 Complete the following phrase:  After hard fighting in the Pacific throughout 1942, the following year Australian and US forces began to gain momentum against the Japanese, and were contemplating going on the offensive. In New Guinea, the bloody Battle of BunaGona had been fought to a conclusion in January, while a Japanese attempt to secure the vital airfield at Wau, near Salamaua, had also been repelled that month. Throughout mid-1943, the Australians had fought a campaign against the Japanese in the Salamaua region, as they had advanced east from Wau towards the Huon Gulf. In September, an 