Salamaua-Lae campaign
Part of theNew Guinea campaign of thePacific Theater (World War II)
AUS Army Air ForcesB-24 Liberator bomber, flying over explosions on theSalamaua Peninsula, where the port is located.
Date 22 April – 16 September 1943 Location Salamaua–Lae area,Morobe Province,Territory of New Guinea Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Australia United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Douglas MacArthur Thomas Blamey Edmund Herring Stanley Savige Edward Milford George Wootten George Vasey David Whitehead Frank Berryman	Hatazō Adachi Hidemitsu Nakano
Units involved
I Corps 3rd Division 5th Division 7th Division 9th Division 41st Infantry Division 162nd Regimental Combat Team 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment	18th Army 51st Infantry Division
Strength
~30,000	~10,000
Casualties and losses
Australia: 1,772 killed, wounded or missing[1][2] United States: 81 killed and 396 wounded[3]	11,600 killed, wounded or captured[1]

TheSalamaua–Lae campaign was a series of actions in theNew Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian and United States forces sought to capture two majorJapanese bases, one in the town ofLae, and another one atSalamaua. The campaign to take the Salamaua and Lae area began after the successfuldefence of Wau in late January, which was followed up by an Australian advance towardsMubo as the Japanese troops that had attacked Wau withdrew to positions around Mubo. A series of actions followed over the course of several months as the Australian3rd Division advanced north-east towards Salamaua. After an amphibiouslanding at Nassau Bay, the Australians were reinforced by a US regimental combat team, which subsequently advanced north up the coast.

As the Allies kept up the pressure on the Japanese around Salamaua, in early September they launched anairborne assault on Nadzab, and aseaborne landing near Lae, subsequently taking the town with simultaneous drives from the east and north-west. As the situation around Lae grew more desperate, the Salamaua garrison withdrew, and it was captured on 11 September 1943, while Lae fell shortly afterwards on 16 September, bringing the campaign to an end.

In March 1942, the Japanesesecured Salamaua and Lae and subsequently established major bases on the north coast ofNew Guinea, in the large town of Lae, and in Salamaua, a small administrative town and port 35 kilometres (22 mi) to the south. Salamaua was a staging post forattacks on Port Moresby, such as theKokoda Track campaign, and a forward operating base for Japanese aviation.^[4] When the attacks failed, the Japanese turned the port into a major supply base. Logistical limitations meant that the Salamaua–Lae area could garrison only 10,000 Japanese personnel: 2,500 seamen and 7,500 soldiers.^[5] The defences were centred on the Okabe Detachment, abrigade-sized force from the51st Division under Major GeneralToru Okabe.^[6]

In January 1943, the Okabe Detachment was defeated in anattack on the Australian base of Wau, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) away. Allied commanders turned their attention to Salamaua, which could be attacked by troops flown intoWau. This also diverted attention from Lae, which was a major objective ofOperation Cartwheel, theAllied grand strategy for theSouth Pacific. It was decided that the Japanese would be pursued towards Salamaua by theAustralian 3rd Division, which had been formed at Wau, under the command of Major GeneralStanley Savige,^[7][8] who were to link up with elements of the US41st Infantry Division.^[9]

Following the conclusion of the fighting around Wau in late January, the Okabe Detachment had withdrawn towards Mubo, where they began to regroup, numbering about 800 strong.^[10] Between 22 April and 29 May 1943, the Australian2/7th Infantry Battalion, at the end of a long and tenuous supply line, attacked the southern extremity of Japanese lines in the Mubo area, at features known to the Allies as "The Pimple" and "Green Hill".^[11] While the 2/7th made little progress, they provided a diversion for MajorGeorge Warfe's2/3rd Independent Company, which advanced in an arc and raided Japanese positions atBobdubi Ridge, inflicting severe losses. In May, the 2/7th repelled a number of strong Japanese counterattacks.^[11]

At the same time as thefirst battle at Mubo, the Australian24th Infantry Battalion, which had been defending theWampit Valley in an effort to prevent Japanese movement into the area fromBulolo,^[12] detached several platoons to reinforce the 2/3rd Independent Company.^[13] During the month of May, they were heavily engaged in patrolling the 3rd Division's northern flank, around theMarkham River, and the area around Missim, and one patrol succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Bituang River, to the north of Salamaua.^[14]

In response to the Allied moves, theJapanese Eighteenth Army commander, Lieutenant GeneralHatazō Adachi, sent the66th Infantry Regiment fromFinschhafen to reinforce the Okabe Detachment and launch an offensive. The 1,500-strong 66th attacked atLababia Ridge, on 20–23 June.^[15] The battle has been described as one of the Australian Army's "classic engagements" of World War II.^[16] The ridge's only defenders were "D" Company of the2/6th Battalion. The Australians relied on well-established and linked defensive positions, featuring extensive, cleared free-fire zones. These assets and the determination of "D" Company defeated the Japanese envelopment tactics.^[16]

