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» New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3
New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3
30 Sep 1943 - 23 May 1945
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseJapanese Decision to Abandon New Guinea Island
ww2dbaseOn 30 Sep 1943, the Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan endorsed a plan to reduce Japan's defense perimeter, a plan which was drawn up 15 days before. This new defense perimeter went from Burma through Dutch New Guinea, the Caroline Islands, and finally to the Marshall Islands. Although it was a serious effort to consolidate conquests and to shorten supply lines, this plan meant the abandonment of 300,000 troops outside of the perimeter, who were unable to be evacuated easily due to Allied air superiority. At this time, 120,000 Japanese personnel were located in eastern New Guinea island, many groups of which were running out of food and supplies. First Lieutenant Toshiro Kuroki commanded the Third Company of the 20th Engineer Regiment attached to the 20th Division, stationed in New Guinea at the time. He recalled the rice supplies running thin as days wore on:
ww2dbasePotatoes, potatoes! The battle in the Finschhafen area was full of potatoes. It would be impossible to live without potatoes. Since our arrival on November 11 we have had hardly any rice. We added a few potatoes to what rice we have had and continued the fight. We have an army, a division and an area army, with a commander-in-chief, a divisional commander, a chief of staff, a director of intelligence and what have you, but in the front line we have to contend with a rotten supply situation and live a dog's life on potatoes.
ww2dbaseYou will not find many smiling faces among the men in the ranks in New Guinea. They are always hungry; every other word has something to do with eating. At the sight of potatoes their eyes gleam and their mouths water. The divisional commander and the staff officers do not seem to realize that the only way the men can drag out their lives from day to day is by this endless hunt for potatoes. How can they complain about slackness and expect miracles when most of our effort goes into looking for something to eat!
ww2dbaseWith the Japanese troops stranded, Allied troops began their slow movement across this second largest island in the world.
ww2dbaseCarrier Raids on Rabaul
5 and 11 Nov 1943
ww2dbaseRabaul on the island of New Britain, which was administratively part of Australian New Guinea, was the stronghold of Japanese defense in the region. The base featured multiple airfields (with a large aircraft maintenance staff) and an excellent anchorage ("The Pearl Harbor of the South Pacific"). For some time, Rabaul had already been subjected to aerial attacks by US Army Air Forces long range bombers based in Port Moresby, Australian Papua, but in early Nov, the Americans stepped up the effort by launching carrier strikes, with the goal of pinning down Japanese naval and air forces to prevent their interference of the invasion of Bougainville in the nearby Solomon Islands (see Solomon Islands Campaign). On 5 Nov, US Task Force 38 under Rear Admiral Frederick Sherman, with carriers USS Saratoga and USS Princeton, launched a total of 97 aircraft (33 F6F, 16 TBF, and 22 SBD aircraft from USS Saratoga; 19 F6F and 7 TBF aircraft from USS Princeton) against Rabaul. The dive bombers caught the Japanese Cruiser Division 4 by surprise, damaging several cruisers and destroyers; the torpedo bombers, however, were generally ineffective. At the cost of only 9 aircraft and 14 lives, the Americans achieved the short term goal of preventing Japanese forces from reaching the American ships off Bougainville, the medium term goal of putting several major Japanese warships out of action, and the long term goal of starting the final step in the process to isolate and then neutralize Rabaul.
ww2dbaseOn 11 Nov, a follow-up raid was conducted, this time with the addition of USS Bunker Hill, USS Essex, and USS Independence, launching a total of 276 aircraft (36 F6F-3, 23 SBD-5, and 19 TBF-1 from USS Saratoga; 20 F6F and 9 TBF from USS Princeton; 27 F6F, 19 TBF, and 23 SB2C from Bunker Hill; 29 F6F, 28 SBD, and 18 TBF from USS Essex; 16 F6F and 9 TBF from USS Independence). The carrier strike was joined by 23 land-based F4U-1 fighters and several land-based F6F fighters, and it was preceded by a bombing run by 23 B-24 bombers of US Army Air Forces 43rd Bomb Group on the Lakunai Airfield. The US Navy aircraft successfully sank one destroyer (Suzunami; 148 killed including commanding officer Captain Masao Kamiyama) and damaged several other destroyers and destroyed 11 Japanese aircraft, at the cost of only 9 US aircraft (although an additional 7 aircraft would later be written off due to extensive battle damage). In addition to losses in equipment and lives, the Japanese garrison at Rabaul would also suffer a blow to its morale after this second major raid within days, after a long series of bombings by land-based USAAF bombers.
ww2dbaseIn an attempt to avenge the morning strike, the Japanese mounted a counterattack in the afternoon. At 1410 hours on 11 Nov 1943, D3A, 14 B5N, 4 D4Y, and 33 A6M aircraft (32 Japanese Army fighters were also launched but they lost their way) attacked the US carrier fleet. The attack would prove to be a disaster for the Japanese. For the 33 aircraft lost (and the loss of famed pilot Lieutenant Masao Sato), they failed to sink any American carriers and had only destroyed 2 F4U, 2 F6F, 1 TBF, and 1 SB2C aircraft.
ww2dbaseLandings on New Britain
15 Dec 1943-22 Apr 1944
ww2dbaseOn 15 Dec 1943, American 112th Cavalry Regiment landed at Arawe on the southwestern coast of New Britain. This move was aimed to disrupt Japanese supply lines. On 26 Dec 1943, Major General William H. Rupertus' US 1st Marine Division landed at nearby Cape Gloucester. Major General Iwao Matsuda's Japanese 17th Division opposed the American landings.
ww2dbaseIn hindsight, the nearly concurrent Bougainville operation, which would ultimately end in a US victory, would achieve the goal of isolating Rabaul, thus making the landings at Arawe and Cape Gloucester unnecessary. Nevertheless, the presence of Americans in southern New Britain guaranteed the isolation effort.
ww2dbaseAdmiralty Islands
26 Feb-25 Mar 1944
ww2dbaseThe Admiralty Islands were on the US target list also for cutting off Rabaul. Additionally, gaining the Admiralty Islands would secure the right flank of the Allied advance across the northern coast of New Guinea island. Intelligence photographs given to Douglas MacArthur showed airfields that appear abandoned, confusing his staff the actual number of defenders there; it was the tactic of Colonel Yoshio Ezaki, who wished to remain mysterious and keep his enemies guessing on his strength. All Ezaki's men were hidden in the jungles, ordered not to fire at enemy aircraft. US Army Air Forces thought the island was only held by a small number of Japanese troops, while the Army thought Ezaki's strength was somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000. Ezaki's actual strength was about 4,450.
ww2dbaseOn 29 Feb 1944, Vice Admiral Thomas Kinkaid's ship provided transport for part of Brigadier General William Chase's First Cavalry Division, about 1,000 dismounted men, to Los Negros. Unlike typical amphibious assaults, the landing force was small, largely due to the lack of intelligence on Japanese strength. They were ordered to secure the nearby airfield, and either fall back if the airfield if it was heavily defended or hold the airfield if only moderately defended; in both cases, they would be reinforced later. The landing was conducted with surprise, and the airfield was taken relatively easily by the 2nd Squadron of the 5th Cavalry Regiment. They set up a defensive line near the coast so that any attacking Japanese would need to dash across the open airfield with little cover. Repeated Japanese counterattacks, all in the form of small night attacks during the next few nights, instilled fear with American soldiers, but all of the attacks were fought off. The support force finally arrived on 4 Feb, followed by the arrival of the 12th Cavalry Regiment on 6 Mar and the 2nd Cavalry Brigade on 9 Mar. The 2nd Cavalry Brigade secured the small adjacent islands over the following few days, including the landing on Manus on 15 Mar to occupy the Japanese airfield on that island.
ww2dbaseLos Negros Island was cleared of Japanese forces on 25 Mar, but Manus Island was not cleared until May. At the Admiralty Islands, about 4,400 Japanese were killed and 75 prisoners were taken. The Americans, all of whom belonged to the US 1st Cavalry Division (Special), suffered 290 killed and 977 wounded. Despite outnumbering the American forces at the start of the battle, which was extremely rare at this stage of war, Colonel Ezaki was unable to capitalize on the numerical advantage to secure a victory, which would have provided the morale boost that Japan desperately needed. With Admiralty Islands under Allied control, MacArthur commented that "the noose was complete." Rabaul was now choked off with its large garrison of troops idling in frustration.
ww2dbaseAitape and Hollandia
22 Apr 1944-Aug 1944
ww2dbaseOn 22 Apr 1944, a two-pronged attack was launched to attack Aitape and Hollandia on the northern coast of New Guinea island in the Australian Territory of New Guinea. MacArthur had hopes that these two locations would provide the valuable airfields needed to further his attack across the island, and perhaps even bomber fields that might later be used to attack the Philippine Islands. Both landing forces achieved complete surprise. "No withering fire met us at the beach", said MacArthur. "Instead, there was only disorder-rice still boiling in pots, weapons and personal equipment of every kind abandoned. No more than token resistance was met at any point, and there was no interference from the enemy's air or naval forces. In postwar interrogations, Jo Iimura, a Japanese defender in the region at the time, said "[t]he allied invasion of Hollandia and Aitape was a complete surprise to us. After considering the past operational tactics of the enemy... we believed they would attempt to acquire an important position somewhere east of Aitape.... Because we misjudged... we were neither able to reinforce nor send war supplies to their defending units."
ww2dbaseOnce on land, however, Eichelberger's troops discovered that Lieutenant General Hatazo Adachi's 18th Army had regrouped. Adachi's men counterattacked in strength multiple times near Aitape, causing serious casualties. "I cannot find any means nor method which will solve this situation strategically or tactically", said Adachi to his troops. "Therefore, I intend to overcome this by relying on our Japanese Bushido." The first of the such massed attacks took place on 11 Jul, attacking in multiple waves despite heavy casualties from Allied machine guns and artillery. For the next two weeks the Japanese attacks persisted, but to little success. Adachi later acknowledged that he felt he lost ten thousand men during the offensive. On 13 Jul, the Allied forces launched a double enveloping counteroffensive that divided Adachi's remaining troops into two groups, soon rendering them useless. All effective resistance ceased on 10 Aug, though small elements harassed Allied troops in the region until the end of the war.
