes on Rabaul." The area around Cape Torokina was determined to be an acceptable location. The Japanese were not there in force and had no airfield there. Empress Augusta Bay had a somewhat protected anchorage, and the physical barriers to the east of the cape – for instance
9690-785: The overthrow of the French regime in 1945 ), as well as Timorese militia . Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, notably the Monsun Gruppe . Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War: China, the Central Pacific , South-East Asia and
9804-406: The perimeter around the beachhead at Torokina , lasted from November 1943 through November 1944. The second phase, in which primarily Australian troops went on the offensive, mopping up pockets of starving, isolated but still-determined Japanese, lasted from November 1944 until August 1945, when the last Japanese soldiers on the island surrendered. Operations during the final phase of the campaign saw
9918-433: The planes. The Americans developed new formations and tactics that brought about increasing attrition among the Japanese fighter arm. The Japanese navy could no longer risk exposing its ships to the relentless air attacks, and by late January, Kusaka had banned all shipping except barges from Simpson Harbor, which removed any remaining naval threat to the Torokina beachhead. The Joint Chiefs of Staff had determined that Rabaul
10032-905: The possessor of the Dutch East Indies ) was also involved. All of these were members of the Pacific War Council . From 1944 the French commando group Corps Léger d'Intervention also took part in resistance operations in Indochina. Some active pro-allied guerrillas in Asia included the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army , the Korean Liberation Army , the Free Thai Movement , the Việt Minh ,
10146-605: The prospect of war, and Admiral Sankichi Takahashi was reported as stating that a showdown with the US was necessary. In an effort to discourage Japanese militarism, Western powers including Australia, the US, Britain, and the Dutch government in exile , which controlled the Dutch East Indies, stopped selling oil , iron ore, and steel to Japan. In Japan, the government and Japanese nationalists viewed these embargoes as acts of aggression; imported oil made up about 80% of domestic consumption, without which Japan's economy would grind to
10260-480: The remaining regiment of the 3rd Marine Division and the US Army 37th Infantry Division were landed, and the beachhead gradually expanded. On their third attempt, the Japanese successfully landed four destroyer-loads of men just beyond the eastern limit of the American beachhead before dawn on 7 November. Despite the presence of PT boats operating out of Puruata Island, the Japanese effected this landing undetected by
10374-550: The rest of Australia, remained under local commands. On 15 January, Wavell moved to Bandung in Java to assume control of ABDACOM. In January, Japan invaded British Burma, the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, and captured Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Rabaul . After being driven out of Malaya, Allied forces in Singapore attempted to resist the Japanese during the Battle of Singapore, but were forced to surrender to
10488-470: The retreating and regrouping Chinese forces was largely stalled by the mountainous terrain in southwestern China, while the Communists organized widespread guerrilla and saboteur activities in northern and eastern China behind the Japanese front line. Japan sponsored several puppet governments , one of which was headed by Wang Jingwei . Conflicts between Chinese Communist and Nationalist forces vying for territorial control behind enemy lines culminated in
10602-463: The reverse slopes using natural and artificial camouflage. The 21st Marines attacked Hellzapoppin Ridge but were driven off on 12 December. Several air strikes missed the narrow ridge completely. Finally, co-ordinated air, artillery, and infantry attacks resulted in the capture of the ridge on 18 December. In the days that followed, the 21st Marines were also involved in fighting around Hill 600A, which
10716-507: The ridges overlooking the perimeter. Griswold decided that allowing the Japanese to hold these ridges was better than stretching his own lines thin by occupying them himself. On the American side, Hodge's Americal Division and Beightler's 37th Infantry Division manned the Perimeter, while the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion and the US Army 49th Coast Artillery Battalion protected the beachhead. Griswold had learned on New Georgia that waiting for
10830-646: The river was demolished prematurely, stranding most of an Indian division. On 8 March, the Japanese occupied Rangoon . The Allies attempted to defend Central Burma, with Indian and Burmese divisions holding the Irrawaddy River valley and the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma defending Toungoo . On 16 April, 7,000 British soldiers were encircled by the Japanese 33rd Division during the Battle of Yenangyaung , but subsequently rescued by
10944-518: The same time, Rear Admiral Stanton Merrill was steaming toward the Bay with four light cruisers and eight destroyers. The two forces met in the early morning hours of 2 November in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay , in which the Japanese lost the light cruiser Sendai and the destroyer Hatsukaze . Admiral Koga was unwilling to risk his precious aircraft carriers, so he decided to dispatch seven heavy cruisers to Rabaul. These arrived on 3 November. News of
11058-515: The same time. British, Australian, and Dutch forces, already drained of personnel and matériel by two years of war with Germany, and heavily committed in the Middle East, North Africa, and elsewhere, were unable to provide more than token resistance. Two major British warships, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and the battleship HMS Prince of Wales , were sunk by a Japanese air attack off Malaya on 10 December 1941. Following
11172-459: The scene of the landing in the following passage: To the forces, as they approached, Empress Augusta Bay presented a magnificent but somewhat terrifying spectacle. Behind the curved sweep of the shore line, a heavy, dark green jungle...swept up over foothills and crumpled ridges to the cordillera which was crowned by a smoking volcano, Mount Baranga, 8,650 feet above sea level...It was wilder and more majestic scenery than anyone had yet witnessed in
11286-425: The sinking of destroyers Onami , Makinami and Yugumo , as well as the death of Kagawa. No hits were scored on Burke's vessels. The battle was not completely one sided, though. On 28–29 November, in an effort to block reinforcements from the Japanese 23rd Infantry Regiment, the 1st Marine Parachute Battalion carried out a raid on Koiari , about 9.3 miles (15 km) east of Torokina. After landing unopposed,