Between 30 June and 19 August, theAustralian 15th Infantry Brigade cleared Bobdubi Ridge. The operation was opened with an assault by the inexperienced58th/59th Infantry Battalion, and includedhand-to-hand combat.^[17] At the same time as the second Australian assault on Bobdubi, on 30 June – 4 July, the US162nd Regimental Combat Team (162nd RCT), supported by engineers from the2nd Engineer Special Brigade,^[9] made an unopposed amphibiouslanding at Nassau Bay and established abeachhead there,^[18] to launch a drive along the coast, as well as bringing ashore heavy guns with which to reduce the Japanese positions.^[19]

A week after the Bobdubi attack and Nassau Bay landing, theAustralian 17th Brigade launched another assault on Japanese positions at Mubo.^[20] With the Allies making ground closer to Salamaua, the Japanese withdrew to avoid encirclement. The Japanese divisional commander,Hidemitsu Nakano, subsequently determined to concentrate his forces in the Komiatum area, which was an area of high ground to the south of Salamaua.^[21]

Meanwhile, the main body of the 162nd RCT followed a flanking route along the coast, before encountering fierce resistance atRoosevelt Ridge—named after its commander, Lieutenant ColonelArchibald Roosevelt^[22]—between 21 July and 14 August. Between 16 July and 19 August, the42nd and2/5th Infantry Battalions gained a foothold onMount Tambu. They held on despite fierce Japanese counter-attacks. The battle turned when they were assisted by the 162nd RCT.^[23] Throughout July, the Japanese sought to reinforce the Salamaua area, drawing troops away from Lae; by the end of the month there were around 8,000 Japanese around Salamaua.^[9]

On 23 August, Savige and the 3rd Division handed over the Salamaua operation to theAustralian 5th Division under Major GeneralEdward Milford. Throughout late August and into early September the Japanese in the Salamaua region fought to hold the advancing Allies along their final line of defence in front of Salamaua, nevertheless the 58th/59th Infantry Battalion succeeded in crossing the Francisco River and the 42nd Infantry Battalion subsequently captured the main Japanese defensive position around Charlie Hill.^[24] After Allied landings near Lae in the first week of September, the18th Army commander,Hatazō Adachi, ordered Nakano to abandon Salamaua and subsequently his forces withdrew to the north disinvesting the town and transferring between 5,000 and 6,000 troops by barge, while other troops marched out along the coastal road. The 5th Division subsequently occupied Salamaua on 11 September, securing its airfield.^[1][25]

The fighting between April and September in the Salamaua region cost the Australians 1,083 casualties, including 343 dead. The Japanese lost 2,722 killed and a further 5,378 wounded, for a total of 8,100 casualties.^[1] The US 162nd lost 81 killed and 396 wounded.^[3] Throughout the fighting, Allied aircraft and USPT boats supported the troops ashore, enforcing a blockade of the Huon Gulf and theVitiaz andDampier Straits.^[9]

The codename for the main operations to take Lae wasOperation Postern. Planned as part of wider operations to eventually secure theHuon Peninsula, the operation to capture Lae was planned by GeneralThomas Blamey, who assumed command of the AlliedNew Guinea Force, andAustralian I Corps commander, Lieutenant General SirEdmund Herring.^[26] This was a classicpincer movement, involving anamphibious assault east of the town, and anairborne landing near Nadzab, 50 kilometres (30 mi) to the west.^[27][28] Battle casualties for the 9th Division during Operation Postern amounted to 547, of which 115 were killed and 73 were posted as missing, and 397 were wounded, while the 7th Division suffered 142 casualties, of which 38 were killed.^[2] The Japanese lost about 1,500 killed, while a further 2,000 were captured.^[1]

On 4 September, theAustralian 9th Division, under Major GeneralGeorge Wootten, landed east ofLae, on "Red Beach" and "Yellow Beach", nearMalahang beginning an attempt to encircle Japanese forces in the town. FiveUS Navy destroyers provided artillery support. The landings were not opposed by land forces but were attacked by Japanese bombers, which inflicted numerous casualties amongst the naval and military personnel on board several landing craft.^[29]

The20th Brigade led the assault, with the26th following them up while the24th formed the divisional reserve.^[30] The 9th Division faced formidable natural barriers in the form of rivers swollen by recent rain. They came to a halt at theBusu River, which could not be bridged; the 9th lacked heavy equipment, and the far bank was occupied by Japanese soldiers. On 9 September, the2/28th Infantry Battalion led the attack across the Busu River and secured a bridgehead after fierce fighting.^[31]