ww2dbaseWakde
17 May 1944-Aug 1944
ww2dbaseEven before Aitape and Hollandia were secured, MacArthur had already marked Wakde as his next target, mainly due to the fact that Aitape had proved to be unsuitable for the building of major airfields. Lieutenant General Walter Krueger's Sixth Army ("Alamo Force") landed at Wakde on 17 May. They met a similar level of stubborn resistance at Wakde mainly because of Wakde being well established with numerous storage depots. MacArthur claimed to have gained Wakde as an usable base of future operations, but some troops were bogged down in the area until nearly the end of the war.
ww2dbaseBiak
27 May 1944-22 Jul 1944
ww2dbaseAcross Geelvink Bay north of western New Guinea island lay the island of Biak and its three airfields, which could prove to be dangerous as Allied troop transports operated closer and closer to the western tip of New Guinea. With its additional strategic value as an excellent jump-off point for the Philippines, MacArthur sent Major General Fuller and his 41st Division on Operation Hurricane to take the island. "The light enemy resistance at the beachhead held little hint of what was to come", recalled MacArthur. Lieutenant Colonel Naoyuki Kuzume put up a fierce defense that included tanks, which was rare for Japanese troops in this theater of the Pacific War. Kuzume utilized his knowledge of the island's topography and devised a brilliant defense plan that fully utilized the terrain. He was further reinforced by the Second Amphibious Brigade of the Southern Army from Mindanao via "Tokyo Express" during Operation Kon. His effective defense even rendered the airfields, newly captured by the Allies, useless. On 28 Jun, Kuzume's command post, located in one of the numerous caves, was breached. He committed ritual suicide. The remaining caves continued to fight ferociously. Frustrated American troops soon discovered the brutal tactic of simply dynamiting the caves, causing the cave roofs to collapse on the defenders hiding inside. The island was finally secured on 22 Jul.
ww2dbaseAt the conclusion of the Biak actions, Americans killed all but 150 of the 7,200 Japanese defenders (the 150 escaped), while losing 438 of their own. The Americans, similar to other Pacific actions, lost more men from the front lines to diseases than deaths and battle wounds. Biak turned out to be an important battle for another reason. It was the first time Japanese troops effectively used caves as defensive strongholds. Before this point, Japanese troops defended the islands at the beach; when all was lost, surviving troops formed a banzai charge, and the battle was over. After the battle, the Japanese began to include caves as an option, which dramatically increased American casualty rates during operations to secure the subsequent islands.
ww2dbaseNoemfoor
2-7 Jul 1944
ww2dbaseAllied troops landed on the island of Noemfoor, a small island directly west of Biak in Dutch New Guinea, on 2 Jul. After sporadic resistance, the island was declared secure on 7 Jul.
ww2dbaseVogelkop Peninsula and the Conclusion of the New Guinea-Papua Campaign
ww2dbaseThe last obstacle in liberating all of New Guinea island was the Vogelkop Peninsula in Dutch New Guinea. The Japanese resistance on the peninsula gathered at Manokwari, and MacArthur did not wish to contest with this force. Instead, his "hit 'em where they ain't" strategy took the Allied forces to a number of undefended beaches near Cape Opmaria and Sansapor. Like Rabaul, the 25,000 men at Manokwari were now stranded, frustratingly idling uselessly.
ww2dbaseIn Sep 1944, Allied troops occupied the Halmahera Islands, concluding the New Guinea Campaign. MacArthur was now only several hundred miles from the Philippines. In his memoir, MacArthur attributed to the Allied victory over New Guinea to mobility and the ability to achieve surprise at key confrontations. Additionally, he also insisted that his refusal to deploy military governors over conquered regions helped his command focus on the task at hand. Instead, he brought in Dutch and Australian civil administrators immediately after the area had been deemed secure. "The success of this method was reflected in the complete lack of friction between the various governments concerned", he noted.
ww2dbaseAlthough Allied attention would move toward the Philippine Islands by this time, small pockets of Japanese resistance would continue to fight until late May 1945.
ww2dbaseSources:
Douglas MacArthur, Reminiscences
Bruce Gamble, Fortress Rabaul
Bruce Gamble, Target Rabaul
William Manchester, American Caesar
William Manchester, Goodbye, Darkness
Gordon Rottman, World War II US Cavalry Units
Dan van der Vat, The Pacific Campaign
Last Major Update: Aug 2006
New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 Interactive Map
New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 Timeline
17 Aug 1943 As a build up to the landings at Lae, Australian Papua the US 5th Air Force commenced a two-week blitz on the Japanese airfield in the Wewak area in Australian New Guinea. 12 B-17 and 26 B-24 bombers from Jackson Field and Ward's Strip at Port Moresby, Australian Papua hit the two Japanese airfields at Wewak starting at about 0000 hours; the Americans lost 3 B-24 bombers while the Japanese suffered 13 aircraft destroyed, 20 heavily damaged, 34 slightly damaged, and 70 men killed. At 0600 hours, 61 modified B-25 bombers, with fighter escort, were launched from Port Moresby; although 21 aircraft turned back due to poor weather, the remainder hit Wewak between 0750 and 0845 hours, destroying about 30 aircraft that were parked in rows in preparation of the arrival of a high ranking Japanese officer. The series of blitz paved the way for the autumn invasion that resulted in the capture of the western flank of Rabaul, New Britain.
4 Sep 1943 Lae-Salamaua on New Guinea was recaptured by Allied forces.
5 Sep 1943 Men of US 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment conducted an airborne operation at the village of Nadzab west of Lae, Australian Territory of New Guinea. They were supported on the ground by elements of Australian 2/4th Field Regiment. Douglas MacArthur personally observed the operation in a B-17 aircraft. Military engineers immediately began the preparations for the building of an airfield.
15 Sep 1943 The Japanese abandoned Lae, Australian New Guinea.
19 Sep 1943 The Australian 7th Infantry Division opened an offensive in the Ramu valley, Australian New Guinea.
20 Sep 1943 Two Ki-49 aircraft of Japanese 7th Flying Regiment attacked Port Moresby, Australian Papua.
22 Sep 1943 Three Australian battalions landed at Finschhafen, Australian New Guinea.
4 Oct 1943 Gregory Boyington led 8 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 F4U fighters to escort USAAF bombers over Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island; US Army Air Forces also launched P-38 fighters for escort duty. Boyington claimed 3 Japanese shot down while the USAAF claimed 4 more. Japanese records would later reveal that only 1 fighter was shot down and 2 were written off from heavy damage.
6 Oct 1943 Lieutenant Kay Klages successfully conducted a photographic reconnaissance mission over Rabaul, New Britain.
9 Oct 1943 US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron successfully took photos of Rabaul, New Britain.
9 Oct 1943 Japanese aircraft attacked the Dobodura Airfield in Australian Papua, setting oil dumps on fire. On the same day, 2nd Bomb Squadron (flying B-25 and B-26 aircraft) of USAAF 22nd Bomb Group was transferred to Dobodura.
10 Oct 1943 US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron successfully took photos of Rabaul, New Britain.
11 Oct 1943 Neel Kearby led a fighter sweep over Wewak, Australian New Guinea; his flight shot down several Japanese aircraft, including one carrying Lieutenant Colonel Tamiji Teranishi, commanding officer of 14th Flying Brigade.
11 Oct 1943 13 Beaufighter aircraft of 30 Squadron RAAF from Goodenough Island and 2 squadrons of US 38th Bomb Group arrived at Dobodura Airfield in Australian Squadron in preparation of a planned strike on Rabaul, New Britain on the next day.
12 Oct 1943 8 squadrons of bombers launched from Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua, with escorting US and Australian fighters, attacked Rapopo Airfield, Vunakanau Airfield, and Tobera Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. The Allies lost 3 B-24, 1 B-25, and 1 Beaufighter aircraft. The Japanese suffered eight damaged ships (transport Tsukushi, oiler Naruto, destroyer Mochizuki, destroyer Minazuki, destroyer Tachikaze, submarine I-7, submarine I-80, and submarine RO-105), six transports sunk, 4 A6M aircraft destroyed, 9 A6M aicraft damaged, and some fuel dumps destroyed.
13 Oct 1943 About 270 Allied aircraft were launched from bases in Australian Papua to attack the Japanese base at Rabaul, New Britain. Poor weather would cause the raid to be canceled.
15 Oct 1943 15 D3A dive bombers of Air Group 582 escorted by 39 A6M fighters attacked Oro Bay just south of Dobodura, Australian Papua. 54 P-38 and 8 P-40 fighters rose of defend. The Japanese lost 14 D3A dive bombers and 5 A6M fighters, and caused only light damage to Allied shipping.
15 Oct 1943 Originally given the task of escorting US Army Air Force bombers to attack Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island, the US Marine Corps F4U fighters arrived earlier than the bombers, thus the mission became a fighter sweep of the Japanese airfield. 22 Japanese A6M fighters rose to defend. USMC pilot Bill Case claimed 2 victories, Tom Emrich 2, Burney Tucker 1, and Gregory Boyington 1. Japanese records would later reveal that only 1 fighter was destroyed on this day.
16 Oct 1943 The Americans conducted a heavy attack by air against the Japanese base at Wewak, Australian New Guinea.
17 Oct 1943 56 A6M fighters attacked Dobodura Airfield and Oro Bay in Australian Papua; 43 P-38 and 3 P-40 fighters rose to defend. The Japanese lost 8 A6M fighters and the Americans lost 4 P-38 and 1 P-40 fighters.
17 Oct 1943 The F-5 aircraft flown by Lieutenant William Southard, escorted by two P-38 fighters, conducted a photographic reconnaissance mission over Rabaul, New Britain.
17 Oct 1943 US Marine Corps squadrons VMF-214 and VMF-221 conducted a fighter sweep over Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island in the morning. More than 30 A6M fighters of Japanese Navy Air Group 201 rose to defend. VMF-214 pilots would claim 9 Japanese aircraft shot down, while VMF-221 claimed 2; Japanese records would later reveal that only 2 aircraft were lost on this day. The Japanese pilots claimed 3 US aircraft shot down, but the Americans only suffered 2 aircraft lightly damaged and 1 aircraft heavily damaged and written off after its return.
18 Oct 1943 77 B-24 bombers from Port Moresby, Australian Papua made rendezvous with 55 P-38 fighters over Kiriwina, Trobriand Islands for a raid on Rabaul, New Britain; a separate group of 54 B-25 bombers, modified for strafing, flew for Rabaul separately. Poor weather would force the first group to cancel its mission, but the B-25 bombers proceeded without fighter escort. They heavily damaged Japanese submarine chaser CH-23, lightly damaged transport Johore Maru, and shot down 8 Japanese fighters (3 additional fighters were lost on landings); the Japanese shot down many B-25 bombers. Subsequent investigation on why the B-25 bombers proceeded despite having no escorts would find no faults.
