Australian Troops: Wewak,New Guinea
I hope many of you remember the battles that were started for liberating New Guinea back at the original stage of the Pacific War – at this point – they were still going on.
The operations were characterized by prolonged small-scale patrolling with small-scale company attacks. Progress was slowed by the difficulties of transporting supplies overland or by barge and the flash flooding of a number of the rivers the Australians had to cross. In one incident, seven men from the 2/3rd Battalion drowned in the swollen waters of the Danmap River which had risen suddenly after a torrential downpour. After Dogreto Bay was occupied, the supply problems eased somewhat.
On 16 March 1945, the airfields at But and Dagua on the coast were occupied, although fighting continued further inland from there over the course of the following fortnight. On 25 March, Lieutenant Albert Chowne, a platoon commander from the Australian 2/2nd Battalion led an attack on a Japanese position that was holding up the advance on Wewak. For his actions he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
In the Torricelli Mountains the 17th Brigade continued its advance against stubborn Japanese defense. Nevertheless, by 23 April 1945 they had secured Maprik. The fall of Maprik allowed the Australians to begin constructing an airfield 8 miles (13 km) away at Hayfield, and this was completed on 14 May allowing reinforcements and supplies to be flown in.
Elsewhere the 19th Brigade had begun its assault on Wewak in early May. HMAS Hobart, Arunta, Warramunga, Swan and HMS Newfoundland (of the British Pacific Fleet) as well as the RAAF bombarded the Wewak defenses. On 11 May, a landing at Dove Bay by Farida Force was undertaken to encircle Wewak and prevent the escape of its garrison. Wewak fell on the same day, as the 19th Brigade occupied its airfield.
The fighting around Wewak airfield continued until 15 May, however, when men from the 2/4th Battalion, with armoured support, attacked Japanese positions overlooking the airstrip. It was during this attack that Private Edward Kenna carried out the deeds that led to him being awarded the Victoria Cross.
Following this, the remaining Japanese in the area withdrew into the Prince Alexander Mountains to the south of Wewak. To counter this, the 16th Brigade was dispatched to follow them up, and push them towards the 17th Brigade which advanced towards the east towards Maprik.
These operations continued until 11 August, by which time the 16th Brigade had reached Numoikum, about 23 kilometres (14 mi) from Wewak, while the 17th Brigade had captured Kairivu, 24 kilometres (15 mi) from Wewak. At this stage, word was received that the Japanese government had begun discussing terms for a possible surrender and so offensive operations were brought to a halt.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Philip Barbary – Murray Valley, AUS; Australian Army # 45018, Vietnam, 104 Signal Squadron
Robert Costello – Newcastle, AUS; Australian Army, Vietnam
Robert Forstburg – Upper Darby, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 101st Airborne Division
Ralph Regis Giles – Lowell, MA; US Army, Korea, KIA
Gordon Herrick – Rochester, NY; US Army, 11th Airborne Division
Glen McGraw – Centerville, IN; US Army, WWII
Eric Rapps – ENG; British Army, WWII, ETO, 8th Army
Doris Sherman (101) – Como, AUS; Royal Navy, WWII, ETO & PTO, Chief Petty Officer, nurse
Betty Tallarico – Dorothy, WV; Civilian, US Navy draftsman
Geoffrey ‘Boy’ Wellum – Cornwall, ENG; RAF, WWII, ETO, 65th Squadron, Distinguished Flying Cross
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Posted on July 30, 2018, in WWII and tagged 1940's, Army, Australia, History, Military, Military History, New Guinea, Pacific War, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 91 Comments.
The determination to continue fighting, the day to day persistence despite challenges great and small, are such an inspiration to the rest of us. Thank you again for the reminder, GP.
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My pleasure, Anna. I thank you for reading them.
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I always enjoy these posts about the Australian and New Zealand involvement in the war. Knowledge of those countries has been solely lacking in my own life, and I’ve known almost nothing about their involvement in past conflicts.
Coincidentally, New Zealand and Australian firefighters are (or very soon will be) on the firelines in California. They’re still helping us win battles.
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I did not know they were in CA. Amazing. I really have neglected them both in all this, but I have a couple of other posts I’m working on to help correct that.
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Great story on Chowne mate, was also interesting in reading up on him in Wikipedia, his wife married again and The Prince met her through the medals she was wearing.
Would love to know the artist who painted that pic at the top of your post gp, he did a great job.
