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| place = Bougainville, New Guinea | result = Australian victory | combatant1 = Australia | combatant2 = Japan | commander1 = Joseph Kelly | commander2 = Shinzo Nakamura | strength1 = ~800 men | strength2 = ~900 men | casualties1 = 23 killed, 53 wounded | casualties2 = 66 killed | campaignbox = }} The Battle of Tsimba Ridge was a battle of the Second World War involving Australian and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Bougainville Campaign of the Pacific theatre, the battle occurred in the northern sector of Bougainville Island between 17 January and 9 February 1945, when the lead battalion of the Australian 11th Brigade—the 31st/51st Battalion—advanced towards the Genga River as they drove towards the Bonis Peninsula. Coming up against heavy resistance along Tsimba Ridge, the Australian advance was halted for three weeks as they fought to wrest control of the ridge from the Japanese defenders. The main Australian attack came on 6 February, however, it was not until 9 February when the Japanese completely withdrew from the position. Nevertheless, fighting in the surrounding area continued until 22 February. ==Background== In November–December 1944, the Australian II Corps under Lieutenant General Stanley Savige took over responsibility for Allied operations on Bougainville from the American XIV Corps. Mistakenly believing that the Japanese forces on the island numbered just 17,500 men it was decided that the Australians would pursue an aggressive campaign to clear the Japanese from Bougainville. The campaign developed into three separate drives: in the north, it was planned that Japanese forces would be forced into the narrow Bonis Peninsula and contained; in the centre the seizure of Pearl Ridge would give the Australians control of the east–west avenues of approach, as well as affording them protection against further counter-attacks, while also opening the way for a drive to the east coast; and the main campaign in the south, where the bulk of the Japanese forces were concentrated. Allied estimates of Japanese strength were later found to be grossly inaccurate and after the war it was found that the number of Japanese alive on the island at this time was closer to 40,000. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Tsimba Ridge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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