18 Oct 1943 3 divisions of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, led by Gregory Boyington, attacked Ballale Airfield in the Shortland Islands. Later in the day, the same 3 divisions joined VMF-221 in the attack of Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island. 22 Japanese fighters rose to defend Kahili. US airmen claimed 14 Japanese aircraft shot down with 6 probables. Japanese records later revealed the loss of 4 aircraft in combat, 1 heavily damaged and written off, and 3 lightly damaged.
19 Oct 1943 F-5 aircraft of US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron detected more than 200 Japanese aircraft gathered at the four airfields in and near Rabaul, New Britain.
19 Oct 1943 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 strafed Kara Airfield (Bougainville), Kahili Airfield (Bougainville), and Ballale Airfield (Shortland Islands) in the Solomon Islands. They caused only minor damage.
24 Oct 1943 62 B-25 bombers (modified for ground attack) from Dobodura, Australian Papua made rendezvous with 54 P-38 fighters from Kiriwina of Trobriand Islands, and the group attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Americans lost 2 B-25 and 1 P-38 aircraft. The Japanese suffered 8 A6M fighters lost, 6 A6M fighters damaged, 2 G4M bombers lost, 5 G4M bombers heavily damaged, 27 G4M bombers lightly damaged.
24 Oct 1943 A Japanese patrol found a group of Australian and native coast watchers about 100 miles from Cape Orford on New Britain. Lieutenant Francis Barrett was killed in the engagement; Captain John Murphy, Sergeant Lambert Carlson, and others escaped.
25 Oct 1943 61 B-24 bombers, escorted by 81 P-38 fighters from Kiriwina of Trobriand Islands, attacked Lakunai Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. The Americans suffered 1 B-24 bomber lost and several damaged. The Japanese suffered 20 aircraft lost or heavily damaged, 18 aircraft slightly damaged, the airstrip of Lakunai temporarily out of commission, and 8 ships damaged in the harbor.
26 Oct 1943 82 B-25 bombers were launched from Port Moresby, Australian Papua; their mission to attack Rabaul, New Britain was canceled mid-flight due to poor weather.
27 Oct 1943 From Rabaul in New Britain, Jinichi Kusaka reported to his superiors at the Combined Fleet headquarters at Truk, Caroline Islands that only 10 D3Y dive bombers, 70 A6M fighters, and 36 G3M bombers were left at Rabaul. He requested four divisions of fighters and three divisions of dive bombers to be sent to reinforce the base.
29 Oct 1943 B-24 bombers, escorted by P-38 fighters, attacked Vunakanau Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. 72 A6M fighters rose to defend. The Japanese lost at least 7 fighters in combat.
1 Nov 1943 Per Admiral Mineichi Koga's orders, Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa transferred 150 aircraft of Carrier Division 1 temporarily to the airfields at Rabaul, New Britain.
1 Nov 1943 A Japanese patrol found a group of Australian and native coast watchers on New Britain. Sergeant Lambert Carlson was killed, Captain John Murphy was captured, and the others escaped.
3 Nov 1943 Captured Australian coast watcher Captain John Murphy was delivered to Rabaul, New Britain.
4 Nov 1943 William Halsey ordered US Task Force 38, currently refueling in the Indispensable Reefs anchorage south of Rennell Island of the Solomon Islands from the 21,000-ton tanker Kankakee, to attack Japanese Cruiser Division 4, which was approaching Rabaul, New Britain.
5 Nov 1943 US Task Force 38, with carriers USS Saratoga and USS Princeton, launched aircraft 60 miles southwest of Cape Torokina, Bougainville, Solomon Islands against Japanese Cruiser Division 4 anchored at Rabaul, New Britain; the Japanese detected the arrival of Task Force 38 but had mistakenly identified the carriers as transports, thus there was no immediate response. USS Saratoga launched 33 F6F, 16 TBF, and 22 SBD aircraft; USS Princeton launched 19 F6F and 7 TBF aircraft. Facing up to 70 Japanese fighters, the dive bombers attacked first, damaging several cruisers and two destroyers. The torpedo bombers attacked next, making only two hits, and both torpedoes were duds. The US suffered 9 aircraft lost and 14 airmen killed. In addition to the damage to Cruiser Division 4, the Japanese lost 1 D4Y1, 3 A6M, and 1 twin-engine transport aircraft. After the raid by carrier aircraft, US Army B-24 bombers conducted a follow-up attack, killing hundreds but causing minimal damage to shipping and facilities.
7 Nov 1943 26 B-24 bombers with P-38 fighters in escort attacked Rapopo Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain; 58 Japanese fighters rose in defense. The Americans lost 5 P-38 fighters.
11 Nov 1943 In the morning, 276 US Navy carrier aircraft (78 from USS Saratoga, 29 from USS Princeton, 69 from USS Bunker Hill, 75 from USS Essex, and 25 from USS Independence), 23 land-based US Navy F4U-1 fighters, 1 squadron of land-based US Navy F6F fighters, and 23 US Army Air Forces B-24 bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain. While the USAAF bombers did minimal damage on Lakunai airfield, the US Navy aircraft were able to sink destroyer Suzunami (148 killed including commanding officer Captain Masao Kamiyama), damage destroyer Naganami, and damage two other destroyers. 11 Japanese aircraft were lost in this engagement. The Americans lost 4 TBF and 5 F6F aircraft in combat; 1 TBF, 2 SB2C, and 4 F6F written off due to extensive damage; and 30 aircraft lightly damaged. In response to the attack, the Japanese launched 23 D3A, 14 B5N, 4 D4Y, and 33 A6M aircraft (32 Japanese Army fighters were also launched but they lost their way) to attack the American carrier fleet; they shot down 6 US aircraft at the cost of 33 aircraft lost (including famed pilot Lieutenant Masao Sato).
14 Nov 1943 After dark, 32 Australian Beaufort aircraft from Goodenough Island off the tip of Australian Papua attacked Rabaul, New Britain in three waves; they caused little damage.
17 Nov 1943 Australian 9th Division launched an offensive to take Sattelberg, New Guinea.
25 Nov 1943 Father Joseph Lamarre witnessed two Australian and ten American captives, blindfolded and bounded at the wrists, being loaded onto trucks. While the Japanese said that they were being transported to Japan, Lamarre noted that the trucks did not stop by the wharves. Instead, they were taken to a field of volcanic ash near Tavurvur for their execution. US Lieutenant Marcus Mangett, Jr. and US Staff Sergeant Kenneth Vetter, who were wounded and could not stand, were executed by rifle fire. The remaining ten prisoners of war were executed by beheading at the hands of newly arrived junior officers as a test of their courage; the ten victims included Australian Warrant Officer John Bailey, Australian Flight Officer Charles Vincent, US Lieutenant John Rippy, US Lieutenant Philip Bek, US First Lieutenant Ernest Naumann, US Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Harlan Burrus, US Lieutenant Leslie Neuman, US Staff Sergeant Ernest Burnside, US Corporal John Mulligan, and US Private Robert George.
30 Nov 1943 After dark, Australian Beaufort aircraft from Goodenough Island off the tip of Australian Papua attacked Rabaul, New Britain.
14 Dec 1943 A raid by bombers of the 5th USAAF dropped 433 tons of bombs on Arawe island, New Britain was followed by a landing of VII Amphibious Force (TF 76) under Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey. The force had set out from the Goodenough Islands the previous day with the Australian transport Westralia, the dock landing ship Carter Hall and the fast transports Sands and Humphreys. 1,600 men of the US 112th Cavalry Regimental Combat Team under Brigadier General Julian Cunningham. Operation Director was supported by the US destroyers Smith, Reid, Lamson, Mahan and Flusser with the escort destroyers Conyngham, Shaw, Mugford, Bagley and Drayton. The Australian cruisers Australia and Shorshire with destroyers Arunta and Warramunga provide the Covering Force (TF 74). This battle involved the first use of an Australian infantry landing ship, HMAS Westralia, in combat and the first time a dock landing ship (USS Carter Hall) was used to carry amtracs to cross the coral reefs. The fire support was provided with tank landing craft with rockets, this proved so successful that Barbey had more of the made. This battle also saw Barbey use his landing control officers; they provided a fully trained beach party for the first time.
15 Dec 1943 The Markham Valley Road connecting Nadzab and Lae in Australian Territory of New Guinea completed its maintenance and upgrade, thus allowing Nadzab Airfield to fully utilize its potential.
16 Dec 1943 US naval leadership in the Solomon Islands decided to embark on a fighter sweep campaign against Rabaul, New Britain with US Navy, US Marine Corps, and Royal New Zealand Air Force fighters. The first mission would be launched on the following day.
17 Dec 1943 78 Allied fighters (US Marine Corps F4U fighters, US Navy F6F fighters, RNZAF Kittyhawk fighters) took off from Torokina Airfield on Bougainville, Solomon Islands for a fighter sweep over Rabaul, New Britain. 70 Japanese fighters rose to defend. RNZAF pilots claimed 5 Japanese shot down while suffering 2 losses, while the Americans claimed 4; Japanese records would later show that only 2 A6M aircraft were lost on this day (with only 1 pilot killed). Gregory Boyington, who participated in the sweep, thought the Japanese only launched a limited number of aircraft in defense because the Allies sent too many fighters, and it made more sense for the Japanese to rely more on anti-aircraft guns rather than risking fighters.
18 Dec 1943 The scheduled fighter sweep to be launched from Torokina Airfield, Bougainville, Solomon Islands against Rabaul, New Britain was canceled due to poor weather.
19 Dec 1943 16 B-24 bombers with an escort of 50 P-38, F4U, and Kittyhawk fighters attacked Rabaul, New Britain. 49 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Americans lost 2 aircraft in combat and a further 8 aircraft were written off after the mission; the Japanese lost 5 A6M fighters in combat.
