What is Battle of Kaiapit?
[[File:Kaiapit Japanese body 057500.jpg|thumb|Japanese dead at Kaiapit]] The '''Battle of Kaiapit''' was fought in 1943 between Australian and Japanese forces in [[New Guinea]] during the [[Finisterre Range campaign]] of [[World War II]]. Following landings [[landing at Nadzab|at Nadzab]] and [[landing at Lae|at Lae]], the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] attempted to exploit their success with an advance into the upper [[Markham Valley]], starting with [[Kaiapit]]. The [[2/6th Independent Company (Australia)|Australian 2/6th Independent Company]] flew into the valley from Port Moresby in 13 [[USAAF]] [[C-47 Skytrain|C-47 Dakotas]], making a difficult landing on a rough airstrip. Unaware that a much larger Japanese force was also headed for Kaiapit and [[Nadzab]], the company attacked the village on 19 September to secure the area so that it could be developed into an airfield. They then held it against a strong counterattack. During two days of fighting the larger force, the Australians suffered relatively few losses. Their victory at Kaiapit enabled the [[7th Division (Australia)|Australian 7th Division]] to be flown into the upper Markham Valley, stopping the Japanese from threatening Lae or Nadzab, where a major airbase was being developed. The victory also led to the [[Battle of Dumpu|capture of the Ramu Valley]], which provided new forward fighter airstrips for the air war. {{history-stub}} [[Category:1940s in Oceania]] [[Category:1943]] [[Category:Pacific battles of World War II|Kaiapit]] [[Category:History of Papua New Guinea]] [[Category:Battles involving Australia|Kaiapit]] [[Category:Battles involving Japan|Kaiaput]] [[Category:Battles involving the United States|Kaiapit]]