The following day, theUS 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, together with two gun crews from the Australian2/4th Field Regiment—who had received a crash course in the use of parachutes—and their cut-down25-pounder artillery pieces, made an unopposed parachute drop at Nadzab, just west of Lae. The airborne forces secured Nadzab Airfield, so that theAustralian 7th Division, under Major GeneralGeorge Vasey, could be flown in, to cut off any possible Japanese retreat into theMarkham Valley. The 7th Division suffered its worst casualties of the campaign on 7 September, as they were boarding planes at Port Moresby: aB-24 Liberator bomber crashed while taking off, hitting five trucks carrying members of the2/33rd Infantry Battalion: 60 died and 92 were injured.^[32][33]

On 11 September, the 7th Division's25th Infantry Brigade engaged about 200 Japanese soldiers entrenched at Jensen's Plantation in a firefight, at a range of 50 yards (46 m),^[34] with the 2/4th Field Regiment providing artillery support. After defeating them and killing 33 enemy soldiers, the 25th Infantry Brigade engaged and defeated a larger Japanese force at Heath's Plantation, killing 312 Japanese soldiers.^[35] It was at Heath's Plantation that PrivateRichard Kelliher won theVictoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in theBritish Commonwealth.^[34] The 25th Infantry Brigade entered Lae on 15 September, just before the 9th Division's 24th Infantry Brigade. The two units linked up that day.^[36]

While the fall of Lae was clearly a victory for the Allies, and it was achieved more quickly and at lower cost than anticipated, a significant proportion of the Japanese garrison had escaped through theSaruwaged Range, to the north of Lae, and would have to be fought again elsewhere. TheHuon Peninsula campaign was the result, and a quick follow up landing was subsequently undertaken atScarlet Beach by the20th Brigade.^[37]

Despite initial plans to do so, Salamaua was not developed as a base. The Australian I Corps commander, Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Herring, visited Salamaua byPT boat on 14 September, three days after its capture, and found little more than bomb craters and corrugated iron. He recommended cancelling the development of Salamaua and concentrating all available resources on Lae. The base that had originally been envisaged now looked like a waste of effort, because Salamaua was a poor site for a port or airbase. However, in drawing the Japanese attention away from Lae at a critical time, the assault on Salamaua had already served its purpose.^[38]

Lae, on the other hand, was subsequently transformed into two bases: the Australian Lae Base Sub Area and theUSASOS Base E. Herring combined the two as the Lae Fortress, under Milford. Because Blamey had launched Postern before the logistical preparations were complete, most of the units needed to operate the base were not yet available.^[38][39]

The importance of Lae as a port was to supply the airbase at Nadzab, but this was compromised because the Markham Valley Road was found to be in poor condition. To expedite the development of Nadzab, minimal efforts were made to repair it, and heavy military traffic bound for Nadzab was permitted to use it. The road was closed following heavy rains on 7 October and did not reopen until December. Until then, Nadzab had to be supplied by air, and its development was slow because heavy engineer units could not get through.^[38]

• Bradley, Phillip (2010).To Salamaua. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0521763905.
• Buggy, Hugh (1945).Pacific Victory: A Short History of Australia's Part in the War Against Japan. North Melbourne, Victoria: Victorian Railway Printing Works.OCLC 2411075.
• Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1998).The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles. Sydney, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.ISBN 1-86448-611-2.
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• Horner, David (1998).Blamey: The Commander-in-Chief. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.ISBN 1-86448-734-8.OCLC 39291537.
• James, Karl (2014). "The 'Salamaua Magnet'". In Dean, Peter (ed.).Australia 1943: The Liberation of New Guinea. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press. pp. 186–209.ISBN 978-1-107-03799-1.
• Keogh, Eustace (1965).South West Pacific 1941–45. Melbourne, Victoria: Grayflower Publications.OCLC 7185705.
• Maitland, Gordon (1999).The Second World War and its Australian Army Battle Honours. East Roseville, New South Wales: Kangaroo Press.ISBN 0-86417-975-8.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1975) [1950].Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. VI. Boston: Little, Bown and Company.OCLC 21532278.
• Tanaka, Kengoro (1980).Operations of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in the Papua New Guinea Theater During World War II. Tokyo: Japan Papua New Guinea Goodwill Society.OCLC 9206229.
• Trigellis-Smith, Syd (1994) [1988].All the King's Enemies: A History of the 2/5th Australian Infantry Battalion. Ringwood East, Victoria: 2/5 Battalion Association.ISBN 978-0731610204.

• Miller, John (1959).Cartwheel: The Reduction of Rabaul. United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific. Washington DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army.OCLC 1355535.
• Milner, Samuel (1957).Victory in Papua(PDF). United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific. Washington DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army.ISBN 1-4102-0386-7. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 6 May 2017. Retrieved5 December 2015.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

• Conflicts in 1943
• 1943 in Papua New Guinea
• Territory of New Guinea
• South West Pacific theatre of World War II
• Battles and operations of World War II involving Australia
• Battles and operations of World War II involving the United States
• Battles and operations of World War II involving Papua New Guinea
• Battles and operations of World War II involving Japan
• World War II aerial operations and battles of the Pacific theatre
• Operation Cartwheel
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