19 Dec 1943 18 A6M3 fighters arrived at Rabaul, New Britain.
21 Dec 1943 A heavy bomber raid originally scheduled for Rabaul, New Britain was canceled due to poor weather.
23 Dec 1943 24 US Army Air Force bombers conducted an attack on Lakunai Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain, escorted by 48 US Navy F6F and US Marine Corps F4U fighters; 1 F6F and 2 F4U aircraft were shot down by ground fire during the bombing mission. Shortly after, 48 USMC F4U fighters and a number of USAAF P-38 fighters conducted a fighter sweep over Rabaul. 99 Japanese A6M fighters rose to defend against the sweep. USMC airmen claimed 21 Japanese shot down, and USAAF 8; Gregory Boyington of USMC squadron VMF-214 alone claimed 4; Japanese records would later reveal that only 6 aircraft were lost during the fighter sweep.
24 Dec 1943 50 Allied aircraft (Australian Kittyhawk fighters and US F6F fighters) conducted a fighters sweep over Rabaul, New Britain. A raid by heavy bombers followed the fighter sweep.
25 Dec 1943 15 B-24 bombers escorted by about 50 fighters (P-38, F4U, F6F, and Kittyhawk fighters) attacked Rabaul, New Britain. 88 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Americans lost 1 F4U and 2 P-38 aircraft; the Japanese lost 3 aircraft.
26 Dec 1943 The Allied assault on New Britain expanded with US 1st Marine Division landing near Cape Gloucester.
26 Dec 1943 The Fletcher-class destroyer USS Brownson was sunk by a Japanese dive bomber off Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Bismarck Islands.
26 Dec 1943 While supporting landing operations on Cape Gloucester, New Britain, destroyer USS Shaw was attacked by two Japanese D3A 'Val' dive-bombers. Shrapnel from three bomb near-misses created over one hundred holes in the hull and injured 36 men, 3 of whom later died of their wounds.
27 Dec 1943 64 F4U and F6F fighters conducted a fighter sweeper over Rabaul, New Britain. 50 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Americans lost 1 F4U fighter while claiming 4 Japanese shot down.
27 Dec 1943 15 Japanese bombers, escorted by 78 fighters, were launched from Rabaul, New Britain to attack US positions in the Cape Gloucester area, also on New Britain. 7 fighters were lost on this mission.
28 Dec 1943 64 F4U Corsair fighters of US Marine Corps squadrons VMF-214 and VMF-216 conducted a fighter sweep over Rabaul, New Britain. 72 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Americans claimed 30 Japanese shot down, but Japanese records would later revealed that only 3 fighters were actually lost.
30 Dec 1943 Two missions were planned against Rabaul, New Britain. The fighter sweep mission was canceled due to poor weather, but the bombing raids proceeded as planned. 20 B-24 bombers escorted by 20 F4U and 20 F6F fighters dropped 70 1,000-pound bombs. At least one B-24 bomber was shot down by the Japanese.
1 Jan 1944 15 B-24 bombers escorted by 68 fighters attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Americans lost 1 B-24 bomber in combat, and another on landing after the mission was over; additionally, two returned bombers were noted as heavily damaged.
1 Jan 1944 40 Japanese aircraft arrived at Rabaul, New Britain.
1 Jan 1944 Aircraft from carriers USS Monterey and USS Bunker Hill attacked Japanese positions at Kavieng, New Ireland, destroying 7 Japanese aircraft.
2 Jan 1944 US Marine Corps 7th Regiment engaged a strong Japanese defense at Suicide Creek near Cape Gloucester, New Britain.
2 Jan 1944 20 F6F and 28 F4U fighters from Torokina Airfield in Bougainville conducted a fighter sweep over Rabaul, New Britain; two of these fighters turned back to Torokina due to mechanical problems. 80 A6M fighters rose to defend. The Americans reported 1 kill, 1 probable, and 2 Japanese aircraft damaged.
2 Jan 1944 US Army troops captured Gumbi Airfield on the northern coast of Australian New Guinea. The airfield's Japanese name was then restored to its prewar English name Saidor, after the nearby village.
3 Jan 1944 28 F4U and 16 F6F fighters were launched from Torokina Airfield on Bougainville at 0630 hours for a fighter sweep mission over Rabaul, New Britain; some of these fighters returned to base shortly after launch due to mechanical problems. 70 A6M fighters rose to defend Rabaul.
5 Jan 1944 The first land-based (Bougainville) SBD and TBF aircraft raid on Rabaul, New Britain was cancelled due to weather.
6 Jan 1944 P-38 and F4U aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain, many of which were turned back due to poor weather. 33 A6M fighters rose to defend. The Japanese lost 2 A6M fighters, while the Americans lost 2 P-38 fighters. Harry Johnson of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, flying a F4U Corsair fighter, scored one of the two victories; this would be the squadron's final victory of the war.
7 Jan 1944 US Navy and US Marine Corps aircraft attacked a Japanese radar site at Cape Saint George, New Ireland. 3 F6F and 4 SBD aircraft were lost on this mission.
9 Jan 1944 16 TBF and 24 SBD aircraft from Piva Airfield on Bougainville, escorted by fighters, attacked Tobera Airfield in New Britain. 1 Japanese aircraft was destroyed on the ground, while the US lost 1 SBD aircraft and 3 fighters.
11 Jan 1944 B-25 bombers of US 42nd Bomb Group attacked Rabaul, New Britain, damaging 8 aircraft on the ground at Vunakanau Airfield. This was the first land-based bomber attack on Rabaul from the Solomon Islands.
14 Jan 1944 36 SBD, 16 TBF, and about 80 fighters from Munda Airfield in New Georgia attacked Rabaul, New Britain after a stop at Piva Airfield on Bougainville to refuel. 84 A6M intercepted them over New Ireland, but most American aircraft were able to make their way to Rabaul to commence their attacks. The Japanese lost 3 A6M fighters and the Americans lost 2 SBD, 1 TBF, 5 F4U, and 2 F6F aircraft. Japanese shipping in Simpson Harbor at Rabaul suffered 3 direct hits and 16 near misses.
14 Jan 1944 About 17 prisoners of war were beheaded by men of 81st Naval Garrison Unit of the Japanese Navy at Rabaul, New Britain as reprisal for American air raids on the town.
16 Jan 1944 The Americans repulsed the last Japanese counterattack to wrap up operations on New Britain.
17 Jan 1944 US aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Japanese shot down 8 P-38, 1 F6F, 1 F4U, 1 SBD, and 1 TBF aircraft.
20 Jan 1944 US aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Japanese shot down 2 B-25, 2 P-38, and 3 F4U aircraft.
23 Jan 1944 US aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Japanese lost at least 13 fighters.
25 Jan 1944 Carriers Junyo, Hiyo, and Ryuho delivered 62 A6M, 18 D3A, and 18 B5N aircraft to Rabaul, New Britain.
10 Feb 1944 59 SBD dive bombers, 24 TBF torpedo bombers, and 99 fighters attacked Vunakanau Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. This attack was followed by another attack on Vunakanau Airfield by 24 B-25 bombers escorted by 20 fighters. Finally, a third attack wave with 21 B-24 bombers escorted by 28 fighters which targeted both Vunakanau Airfield and Tobera Airfield. Vunakanau's runways were hit by two 2,000-pound bombs by B-24 bombers.
12 Feb 1944 More than 200 US aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Japanese launched about 50 fighters in defense.
14 Feb 1944 At 0030 hours, 25 TBF torpedo bombers of US Marine Corps squadron VMTB-233 launched from Bougainville to mine Simpson Harbor near Rabaul, New Britain; one aircraft turned back due to mechanical problems. The Japanese shot down six TBF aircraft during the mining mission.
14 Feb 1944 Japanese aircraft from Rabaul, New Britain attacked the Allied convoy sailing for the Green Islands, damaging USS St. Louis with one hit and a few near misses (killing 23), but they would fail to stop the convoy.
15 Feb 1944 New Zealand troops landed on Nissan Island, Green Islands, Australian New Guinea.
17 Feb 1944 After dark and into the next date, ships of US Navy Destroyer Squadron 12 bombarded Rabaul, New Britain, expending 3,800 5-inch shells.
18 Feb 1944 11 G4M bombers withdrew from Rabaul, New Britain to the Mariana Islands, while a number of B5N torpedo bombers withdrew to Truk, Caroline Islands.
19 Feb 1944 The Japanese garrison on Nissan Island, Green Islands, Australian New Guinea sent the radio message "We are charging the enemy and beginning radio silence" before commencing a final attack. New Zealand troops who had landed on Nissan four days prior would defeat this final charge.
19 Feb 1944 48 SBD and 23 TBF aircraft attacked Lakunai Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain, followed by another attack on Lakunai Airfield and Tobera Airfield by 20 B-24 bombers and 35 fighters. 36 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Japanese suffered 8 A6M fighters shot down and Lakunai airstrips temporarily taken out of action. The Americans suffered 1 F4U fighter shot down.
19 Feb 1944 Starting this date and into the next date, 40 A6M, 21 D3A, 4 D4Y, 13 G4M, and 7 B5N aircraft were withdrawn from Rabaul, New Britain. As a part of the same transfer, 400 ground troops and support personnel departed Rabaul aboard Kokai Maru and Kowa Maru; the convoy was escorted by submarine chaser CHa-48, submarine chaser CH-38, and repair tug Nagaura. When the transfer was complete, Rabaul would only have 10 operational A6M fighters and 2 B5N operational bombers.
21 Feb 1944 At 1440 hours, 15 B-25 aircraft modified for strafing attacked a Japanese convoy carrying military evacuees from Rabaul, New Britain. Submarine chaser CH-48, transport Kokai Maru, and converted gunboat Kowa Maru were sunk; submarine chaser CH-38 was damaged.
22 Feb 1944 US Navy Destroyer Squadron 23, consisted of five destroyers under the command of Captain Arleigh Burke, attacked a Japanese convoy carrying military evacuees from Rabaul, New Britain. Repair tug Nagaura was sunk and submarine chaser CH-38 was damaged. 150 survivors of Nagaura refused to be rescued by the Americans.
25 Feb 1944 The supply depot on the coast near Kokopo, New Britain was bombarded by US destroyers for 30 minutes starting at about 2330 hours; a warehouse was damaged by fires. 2,000 5-inch shells were expended by the US Navy on this bombardment.
27 Feb 1944 70 SBD and TBF aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain. 1 Japanese G4M bomber was shot down.
29 Feb 1944 Operation Brewer: US troops invaded the Admiralty Islands.
29 Feb 1944 Ships of US Navy Destroyer Squadron 22 gathered off Praed Point about 6.5 miles away from Rabaul, New Britain just before midnight at the end of this date.
