|
The Battle of Wareo (27 November – 8 December 1943) was fought by Australian and Japanese forces in New Guinea during the Huon Peninsula campaign of World War II in the later part of 1943. Coming after the capture of Sattelberg by the Allies, the battle took place amidst the Australian advance north towards Sio. The Australians committed elements from four infantry brigades from the Australian 9th Division with supporting elements including artillery, engineers and tank support, while the Japanese force consisted primarily of two depleted infantry regiments from the 20th Division, with limited artillery support. The Australian advance in this region developed into three drives. In the west, forces advanced north from Sattelberg following its capture, while in the east, an advance was made from North Hill on the coast, north of Scarlet Beach, where the Australians had landed earlier in the campaign. A smaller drive was made in the centre from Nongora, which lay in between the two, although this was limited and subsequently linked up with the coastal drive. Although possessing significant forces, the Australian advance proved slow. Heavy rain and harsh terrain slowed the Australian resupply efforts and reduced the mobility of their manoeuvre elements. Disease and fatigue also heavily depleted their infantry, with more casualties being suffered from illnesses than combat. The Japanese units in the area also defended strongly, but they too were short on supplies and in the end they were forced to withdraw further north. Wareo subsequently fell to the Allies on 8 December, who then established a line east from Wareo to Gusika on the coast. From there they carried out further advances north later in the month and into early January 1944. ==Background== In September 1943, Australian forces launched the first phase of Operation Cartwheel, General Douglas MacArthur's advance on the main Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation initially went well. Lae fell on 16 September,〔.〕 and having advanced north along the coast towards the Huon Peninsula, the Australians had the Japanese forces on the back foot. On 22 September, the Australian 9th Division, commanded by Major General George Wootten, landed at Scarlet Beach from where they began to fan out to the south and west to capture Finschhafen and to begin the advance towards Sio, further around the coast on the northern side of the Huon Peninsula.〔.〕〔.〕 Up to this point the Allied advance had been faster than planned, but at Finschhafen it faltered. The rapid advance had created logistical difficulties. In particular, the engineers required to develop the captured areas were not yet available. This became critical when heavy rains delayed the opening of the Lae–Nadzab Road. Without the road, the planned airbase at Nadzab could not be developed,〔.〕 and without the airbase, air cover could not be provided for another amphibious operation. MacArthur was forced to postpone the next phase of Cartwheel, Operation Dexterity, the landing on New Britain.〔.〕 The initiative now passed to the Japanese. As the Australians advanced, a large force of Japanese – consisting largely of the 79th and 80th Infantry Regiments, part of the 26th Field Artillery Regiment and a battalion of the 238th Infantry Regiment,〔 which were grouped together as the 20th Division under Lieutenant General Shigeru Katagiri – launched an unsuccessful counter-attack in October before retreating inland towards an abandoned German mission that sat atop a peak at Sattelberg.〔.〕 By 5 November, General Headquarters (GHQ) South West Pacific Area (SWPA) had decided that the Finschhafen area would be developed into a major air and naval base,〔.〕 but the large Japanese force on Sattelberg still overlooked the base area. In order to remove this threat, the Wootten sent the 26th Brigade to capture Sattelberg on 16 November.〔.〕 On 25 November, after 10 days of fighting, and an advance up the southern approaches from Jivevaneng by infantry supported by artillery, armour and air support, Sattelberg was seized by the Australians. Having suffered heavy casualties, and short on supplies, the Japanese withdrew north to Wareo,〔.〕 where they established themselves in preparation for further attacks by the Australians.〔.〕 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 Wareo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|