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| casualties1 = 38 killed, 159 wounded | casualties2 = ~275 killed | campaignbox = }} The Battle of the Hongorai River took place during the Second World War and involved Australian, New Zealand and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Bougainville Campaign of the Pacific theatre, the battle was fought in the southern sector of Bougainville Island and occurred in two distinct periods between 17 April and 22 May 1945, as elements of the Australian 15th Brigade advanced along the Buin Road towards the Hongorai River and then forced their way across it. Following the end of the initial fighting, the Australian advance towards the main Japanese concentration at Buin continued until torrential rain and flooding brought it to a halt, washing away many bridges and roads upon which they relied for supplies. With hostilities coming to a close the Japanese began harassing the Australian line of communications, and as the rain stopped and the flooding subsided in late-July and into August, preparations to resume the advance continued. Ultimately, the war came to an end before the final Australian advance began. ==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. Due to incorrect intelligence, Savige mistakenly believed that the Japanese forces on the island numbered just 17,500 men, and he consequently decided that the Australians would pursue an aggressive campaign to clear the Japanese from Bougainville. However, 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. 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. 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 the Hongorai River」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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