29 Feb 1944 The Kempeitai staff at Rabaul, New Britain discussed moving its headquarters from the center of town to a safer location due to US bombing.
1 Mar 1944 Ships of US Navy Destroyer Squadron 22 bombarded Rabaul, New Britain from off Praed Point starting at about 0000 hours, expending 700 shells.
2 Mar 1944 US 1st Cavalry Division captured Hayne Airfield at Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands.
2 Mar 1944 US aircraft carpet-bombed the center of Rabaul, New Britain. The Chinatown district received the most damage.
3 Mar 1944 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-223 conducted a reconnaissance sweep over Tobera Airfield in New Britain. Major Robert Keller recorded a kill, but Japanese records showed that all 7 A6M fighters scrambled to defend the airfield all returned safely.
6 Mar 1944 Major General Masatake Kimihira noted in his diary that "more than half of the city has been reduced to ashes", referring to Rabaul, New Britain.
9 Mar 1944 USAAF medium and heavy bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain. This was to be the first of many unescorted raids by multi-engine bombers as the Japanese fighter strength at Rabaul began to be worn down by continuous Allied aerial attacks.
10 Mar 1944 US military leadership estimated that about 60% of Rabaul, New Britain had been destroyed.
10 Mar 1944 24 New Zealand Kittyhawk fighters, each armed with a 500-pound bomb, attacked Vunapope, New Britain. About 300 Japanese personnel were killed, 1 civilian was killed, and 7 civilians were wounded.
13 Mar 1944 Australian troops captured Bogodjim, New Guinea.
14 Mar 1944 US Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered Emirau Island to be taken, bypassing New Ireland in the South Pacific.
16 Mar 1944 American aircraft attacked a Japanese convoy near Wewak, New Guinea.
19 Mar 1944 US Marines landed on Emirau, Bismarck Islands; the landings were not opposed.
20 Mar 1944 US 4th Marine Regiment secured Emirau, Bismarck Islands.
20 Mar 1944 USS New Mexico bombarded Kavieng, New Ireland.
22 Mar 1944 One US Marine Corps PBJ bomber attacked Rabaul, New Britain at 2200 hours. 4 Japanese A6M fighters rose to intercept, shooting down the PBJ bomber.
25 Mar 1944 US declared Manus, Admiralty Islands secure.
27 Mar 1944 P-40 and Beaufighter aircraft of Royal Australian Air Force 78 Squadron operating out of Kiriwina, Australian Papua misidentified two United States Navy PT Boats in Bangula Bay, New Britain and began multiple strafing runs. For the most part, the PT Boats did not return fire and in the end, PT-353 and PT-121 both burned and sank with 8 men killed, 14 wounded, and 13 rescued.
30 Mar 1944 US troops landed on Pityilu, Admiralty Islands.
6 Apr 1944 Allied leadership in the South Pacific determined that 85% of Vunapope, New Britain had been destroyed, and there was no further need to continue the aerial bombardment campaign against Vunapope.
12 Apr 1944 American troops cleared Pak Island off New Guinea.
19 Apr 1944 United States Army General Douglas MacArthur and an Army observation party transferred from motor torpedo boat PT-192 to the cruiser USS Nashville off Cape Cretin, New Guinea to observe the landings at Aitape and Hollandia, New Guinea three days later.
20 Apr 1944 Allied leadership in the South Pacific determined that 90% of Rabaul, New Britain had been destroyed, and there was no further need to continue the aerial bombardment campaign against Rabaul.
21 Apr 1944 USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids against installations in the Wakde-Sarmi area of northern New Guinea in support of General Douglas MacArthur's assault on Hollandia (Jayapura), Dutch East Indies.
21 Apr 1944 As part of US Navy Carrier Task Force 58, USS Portland screened carriers launching the initial strikes in support of the landings at Hollandia on New Guinea.
22 Apr 1944 Allied forces landed on Aitape, Australian Territory of New Guinea and Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea during Operation Persecution.
22 Apr 1944 US Army troops captured the main Hollandia Airfield on the northern coast of Dutch New Guinea.
22 Apr 1944 USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids the landing areas at Hollandia (Jayapura), Dutch East Indies area of northern New Guinea in support of General Douglas MacArthur's assault on Hollandia. Cruiser USS New Orleans (New Orleans-class) was struck in the mast by a TBF Avenger just after launch from Yorktown. All 3 airmen were killed with one New Orleans sailor killed and another injured.
23 Apr 1944 USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids the landing areas at Hollandia (Jayapura), Dutch East Indies area of northern New Guinea in support of General Douglas MacArthur's assault on Hollandia.
24 Apr 1944 After two days of heavy fighting Douglas MacArthur's forces subdued Hollandia and Aitape in Dutch New Guinea, cutting off 50,000 Japanese troops of the Pacific-based 18th Army.
25 Apr 1944 Australian troops captured Madang, New Guinea.
26 Apr 1944 Sentani Airfield and Cyclops Airfield near Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea was captured by US 186th Infantry Regiment.
5 May 1944 Six US Marine Corps PBJ bombers attacked Tobera, New Britain; one bomber was shot down by anti-aircraft fire.
21 May 1944 24 TBF, 20 SBD, a number of B-24, a number of P-39, and a number of New Zealand fighters and dive bombers attacked Vunakanau Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. 1 TBF aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire, and its crew was captured by the Japanese.
4 Jun 1944 A group of United States and Australian cruisers came under Japanese air attack off Biak Island northwest of New Guinea. USS Nashville sustained serious hull damage from a near-miss aerial bomb off her starboard quarter. There were no serious personnel injuries but two compartments were flooded and the ship began bleeding oil. USS Phoenix sustained damage from two near-miss bombs that killed one sailor and injured four others while causing internal flooding and damage to her propellers.
9 Jun 1944 Charles Lindbergh, as an employee of the firm United Aircraft, flew a F4U fighter ostensibly as an observer, accompany other combat aircraft over Rabaul, New Britain.
11 Jul 1944 Japanese 18th Army under Lieutenant General Hatazo Adachi launched a counterattack in the Aitape-New Hollandia area in New Guinea, placing pressure on American troops but sustaining heavy casualties.
13 Jul 1944 Japanese 18th Army under Lieutenant General Hatazo Adachi was divided by an American attack in the Aitape-New Hollandia area in New Guinea, making them effectively useless until their final defeat on 10 Aug.
10 Aug 1944 Japanese 18th Army under Lieutenant General Hatazo Adachi was wiped out by the Americans in the Aitape-New Hollandia area in New Guinea.
27 Oct 1944 Unmanned TDR drones attacked Rabaul, New Britain with bombs, damaging some buildings.
15 Jan 1945 36 US Navy F4U fighters and several New Zealand fighters took off from Green Islands east of Australian Papua and attacked the Toboi wharf area of Rabaul, New Britain and the nearby floatplane anchorage. 7 aircraft were lost to poor weather en route back to Green Islands.
9 May 1945 In New Guinea, the Australians continued to make gains.
11 May 1945 The Australians launched their final assault on the last Japanese strongpoint on the northern coast of Wewak, New Guinea. Cut off from support and defending a backwater that had been by-passed in the Pacific War, the Japanese nevertheless fought on fanatically until the 23 May when the surviving sick, starving and broken force retreated into the mountains.
See all 90 photographs of New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3
See all 14 maps of New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3
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Visitor Submitted Comments
1. Anonymous says:
15 Mar 2006 11:30:20 PM
u need pics
u need kokada track pics
22 Apr 2006 06:52:21 PM
WHAT ABOUT SHAGGY RIDGE?
21 Aug 2006 02:44:39 AM
Thank you for making such a wonderful site. I really like how you try to desribe all battle. It is really wonderful. I have to agree with previous comments about the lack of pictures here. If you want to get some pictures I can put you in contact with someone who lives in Canberra (the capital of Australia), where our war museum is located. He can help you there.
23 Jul 2007 05:51:28 PM
wE manned QS ships and were at sawmill jetty on New Guinea, then Admiralties, then Phillipines, and the Army of Occupation in Japan. Would love to get some pictures of the area. Not far from Hollandia.
Just discovered your site....it's mine blowing....am history buff and eat this stuff right-up....keep-up good work,the world needs to know what happened
This is a great website. The story needs to unfold completely.
My dad was in the US 742nd Military Police Battalion in New Guinea... can't find any history of the unit anyplace. Let me know if you hear anything.
18 May 2010 09:55:58 PM
There is a short but colorful story about the fighting near Buna here: http://yankarchives.com/article.php?article_id10
9. dinkie die says:
4 Aug 2010 11:25:02 AM
An interesting article but is not MacArthurs army which stopped the *** on the Kokoda trail or at Milne Bay. It was the 'diggers' and even the 'choco soldiers of the militia who eventually stopped the *** ...and then they had to rescue the 38th from their disaster et Buna and Gona.
Full marks to McKarther for learning though: it has been guessed that about 100,000 *** died of disease and starvation on the long inland retreat along New Guinea. "Hit them them where they are not!"
Of couse, total command of the air is useful.
A general thinks tactics.
An army commander thinks strategy.
A genious thinks logistics.
Cheers TKerr
10. Anonymous says:
23 Aug 2010 08:02:10 PM
this is a really great site, i just enjoy getting information off here its beautiful, and inspiring, you amaze me.
18 Oct 2010 03:37:00 PM
i like it heaps with just terrific info
12. Ian says:
20 Oct 2010 06:24:08 AM
Please inform me if my information is incorrect, because the information I have is SOMEWHAT different to what the story here tells, the Japanese South Seas Regiment ( experience and hardy proven troops DID land to push overland to P Moresby, however the total number of landed Japanese troops, including all sorts was in the vicinity of 20,000. The story gives the allussion that only 8,500 Japanese landed - NOT TRUE! To oppose them the TOTAL number of Australians who opposed them was 542. Japanese intelligence estimated that the resistance offered indicated an opposition force of around 8,000 enemy. I could go on but PLEASE do your own research!
thanks for the great information.
just great its just great
15. don says:
5 Dec 2010 12:28:54 PM
have japanese photo journal from Rabaul,New Guinea in 1944. There are 70 photos of officers "johei" and top and lower soldiers or "shita hei". A sign in one photo is japanese "301" which could be division or groupe number. This journal was brought back by my uncle who was a mess sgt, from the south seas and has been in my family for over 65 years.GREAT SITE for me born in 1944 and having had relatives serving all over the globe.