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I tried looking for the artist, but came up blank. The internet can’t solve all our problems, eh?
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MY wife’s father, like me was a Pom, and served in the Australian Army. He fought the war in New Guinea against the Japs. He died of his war wounds, some years after the war, when my wife was still quite young.
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The jungle held more dangers than simply enemy bullets. I’m sorry for your wife’s loss, but she must be proud of him.
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Yes she was daddy’s girl
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🙂
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Ought to have just starved ’em out…miserable piece of real estate. Burma was another – It took until the end of the war to rid Burma of the Japanese…
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Yes, it did. Some terrible terrain to try and fight in. (both places)
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Na het lezen van dit artikel heb ik een breder zicht gekregen over wie de bondgenoten waren
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Ik ben blij dat ik je kan helpen, Mary Lou. Je helpt me met zoveel dingen in de natuur en in Europa.
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Ah, the end was in sight!
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The enemy put up quite a fight, but the Allies were too!!
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An uncle of mine was stationed with the American Army on an island called Biak somewhere in that area . Histories often overlook all the fighting done in that (large) part of the Pacific , especially by the Aussies and new Zealanders . Thanks for the story and again for the fine research ..
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If you type in BIAK in my search area (top right of each page) you will find mentions of the island in various posts. There were so many islands that no one ever heard of and our men were there fighting. I like to show the history as it was, almost 6 years of blogging, but I still haven’t included it all. Don’t suppose I ever will, but the readers like yourself are so helpful by including family and friends’ stories.
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I really do wonder what the Stone Age inhabitants of New Guinea made of it all! I read recently of a journalist talking to Chilean fisherman in 1942 and they had never heard of Hitler, or indeed, of Europe. I can’t see the New Guinea tribesmen being any better informed.
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You are quite right. They went from an isolated, forgotten island slap into the industrial age of war machines, airplanes and weapons beyond their belief!!!
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Yeah, you’r’e sitting there minding your own business – fishing or whatever. And here comes battleships, airplanes, carriers, tanks, guys with machine guns, people building battlements etc etc. People killing people. Unbelievable.
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Australians have always been great allies. That is a good thing considering how tough they are.
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I so agree, John. I wouldn’t want those troops against us!!!
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I was a bit surprised to read that the Japanese held territory so far removed from their homeland. Was New Guinea of rather low military importance that no action took place against the occupying forces until very late in the war? Just wondering, GP.
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It is my opinion that they wanted Australia and New Guinea would be a staging area.
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Thank you very much, John!
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You are very welcome very much.
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My Dad was an Aussie who fought in North Africa, against Rommel. He lied about his age and ran off and joined the Australian army at 14 in 1939.
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Duty and honor run strong in some people, you must be very proud of your father.
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I am. Thank you. He passed away 11 years ago, and I still miss him everyday. He was one of the good guys.
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It’s awesome to see the work you done to show us different battle spots in the Pacific and from different countries
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And just think – I’m basically skimming over it. There was so much going on the many islands, atolls,different nations – it’s just incredible!!
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That’s true…there’s a lot more going on than we can study up on
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We traveld to Australia some years ago and this is where I learned so many stories and read articles about their participation in WWII. In stores and shops one could almost feel the family in waiting for there son or daughter to return,I purchased many pins depicting the war efforts and put them on a jacket I still wear.Thank you for sharing this blog!!!
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What a great story, Sheila. I appreciate you sharing it with us!
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Great post – I always enjoy reading about that awful place.
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Is that statement like an oxymoron? haha Glad you found it interesting, Dan!
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From all accounts I’ve read, the fight for New Guinea was a horrid, stinking sodden mess. Thanks for sharing!
–Michael
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It sure was a tough nut to crack, Michael! But the Aussies were the perfect ones for the job.
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In the early 80s I had a boss who’d fought on New Guinea and came home with a lifelong battle with malaria. Another “relative” was a POW in Poland after the fall of Greece and two years later when he was liberated in an exchange the army promptly sent him to New Guinea. Also lots of photos in the family album of my uncle on Morotai. The New Guinea and Pacific conflict is part of our (Aussie) national inheritance.
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That’s why I put in these posts, the US didn’t win that war alone. I just wish it was easier to locate detailed information. The Pacific War was right at your doorstep!
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I sure hope they find that missing Army vehicle.
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I’m sure someone will absent-mindlessly walk into it one day!!