11400-712: The southern part of the island under Vice Admiral Tomoshige Samejima . One of the units in Hyakutake's command, the 6th Infantry Division under Lieutenant General Masatane Kanda , was reputed to be the toughest in the Imperial Japanese Army. Initially, Hyakutake was not convinced of the Allied intent to remain permanently at Torokina and as a result remained on a defensive posture. The resulting delay in Japanese offensive action gave Griswold plenty of time to deploy his men in suitable defensive positions. In December 1943, Hyakutake resolved to launch an attack on
11514-460: The various accounts of the campaign it is referred to as part of both the New Guinea and the Solomon Islands campaigns . During their occupation the Japanese constructed naval aircraft bases in the north, east, and south of the island; but none in the west. They developed a naval anchorage at Tonolei Harbor near Buin , their largest base, on the southern coastal plain of Bougainville. On
11628-459: Was occupied by the Allies. Japan lost its former possessions in Asia and the Pacific and had its sovereignty limited to the four main home islands and other minor islands as determined by the Allies. In Allied countries during the war, the "Pacific War" was not usually distinguished from World War II , or was known simply as the War against Japan . In the United States, the term Pacific theater
11742-824: Was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II . The army was formed on 9 November 1942, becoming effective on 26 November at Rabaul as part of the Southern Army . The army was disbanded in September 1945. The Japanese 8th Area Army was formed on November 16, 1942 under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of opposing landings by Allied forces in Japanese-occupied Solomon Islands and New Guinea . It had its headquarters at Rabaul , New Britain and saw considerable combat in
11856-541: Was an airfield on Ballale Island in the Shortland Islands. These bases allowed the Japanese to conduct operations in the southern Solomon Islands and to attack the Allied lines of communication between the United States, Australia and the Southwest Pacific Area . At the opening of the Allied offensives, their estimates of Japanese strength on Bougainville varied widely, ranging between 45,000 and 65,000 army, navy, and labour personnel. These forces constituted
11970-455: Was captured by 24 December 1943. On 15 December, the I Marine Amphibious Corps and General Geiger were replaced by the US Army's XIV Corps , led by Major General Oscar W. Griswold , the victor of the land campaign on New Georgia. On 28 December, the 3rd Marine Division, exhausted because most of the fighting had taken place in its sector, was replaced by the Army's Americal Division under Major General John R. Hodge . The 37th Division (Army),
12084-603: Was clear to the Japanese that the Allies were planning a follow-up offensive to the Allied capture of the New Georgias , although the target was uncertain. The commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet , Admiral Mineichi Koga , flying his flag aboard the battleship Musashi from Truk Lagoon , sent all of his carrier aircraft to Rabaul. These planes would combine with the land-based air force already there and bomb Allied bases and supply routes as part of
12198-595: Was prepared to move deeper into China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. The Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communists suspended their civil war in order to form a nominal alliance against Japan, and the Soviet Union quickly lent support by providing large amounts of materiel to Chinese troops. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed some of his best troops to defend Shanghai against some 300,000 Japanese troops attempting to seize
12312-481: Was seen as unlikely to commence hostilities. The Japanese leadership was aware that a total military victory in the traditional sense against the United States was impossible, and instead envisaged that rapid, aggressive and expansive conquest would force the U.S. to agree to a negotiated peace that would recognize Japanese hegemony in Asia. Following prolonged tensions between Japan and the Western powers , units of
12426-403: Was silenced by AirSols bombers. This action ended on 13 March. Hyakutake attempted twice more to penetrate the perimeter, on 15 and 17 March but was driven back both times. The Japanese mounted a final attack on the night of 23–24 March, which made some progress but was then thrown back. On 27 March, the Americal Division drove the Japanese off of Hill 260, and the battle came to a close. During
12540-479: Was sure it was just a stepping stone. He thus had no interest in mounting a decisive counterattack on the Allied beachhead using the substantial number of troops he already had in the southern part of Bougainville. Instead, he reinforced the Buka Island area, just off the north coast of Bougainville Island, believing it to be the Allies' real target. Thus, the Japanese army repeated the error of Guadalcanal, while
12654-426: Was then placed under Griswold's XIV Corps. Rabaul had already been raided multiple times between 12 October and 2 November by the heavy bombers of General George C. Kenney 's Allied Air Forces Southwest Pacific Area. Significant damage was done to ground installations, although the Japanese adapted by moving aircraft facilities underground. Only low-flying techniques such as dive bombing and glide bombing could achieve
12768-561: Was to be encircled, with invasions of the Admiralty Islands and Kavieng on the northern tip of the island of New Ireland , to begin 1 April at the earliest. Anxious to maintain offensive momentum, Halsey was unwilling to leave his forces idle until then. To that end, and to provide yet another airfield close to Rabaul, Halsey ordered his amphibious forces to invade the Green Islands, a group of small coral atolls about 115 miles east of Rabaul. Reconnaissance missions determined that
12882-632: Was widely used. The US Armed Forces considered the China Burma India theater to be distinct from the Asiatic-Pacific theater during the conflict. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War ( 大東亜戦争 , Dai Tō-A Sensō ) , as chosen by a cabinet decision on 10 December 1941, to refer to both the war with the Western Allies and the ongoing war in China. This name was released to the public on 12 December, with an explanation that it involved Asian nations achieving their independence from
12996-422: Was withdrawn back to Truk. The US forces were thereby able to gradually expand their perimeter out to 5.0–6.2 miles (8–10 km), eventually capturing two airfields with which they could subsequently launch their own attacks against Rabaul. Following this, the Japanese troops on Bougainville essentially became isolated. At Rabaul, Imamura was still convinced that the Allies did not mean to stay long at Torokina—he
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