5 Jul 2011 08:15:35 AM
I find it annoying that you state either McArthurs troops or Allied troops when US soldiers were NOT invovled but you ONLY mention US troops when they WERE involved and NOT allied troops..why? Also 20,000 Japanese (mostly) from the South Seas Regiment veterans landed to push accross the owen stanleys - opposed by 542 Australians. The Australians were NEVER routed and when they made their final stand it was the Japanese who cold not push forward and from then the Australians, with fresh AUSTRALIAN troops pushed the Japanese back. And it was AUSTRALIAN troops who took Gona and then support ( led) US troop engagements to take Buna. I could go on but what's the use, you've already written the "history." Besides, who would beleive me - maybe those who can research???
pretty good :)
18. Roger says:
My father was in World War Two in this invasion. I am trying to find information about the battle he was in. Any information?
Or web-sites?
19. Braiden says:
3 Feb 2013 12:06:59 PM
i just ran across a WW2 lighter and it has a list of battles/places this person was stationed. (new Guinea, Biak, Leyte, Luzon, and Japan) there are the enitials C.A.B and then the actuall name (sorta) C.A. Barnett. if anyone has any innformation on this and how i can find out more about this person please email me at moore_braiden@yahoo.com
20. eric jones says:
3 Mar 2013 08:58:50 PM
I have photos and documentation from my father who guarded the 237th station hospital with Charles Mayo "mayo clinic" comanded by the Ausies.. please tell me how he can tell his chilling stories before he dies!!
ECJ
21. Arthur Panggabean says:
saya dari Jayapura, Papua Indonesia. saya memiliki dogtag atas nama
STANLEY E WINKLER
39082848 T4242 A
MAMIE WINKLER
SAN ANDREAS CALIF C
Jika anda mengetahui keluarga dari pemilik dog tag STANLEY E WINKLER, saya mohon untuk menghubungiku melalui email. saya ingin mengembalikan dog tag tersebut pada keluarganya sebagai bukti bahwa STANLEY pernah hadir di papua. syalom
I'm from Jayapura, Papua Indonesia. I have a dogtag on behalf of
T4242 39082848 A
If you know the family of the owner of dog tags STANLEY E Winkler, I beg you to contact me via email. I want to restore the family's dog tag as evidence that Stanley had been present in Papua. shalom
22. MLA says:
I'd love to correspond with anyone who has stories, writings, oral histories or the like of the Mayo Clinic 237th hospital in New Guinea. Thanks in advance.
23. Dr. Philip Skiba says:
27 Dec 2013 12:20:59 PM
My granddad was a surgical tech at the 237th hospital in New Guinea. I would be interested in corresponding with anyone who has stories of the hospital. You may google me for my contact info.
24. Jason says:
25 Feb 2014 12:23:42 PM
Thank you for this
9 Mar 2014 10:41:27 AM
Great information about the *** .
My Dad fought in New Guinea and the Philippines.Thanks for this site. Wish he were alive today to tell what parts he was involved with.
27. Dewey Williams says:
My Dad was in the 742nd AAA Gin Battalion under the command of Col.Dole.Please forward this info for response from anyone with a family member from the same.Relay any contacts.Thank You.
28. Mark says:
11 Nov 2015 08:11:27 PM
My late dad landed at Los Negros with the Brewer Force, Feb '44. He was a member of the 673rd AAA Machine Gun Batalion. By the end of the first day, his unit had moved up so close to the Japanese-held positions. American bombers on a run mistakenly hit his unit, wounding him.
29. Craig Smith says:
My Dad will be 91 on January 12th... He was assigned to the 673rd Anti Aircraft Artillery Unit. (possibly with Mark's father....above) Dad is trying to pinpoint what days he was where during his military service...especially, the Phillipines Campaign. Please contact me if you can direct me in recovering additional information about the 673rd. Thanks for your help, Craig
30. Poning Dei says:
I am searching for my dad's name who assisted as a carrier to the Australian and American troops in World War II in the New Guinea-Papua Territory in 1943/44. please, help
31. Mike Hutcheson says:
23 Nov 2016 01:37:07 AM
Peter, your claim that the battle for Bougainville was a "U.S. victory" is unfounded. American forces left Bougainville, to continue Macs island hopping to Japan and left Australian forces to finish the *** . It wasn't a "mop up" either. 14000 *** kept up the fight. My father-in-law was one of the Australian soldiers there.
18 Jan 2022 12:26:20 AM
My father fought as a member of the AIF assigned to the 110 Australian Cipher section, alongside his greatly valued US comrades. He was in Hollandia for a year, 1943-1944. Any information on their specific activities would be very much appreciated.
33. Mike Olmos says:
Looking for a place to start. Needing location of 306th Airdrome Squadron attached to 5th Airforce 1942-1943? Going off of a picture Grandpa left.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
fernz
Everything posted by fernz
Hanover Rice Village
fernz replied to largeTEXAS's topic in Going Up!
Randall Davis has such a succesful track record that he has a hoard of investors following him anywhere he goes - of course when I say succesful I'm talking about the investor point of view, and NOT the architectural point of view!!! That rendering from the ZCA postcard shown above is over two years old. In the meantime, he must have done his due dilligence, refined his market study, talked to his investors and his lenders, redesigned the building to look like the newer rendering (based on the market response) and finally launched his website and presales effort, which is probably a requiremnt from the lenders. As ugly as most of his buildings are (yes, that is my opinion) at least he knows what he's doing. I would say that if he's gotten this far in the course of two years it means the project is definetly not dead.
One Park Place Apartments
fernz replied to GovernorAggie's topic in Downtown
Unfortunately that goes against basic market forces. As long as inexpensive housing keeps sprwaling further out, the prices for housing in the inner core will be on the high end of the choices. If development was forbidden outside (for example) of the grand parkway - not that this would ever happen - as was done in Portland, the cheap exurban housing would no longer be an option and developers would have to build in the city. As long as the cheap option is available, people will take it, even if it means longer commute times. Besides, because Houston has no zoning, there's nothing stopping developpers to keep building employement centers on the outskirts, which means commute times don't necesserilly have to climb. There is no market or regulatory incentive for developers to build dense urban areas, there is only a niche market for them and that's why so little is being built. Finally, for those who think it doesn't matter because they choose to live in the city, what do you think happens as the city annexes all that new development? Who do you think pays for all those services? The less compact a city is, the more expensive the services per capita are. And why do you think the city's public transportation is so inneficient? It's too expensive to serve such a large area. The city, county and state prefer to spend tax dollars by building more freeway lanes and adding even more loops, rather than a transit system that is underused and can never catch up with the sprawl. So even if you choose to live in the city, you are still paying a premium for a city living experience that is sub-par. It's sad, but that's what's happening in Houston...
finger companies
jackson ryan architects
Houston Pavilions, Now Green Street
fernz replied to guess's topic in Downtown
Most likely metal panels. Either painted aluminum or, if they get fancy, zinc.
New Catholic Cathedral
fernz replied to Montrose1100's topic in Holy Places
Here is the exact quote: "This glorious cathedral will stand as a powerful symbol of the transcendence of God, and as an affirmation of the existence and importance of faith in a secular and disbelieving world. The Cathedral will serve as a soul and conscience of the city, reminding us of the importance of the spiritual amind the bustle of the commercial and corporate worlds - of the fact that God exists and faith matters."
The building has three rose windows. One each at the North, East and West facades.
I know what you mean, and I sure do hope that the vision becomes reality. However the Diocese, and especially Bishop Fiorenza never wanted the building to stand out as a beacon (although I bet the architects would've loved that). His primary goal was to build a Cathedral of the apropriate size to hold the major events held there, and simbolically, he wanted the Cathedral to stand in the middle of the secular center of the city as a reminder of the importance of the religious life coexisting with the secular world. He specifically didn't want to Cathedral to be a grand, ostentatious building. A perfect example is that he specifically asked the architects not to do a tall dome, and most importantly, not to do a gold leafed dome. When Mr. Ziegler suggested to do a gold color painted dome (assuming the issue was cost), the Bishop said he didn't want to even give the illusion of a gold dome. Yes, a Meier designed cathedral (or pick your favorite star architect) would've been a wonderful addition to Downtown, but that is not what the Bishop had in mind.
Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and, obviously, opinions will vary. In this forum alone, some people have complained that the building is too modern and some have compalined that it is not modern enough. Without adding to the varying opinions, I will quote a studio teacher from school, who very likely got this from Philip Johnson: "Great architecture comes from great architects working with great clients." I will not get into the debate of whether this design constitutes great architecture, that debate should happen five or ten years from now, but I will say that the client's wishes and opinions should not be ignored, nor should be those of the community. And to that, I will add this picture, which shows a couple of satisfied clients, and will remind every one that during the design phase the architects and the Diocese were very involved with the Houston catholic community and with the Downtown community. I don't know how to post a picture, look at the second image at this site: http://www.zieglercooper.com/cathedral_building.htm
You are only talking about the architectural meaning of the word basilica. In the cannonical sense, the designation of a basilica has nothing to do with the form of the building, but with its artistic and historical significance, as well as the importance it plays in the liturgical and pastoral ministry of the diocese. Basilica is a title assigned by formal concession or immemorial custom to certain more important churches, in virtue of which they enjoy privileges of an honorific character.
Urban economists have gone down this road before, there are several studies trying to answer the question "What would a city without zoning look like?". Of course most of these studies point to Houston as an example, and the answer in most cases goes along the line of "market forces will shape the development of a zone-free city and the end result is a city with no zoning would not be very different from a city with zoning." The reason housing is booming in the suburbs and not in the city center is indeed market forces. Land prices in the suburbs allow for far cheaper housing. Even when you add the cost of commuting, most people (as evidenced by market sales) would rather live in the suburbs at suburb prices. It's not even a question of detached housing versus condos, look at the success of condo projects in places like the Woodlands, Sugarland, Clear lake and West Houston. That said, public policy can and will influence the market. If the county and state hadn't spent so much money in raods and infrastructure in the suburbs, development costs would be greater than they are and the gap in cost of housing between the city and the suburbs would shrink. The seemingly endless land supply in the exurbs and the continuous investment in road expansion is one of the reasons housing in Houston is far below the national average.