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I was tempted to dig further on Trove. I found that in 1942 a “Camouflaged Ford V8 military vehicle, No. 117,392, disappeared from outside an establishment at Karrakatta between 6 p.m. on December 14 and 6 a.m. the following day”
Also in the same column a “Singer sports model roadster, no 34,992, painted red with a black hood, was taken from outside a Karrakatta establishment” on the same day.
Karrakatta is a suburb of Perth WA and has a military base. Sounds as if some peoples were having joy-ride fun with the hottest cars in town??
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hahaha, yes it sure sounds that way, Gwen!! Thanks for reminding me about Trove, I haven’t been into that site lately!!
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Well your research makes this newspaper article all the more enjoyable, because I was thinking it might have been a hoax. Now I’m wondering if the journalist who wrote it had a dry sense of humor or just didn’t realize how it was going to come across. Thanks for the info.
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It was just a dry list of police events, reported in the factual style of the day (remember when we could rely on journalists to stick to the facts?) – but perhaps the editor or typesetter did have a little chuckle on seeing how it came together on the page.
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Yes, such fierce battle, and one on our doorstep! for my parents generation, a fearful time
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I honestly believe that Japan had New Guinea so well manned because they honestly thought they’d have Australia one day. It sure made it horrendous for your troops!!
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Yes indeed.
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Reblogged this on Dave Loves History.
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Thanks, Dave. It’s good to give credit where credit is good.
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Excellent post! Thanks so much for highlighting the important contribution of our Australian allies. They were among the very best.
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Yes they were – I agree 100%. I appreciate you taking the time to read here today!
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Gee did they ever recover the missing army vehicle?
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I imagine someone walked into one day!! haha
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OUCH!! If one walks into it as it is covered in leaves and greenery in full camoflauged.
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Thank God for Australia!
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Loyal, powerful and brave – you can’t beat that!
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Good article, GP. It’s easy to forget that WWII wasn’t simply about freeing a continent.
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Yes it is easy to forget, especially in the manner we learned about the war in school. I thank you for stopping by today!
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Most of the books I read never mentioned about the Aussie part in later campaign. Glad to read this post. I learned something new again. They were a tough bunch, those Aussie men.
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Yes, and I imagine they still are. I’ve heard tales of their actions in other wars as well.
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I hope Edward Kenna lived to receive his VC
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Yes, he did, Derrick. He was wounded, but after release from the hospital, he sired 4 children. He passed away in 2005.
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🙂
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Would someone please tell Donald that we are still your number one supporter and we deserve to have an Ambassador appointed.
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It certainly sounds appropriate to me. I just don’t seem to have his ear at this moment. 🙂
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How strange that we tend to forget the rest of the world when thinking of the World Wars… Thanks for spotlighting the other countries, GP. Hugs.
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As much as i try to include the other Allies, I must confess having trouble finding details. So many reports have them consolidated as ‘Commonwealth Nations’.
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Nice piece of artwork too.
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I tried to locate the artist, but to no avail.
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I am forwarding this awesome article to Dr. Bruce Horsfield over at Forward Scout Films, Dr. Horsfield was the Executive Producer for the amazing Documentary series done on the Australian SAS: The Untold History.
Great Stuff as usual GP!
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Thank you. The information is from an AU military web site. They certainly deserve the attention.
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Thank you for remembering, GP! Worth to do. Have a good week ahead. Michael
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These troops more than deserve remembering, Michael. Thank you and have a great week yourself!
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There are many incidents of the Aussies in WW2…like their stand at Tobruk…..they deserve the recognition that most Americans glaze over…..they were also steadfast allies in Vietnam….chuq
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True on all counts, we didn’t win WWII by ourselves, despite the fact that is basically how the schools teach it.
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Exactly….and this is why I try to inject a little history in my blog…..your efforts are appreciated…..chuq
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Thank you.
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What incredible bravery from Chowne and Kenna.
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The Aussies are one tough group as a whole. Men like Chowne and Kenna were bound to be awarded!!
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Anzac troops fought so hard during WW2. From the desert campaigns, the Pacific theatre, and even the hard fighting in Italy. They were some of the best troops the Allies could always count on.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Dependable and tough – so agree, Pete!!
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Some of the latter battles with Australian forces have been debated for their strategic necessity. The courage of the troops involved though is not debated.
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Couldn’t possibly be questioned! One tough bunch.
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You’re welcome.
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Thank you, Packardman!
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