The L.A. Cathedral is a great example of modern religious architecture. I know of course a lot of people prefer the old-style and decry the death of classic church design, but that is not new and thankfully has never stopped architects from trying different things: The term Gothic was first used by art critics, during the Renaissance, who were referring negatively to the style of art and architecture that did not conform to the Classicism of Greece and Rome. The critics came up with the term because they thought the Goths had invented the style. They were incorrect in their thinking that it was the Goths who, in their opinion, were responsible for the destruction of the good and true Classical style. The people of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries recognized the originality of the style and referred to it as "opus modernum" (modern work)." Why "Gothic?" Because that was the term applied to a style of architecture (dominant from the C12 through the C15) that was itself regarded as crude and primitive in contrast to the beauty, symmetry, and formality of classical (ancient Greek) architecture"
I agree, it looks very 2000's. Is that a bad thing for a church being built in .... 2006? I still can't understand Houston's obsession (and most of the US for that matter) of wanting churches to be built in some sort of neo-whatever style. If anything, this Cathedral is not modern enough! What would the gothic cathedrals be like if they had been built to mimic previous styles?
fernz replied to jasonwb's topic in Midtown
Tom Montalbano, he knows Midtown quite well: 713-524-8181 713-240-4998
For the latest pictures, visit the Archdiocese website: http://www.archgh.org/cocathedral/photos-other.htm
Thanks ricco67. I am not involved in the project, but I do know some people who used to be and they kept me informed of the progress.
That is not accurate. There are several strip windows going all the way to the ground, separating all the curved chapels from the main walls. Clerestory lighting was in fact a design element. Some lower windows were removed beacause there were concerns they would be too distrcting from the interior. If you visit the architect's office you will see several models that were used for the design, some of them for the dome only. It is my understanding that it was the Bishop's desire to have a shallow dome, because of a particular church that he likes in Italy that has that type of dome.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Fire torches 2,900 hectares
Posted on July 18, 2017 by 40 Mile Commentator
Photo submitted by Kerri Buis - Volunteer firefighters from across southern Alberta helped those in the County of Forty Mile battle several grass fires that were sparked by lightning strikes and fueled by winds over the weekend. 2,900 hectares of grass was torched at the south end of the county.
By Jamie Rieger
Lightning is to blame for causing three fires at the south end of the County of Forty Mile over the weekend.
"Manyberries and Aden responded to two separate fires on Saturday and also a Montana crew came up to fight another one. All caused by lightning strikes," said municipal enforcement officer, Stewart Payne, who attended the scene. "The Montana crew fought it, but that one was difficult to rein in and it re-lit."
With fires burning on both sides of the Milk River, volunteer firefighters from throughout southeast Alberta responded.
"Everybody came out to help; Coutts, Milk River, Montana sent three crews, Foremost, Aden, One Four, and Elkwater. Cypress Hills actually sent a helicopter and crews," said Payne.
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry sent a water bomber and helicopters from Pincher Creek to help extinguish the rapidly moving fire, but initially on Sunday, the winds were too strong to be effective.
"They came back later when the winds had died down somewhat, but it was still difficult for them," he said.
At press time Monday, County of Forty Mile fire chief Dustin McGarry was back at the scene with representatives from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and was unavailable for comment.
"They're still down there today (Monday) mopping up and today Forestry brought in two more helicopters and 16 men to help," said Payne.
As of Monday morning, approximately 2,900 hectares was burned in total.


Some people think of a speech as being an end result. How often have you said, that this or that person 'gave a great speech.' What that really says is that the speech was not successful. If the speech did not motivate you to do something, it fails.
We were thinking of this when writing recently about political stump speeches. These speeches have changed over the years as they have moved from the 'vote for me' talks delivered from a stump, the back of a train, a stage in a park or in a local arena. Today these speeches are beating the drum to refresh the effort by already committed workers.
To understand great speeches, you need to analyze speeches such as Shakespeare's recreation of Marc Anthony's funeral oration for Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln's address at Gettysburg, Winston Churchill's classic Some chicken; some neck! speech to the Canadian parliament and Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's momentous I have a dream. They were not just rich in their use of the English language, nor just adept at alliterative rhetoric. They were built on what writers refer to as power phrases and are brought to repeated and all-consuming climaxes with an unerring sense of timing.
A great speech is structured. It is not something that is done off the cuff. Words have to be carefully placed within the sentence to reach the listeners' ears in the right sequence. Words that are weak or weaseled are wasted words.
A great speech is an epic journey that travels from mountain top to mountain top. It is interrupted repeatedly by planned, anticipated audience reaction. It is structured for the audience to voice and indicate approval. The speaker's pauses are part of the planning. Each round of applause builds on the previous. It rises to a crescendo of approval.
And that is all in the timing. Timing is a critical factor, not in the length of a speech, but in its delivery. Like the great comedians, great speakers know that the crucial pause is what can make the difference between polite agreement and an ovation.
The hardest thing to teach a person who aspires to be a good, if not great, public speaker is to read the audience. It can be as simple as; are they looking at their watches? Are they nodding in agreement? Are they looking bored? Are they looking around to see how others are reacting? Can you see puzzlement and segue in an ad-libbed clarification? You have to think of a speech as a conversation and always be ready to adjust your remarks to fit the needs of your audience.
There are some darn good speakers today. President Obama of the U.S. comes immediately to mind. What is probably missing is great speech writers.
Posted in New | Comments Off on That great speech.
At least, Harper will not have his way.
Write about election or wedding? An easy choice.
That seems to be the choice today. You can write about the election or the wedding. Since we are at a low level with drivel these days, the wedding loses. Mind you, we read in the notoriously monarchist Toronto Star that only 39 per cent of Canadians are even thinking of viewing the spectacle.
The wife had the idea that we could record the wedding and watch it the next day when we were awake. This was discouraged when it was explained to her that seven hours of high definition blather might not be easily accommodated on our personal video recorder. There is also no guarantee that, even on fast forward, we would be able to stay awake through the event.
That left us with the election. That is bad news too. We can only hope that the pollsters are proved so wrong afterwards that they are banished for all time from forecasting any level of elections.
The promised fall of the Liberals at this time, we know, is premature. The rise of the NDP to power is even more unlikely.
Our bets are based on Ontario. The bets all revolve around the Liberals getting better than 30 per cent of the vote in the province with more than a third of the seats in parliament. That spells minority for Harper.
What guarantees the minority is that Harper's hopes have all but crashed in Quebec. The news media have probably stampeded some Liberal votes to the NDP in the Atlantic. That part of the country is always a bit behind the curve. And Harper is going to get the majority of the votes in the Prairies. While the Prairies are still part of Canada, that just makes them look narrow minded and mean spirited.
And then there is B.C. We have absolutely no idea what the voters are going to do in Lotusland. Neither do the voters.
When younger and less empathetic, we used to say that the damn silly voters get the government they deserve. That is a cruel statement today. Frankly, there seems to be a difference of opinion about whether Harper is a mean, red-neck or not. Maybe we are just too vehement in trying to keep him from being declared emperor. We should always remember that even Napoleon started with the best of intentions.
Posted in New | Comments Off on Write about election or wedding? An easy choice.
Those who dreamed that up, need a shrink.
Will you be enjoying the nuptials of Kate and Bill?
It is certainly a counterpoint to the current election campaign in Canada. The wedding of the year will soon be upon us. Luckily, it is at 3 am on Friday morning when wise people are partaking in a nightly ritual of a sound and healthy sleep.
It is the monarchists among us who cannot miss the nuptials. Ye shall know them by the dark circles under their eyes the following day. The rest of us will still have to forego watching television news for a few days to avoid the sugar high the event offers in reruns. And the election news will also be in reruns by then so you will need to stock up with a few good books.
Not since we saw some of the solemn procession that buried the groom's mother, have the Royals had the chance to capture such a world-wide audience. It is really most embarrassing. Do we colonials have to mind our manners and continue to tolerate this farcical royalty?
The royals are not only an anachronism but they went out of fashion more than a century ago. When the Weimar Republic sent the old Kaiser off to farm in the Lowlands, after the end to the First World War, the English should have been smart enough to rid themselves of the spawn of Victoria.
It was the attitudes and repressiveness of the Victorian and Hapsburg era that tried so hard to contain the surging demands for change in Europe. The dichotomy can be traced to the rise of Bolshevism and fascism. And ultimately, it triggered the horrors of the Second World War.
Nobody is innocent in foolishness. The constant foisting of the royals on Canadians is an aggressive act. It is not just done to resist change but to prevent it. It is a causative factor in driving apart Quebec and the rest of the country. It is a cause of alienation of youth when we promote such a double standard. It blocks progress to true nationhood.
The fact of the monarchy continues to make the point that Canada must have a Constitutional Conference. We must provide ourselves with a modern, democratic government, with political parties that are equally modern and democratic.
Our institutions must have their leadership chosen in a democratic manner. We can no longer, for example, allow the Supreme Court judges to be chosen by the Prime Minister without democratic confirmation by Parliament.
The Senate of Canada had proved itself an intestinal blockage in the body of Parliament long before Mr. Harper turned it into a farce.
We have the opportunity to learn from the governing errors of the Americans. We have an opportunity to do better.
It is time for Canadians to 'Rise Up' as Michael Ignatieff said. Not just against the myopic mismanagement of the Conservatives and their vicious cabal of a government, but against the entire structure and idiocy of how we are governed.
Posted in New | Comments Off on Will you be enjoying the nuptials of Kate and Bill?
When did you become a pollster fan?
It's an election scam you gullible man.
How random is my sample?
In many years of doing election polling and as a frequent client of research firms, one learns to be a bit sceptical. In fact, today, you have every reason to be downright suspicious. It appears that people are using selected poll results to try to stampede voters.
The voters have no reason to believe these pollsters who are trumpeting their polls. There is absolutely no way those polls can be accurate. Think about how you react to someone on the telephone asking you how you are going to vote. Do you graciously tell the caller everything they want to know? Are you kidding?
The problem today is that there is no way to get a truly random sample of Canadian voters. And if you could achieve that, it would still have to be a large enough sample to allow for breakouts of regional influences. The Bloc Quebecois in Quebec skew the figures there. If you include that 10 per cent of the vote with the rest of the country, it is not relevant. When you consider it can be 40 per cent of Quebec's vote, you see why it can translate into more than 40 seats in the House of Commons. In the same way, the disproportionate Reform/Tory vote in the Prairies skews the national figures.
As the old chestnut goes, figures do not lie but liars can figure. To understand a poll, start with the bias of the person reporting it. Mind you, the person does not have to lie. All they have to do is be selective about the figures they give you.
With one-third of the House of Commons seats in the Province of Ontario, when have you heard in this election about polling in Ontario? That is because it is the toughest area in the country to predict. It is also the toughest area in which to get a statistically viable sample of voters. The pollsters do not want to expose themselves.
The current flurry of polls showing the NDP strengthened, are more a phenomenon of the news media than any real hope for an NDP breakthrough. This is not 1990 in Ontario. You have to be smoking some fairly strong stuff to imagine Jack Layton as Prime Minister. Jack is a small potatoes municipal politician who has not grown in his current role. Most of that supposed growth in NDP support is in Quebec where tired PQ voters are searching for some answers.
But what the pollsters fail to explain is that about 30 per cent of the potential voters are unlikely to go to the polls. Nobody can be sure who they are.
We used to. Back in our early days of political polling, we used to know how the voter would vote before asking them the specific question. It was done with qualifying questions. Their actual voting intent helped with the equation used to determine their probability of going out to vote. We used to do some amazingly accurate surveys.
The poll that interests us was where we lined up yesterday at the advance poll in our electoral district. There never used to be advance poll line-ups like that. It bodes well. There is going to be a good turnout of voters in this election. That is bad news for Mr. Harper. He wants sleeping voters, not voters eager to go to the polls. He wants a vote like 2008 when large numbers of Liberal votes did not make it to the polls. They have much more to vote for this time.
The most accurate election surveys are traditionally what are called exit polls. They are a quick survey done as voters are leaving the polling station. They are more likely to tell you the truth then.
Posted in New | Comments Off on How random is my sample?
And how Catholics will vote, bless our soul!
And what breakfast cereals are in our bowl?
Ipsos Reid's jokers will soon be on the dole.
Babel blog bids bye-bye to Brown.
The headline could be wishful thinking but Brown really needs to go. He has been the Member of Parliament here in Babel for five years. He is, beyond a doubt, one of the sorriest Members of Parliament we have ever seen. And we have known some really bad ones during almost 50 years of activity on the political scene.
We have seen the vindictive, the incompetent, the shrill, the self serving, the stupid, the egotistical, the dishonest and the overly partisan. They can be of any party. Nobody's perfect. A friend once gave a speech defending the ignorant people who are elected to Parliament. He insisted that ignorant Canadians deserve representation in the House along with the intelligent.
But there is no question that the average I.Q. in the House of Commons could improve when Brown is gone. And despite the humour of what our friend espoused, the voters of Babel do not deserve Brown. Nobody deserves that.
In clinical terms, Brown might be a case of arrested development. All a layman can do is note the symptoms and hope he gets professional help.
At 32, he certainly does not act his age. Maybe one of the reasons that he comes across as so juvenile is that he has never held a job. He lacks life experience. Women in his age group do not appear to like him. Men his age often seem uncomfortable with him.
One of the better aspects of Brown's door-knocking during the election campaign is that more voters are meeting him. It does not improve his vote.
His campaign is very shallow. In a four-page letter he had ready to mail to Babel voters at the beginning of the campaign, it was amazing how little he had to say about his time in the House of Commons or on House committees. He seems to have never had an idea, a suggestion or a strong belief other than to be at his party's beck and call. He certainly does not represent his electoral district.
As would any callow youth, he tends to fabricate his stories for the voters. As he is a heavy advertiser and water boy for the local media, they are hardly critical of his fabrications. Their preferences are all too obvious.
As a member of the House of Commons Heritage Committee, that is responsible for the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission, we watched him appear before the Commission earlier this year. He gave them a silly story about his grandmother watching him on city council and he lauded CTV's /A Channel for providing the coverage of city council for the people of Babel.
The only problem with his story—as we pointed out to the Commission after he left—any Babel resident knows that it is the Rogers Cable channel that has always provided regular coverage of city hall.
What is worse, Brown thinks he is still on city council. That is another story.
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He gave us a talk here, he was more than able.


text:
Rhode Island Provincials
Revision as of 12:40, 2 November 2014 by RCouture (Talk | contribs)
Hierarchical Path: Seven Years War (Main Page) >> Armies >> British Army >> Rhode Island Provincials
In 1745, 150 Provincials from Rhode Island were supposed to take part in the expedition against Louisbourg but they arrived too late for embarkment.
In January 1755, the Assembly of Rhode Island agreed to enlist 100 men as Provincial troops. In February, upon Governor Shirley's request, 13 men were added to this unit, bringing it to 113 men. In March, the Assembly agreed to raise 400 men, organised in 4 companies, for the planned expedition against Fort Saint-Frédéric (present-day Crown Point) and cancelled its initial commitment to raise 113 men. The Rhode Island Provincials were placed under the command of Colonel Christopher Harris.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment was under the successive commands of:
from March 1755 to 1756: Colonel Christopher Harris
from February 1757: Colonel Samuel Angel
from May 1758 to 1759: Colonel Henry Babcock
from February 1760: Colonel Christopher Harris
from March 1761: Colonel John Whiting
from March 1762: Colonel Samuel Rose
In August 1755, about 400 Rhode Island Provincials took part in the expedition against Fort Saint-Frédéric (present-day Crown Point) led by William Johnson of New York. A fort initially known as Fort Lyman (soon renamed Fort Edward) was built on the Hudson River at the carrying place leading to Lake Saint-Sacrement (present-day Lake George). During the same month, Rhode Island raised 3 new companies of 50 men each and hurried them by land to Albany. At the beginning of September Johnson's force resumed its advance and reached Lake Saint-Sacrement. On September 8, during the Combat of Lake George part of Johnson's force was initially ambushed by a French force under Dieskau. The Colonials were badly mauled and retired to Johnson's camp. The French followed up but their attack on Johnson's camp was repulsed, Dieskau being wounded and captured. Johnson did not organize any counteroffensive but built Fort William Henry on the shore of Lake Saint-Sacrement. By that time 2 of the 3 new companies had joined the Rhode Island Provincial Regiment. The third company, which had been delayed, embarked in a sloop to join Johnson's Army. Furthermore, Rhode Island raised 4 additional companies of 50 men each and sent them forward in all haste to join the Rhode Island Provincial Regiment which now counted about 750 men in 11 companies. On November 27, when Johnson retreated to the Hudson, he left contingents from each province (including 85 men from Rhode Island under Captain Whiting) to garrison Fort William Henry during the winter. Furthermore, the Assembly of Rhode Island kept another 100 men under arms within the province while the rest of the regiment was disbanded.
In February 1756, the Assembly of Rhode Island voted to raise a regiment of 500 men (including the men forming part of the garrison of Fort William Henry) in 10 companies for the incoming campaign. On May 5, the Assembly ordered the regiment to be completed by impressment if necessary. In July, the Assembly resolved to raise 2 additional companies of 50 men each to take part in the operations on Lake Champlain. In mid-October, the Assembly received intelligence that a French Army could advance on Lake Saint-Sacrement and immediately voted to raise 400 men and to send them forward with all haste to Albany. But in mid-November, the Earl of Loudoun countermanded thir march and they were soon disbanded.
In February 1757, the Assembly of Rhode Island resolved to raise a Provincial Regiment of 450 men in 5 companies to serve for one year with the British Army. In May, the Assembly, upon Loudoun's request, agreed to raise 150 men to be ready in case of requisition from Major-General Webb then in command at Fort Edward. At the end of July, when Webb received intelligence about the French expedition against Fort William Henry, he called for the 150 men of the Rhode Island Provincials. The Colonial Army was disbanded for the winter, only 70 rangers from Rhode Island were retained for winter service. However, upon Loudoun's protest, 30 additional rangers were authorised by the Assembly who also resolved to re-enlist 250 men of the returning regiment to be billeted on the colony, ready for any emergency.
In mid-March 1758, the Assembly of Rhode Island resolved to raise a Provincial Regiment of 1,000 men. In mid-May, General Abercombie ordered the Rhode Island Provincial Regiment (Babcock) to be sent forward to Albany. In July, the Rhode Island Provincial Regiment took part in the expedition against Carillon (present-day Ticonderoga). On July 5, they were embarked at the head of Lake George. On July 6, at daybreak, the British flotilla reached the narrow channel leading into Lake Champlain near Fort Carillon and disembarkation began at 9:00 a.m.. On July 8, they fought in the disastrous Battle of Carillon. At daybreak on July 9, the British army re-embarked and retreated to the head of the lake where it reoccupied the camp it had left a few days before. In August, 312 Rhode Island Provincials under Major Wall took part in the successful expedition against Fort Frontenac. The entire Rhode Island Provincial Regiment was retained in service throughout winter.
In February 1759, Lord Jeffrey Amherst, the commander-in-chief in North America, wrote to order the Rhode Island Provincial Regiment (1,000 men in 13 companies) to be at Albany by April 10. However, as the British Royal Navy also needed sailors, it was agreed that the latter would be accounted part of the 1,000 men that Rhode Island had to supply to Amherst. The Rhode Island Provincial Regiment took part in the expedition against Carillon. After the campaign, the regiment was disbanded for winter.
In February 1760, the Assembly of Rhode Island voted to raise a Provincial Regiment of 1,000 men. The regiment took part in the three pronged attack against Montréal. At the end of October, after the victorious campaign, the regiment was disbanded.
At the end of March 1761, the Assembly of Rhode Island agreed to raise a Provincial Regiment of 666 men in 7 companies. In fact only 395 were raised. In July, Amherst asked the assembly to keep one company of 64 men in pay for the next winter. They garrisoned Fort Stanwix.
In February 1762, Amherst asked the Assembly of Rhode Island to raise a contingent of 178 Provincials for the reinforcement of the expedition against Havana. The Assembly voted to raise a Provincial Regiment of 666 men to serve on the continent bust postponed its decision about the supplementary contingent required by Amherst. In April Amherst ordered to send 207 men of the Provincial Regiment to New York to embark for Havana and he instructed to send the rest of the regiment to Albany. The contingent destined to Havana was under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Hargil. Only 112 men of this contingent survived the siege of Havana.
Rhode Island Provincials had no uniform. They were issued civilian clothing by their colony.
This article contains texts from the following book which is now in the public domain:
Arnold, Samuel Greene: History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Vol. II 1700-1790; New York: Appleton, 1860, pp. 189-241
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British Land Unit