japanese invasion of dutch new guinea

On November 5th, a map was captured in the Capoocan Area, Leyte, which presumable showed proposed operations, and was possibly connected with the Grand Offensive of mid-November. Land-based aircraft of the Allied air forces softened up the Hollandia area, destroying more than 300 enemy aircraft during the weeks preceding the attack. At Anguar Island in the Western Carolinas in early September 1944, agents from the 81st CIC Detachment, with the 81st Infantry Division, captured a large volume of records, including blueprints, books, miscellaneous documents, files, 40 pounds of mail, and Japanese currency and coins. Consequently, Japanese efforts to develop the area were delayed throughout 1943 and 1944. [67], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}23158.8S 140431.2E / 2.533000S 140.717000E / -2.533000; 140.717000. In many instances these organizations were staffed with translators trained in military and naval language schools in the United States. [4] See The Beginnings of the United States Armys Japanese Language Training: From the Presidio of San Francisco to Camp Savage, Minnesota 1941-1942,. The loss of Hollandia made the Japanese strategic defense line at Wakde, to the west, and all Japanese positions to the east untenable. [14] MacArthur would have liked to deny this area to the Japanese, but he had neither sufficient air nor naval forces to undertake a counterlanding. [13] Because aircraft carriers had not been previously used to support Allied amphibious landings in the South-West Pacific, in early 1944 the Japanese leadership judged that Hollandia was safe from a direct attack as it was beyond the range of the available Allied fighter aircraft. [35], Once the Japanese had decided to give up on Guadalcanal, the capture of Port Moresby loomed even larger in their strategic thinking. This was usually done in the form of listings (usually termed bulletins) that provided a brief description of the records and various types of publications containing full or partial translations of specific documents and publications containing full or partial translations of documents relating to a general or specific topic. Rabaul became the forward base for the Japanese campaigns in mainland New Guinea, including the pivotal Kokoda Track campaign of July 1942 - January 1943, and the Battle of Buna-Gona. Although the quantity of documents captured in South East Asia and China were not as voluminous as those found elsewhere, nevertheless there were major collections captured. Documents captured during the Philippine operations also proved useful. portalId: 20973928, On March 1, 1944, soldiers found on the body of the commander of Baba Battalion a copy of a field order issued by him in which he ordered an attack on American positions for that same afternoon. The plan called for the establishment of a two-battalion front, with troops landed in seven waves at two beaches: Red 1 around the Depapre Inlet and Red 2 on the eastern side of the bay. For this, he ordered the air arm of Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's Third Fleet carriers to reinforce the Eleventh Air Fleet at Rabaul. [21], Although RAAF PBY Catalinas and Lockheed Hudsons were based at Port Moresby, because of the Japanese air attacks, long-range bombers like B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s could not be safely based there and were instead staged through from bases in Australia. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, who later became the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. They were special works, compiled for general reference purposes. Although one line of attack was carried out primarily by ground forces and the other by naval forces, the main feature of both undertakings was the close coordination of land, sea, and air power. After four days under these conditions the two units had reached the western airfield and on 26 April it was secured. 2 in May 1943. In the early months of 1944, both at Bougainville and at Rabaul, large numbers of Japanese troops were effectively put out of action without being confronted in bloody combat. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 January) and the Australian Territory of Papua (21 July) and overran western New Guinea (beginning 29/30 March), which was a part of the Netherlands East Indies. [20], Since Port Moresby was the only port supporting operations in Papua, its defence was critical to the campaign. The large majority of the defending Japanese troops there had uncharacteristically abandoned their positions and fled inland. They totaled 104 in number. While military planners argued the merits of one approach over another, two main lines of attack were actually followed during 1944: (1) MacArthurs ground forces (including Army, Marine, and Navy elements) strengthened their hold in New Guinea and eventually invaded the Philippines; (2) Nimitzs naval forces drove across the central Pacific from the Gilberts to the Marianas and then covered the landing in the Philippines. Key Terms Many were translations from the Dutch language, or dealt with forestry, the climate, insects, etc. The diary covered the period January 1942-January 1944. Such experiments led to improvements in naval gunfire techniques and infantry tactics in time for the Marshalls operation. Subsequently, Supplements No. A map, also captured on March 21st, and quickly translated, proved to be more accurate than maps possessed by the attacking forces. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison summed up the results this way: the enemy had shot his bolt; he never showed up again in these waters. By the end of the day on 23 April the 186th Infantry were about halfway to Lake Sentani, while those from the 162nd had secured Hollandia and were securing the high ground around their objective, winkling out isolated pockets of resistance with aerial support. See Appendix I for information about the ATIS publication program. He was succeeded in September 1942, by Capt. The U.S. 24th Division's 19th and 21st Regimental Combat Teams (RCTs) were to land at Tanahmerah Bay. A force of 800 Australian troops landed on 22 October on either side of the Japanese position. The Netherlands, Britain and the United States tried to defend the colony from the Japanese forces as they moved south in late 1941 in search of Dutch oil. Later, the procedure was altered again to cope with the tons of documents captured at main Japanese bases. The campaign resulted in a crushing defeat and heavy losses for the Empire of Japan. [33], Operation Lilliput (18 December 1942 June 1943) was an ongoing resupply operation ferrying troops and supplies from Milne Bay, at the tip of the Papuan Peninsula, to Oro Bay, a little more than halfway between Milne Bay and the BunaGona area. This contest produced a number of valuable documents and propaganda leaflets. 17 with Allied and Japanese Operations Among Natives of Dutch New Guinea; No. 119 deals with the Japanese Military Police Service and Report No. Exact tracings and translations were supplied to XXIV Corps prior to attack on these positions. Admiral Nimitz exploited the same intelligence advantage when he planned the next stage of the Navys campaign in the central Pacific. The terrain, however, proved more problematic. Before the operation against the Japanese at Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, 41st CIC Detachment Special Agent in Charge Duval Edwards at Finschhaven during March and April 1944 gave many lectures on the great importance of soldiers turning in any captured documents. In mid-July 1944, near Moemi, soldiers recovered three cases of buried records, including seven important documents that a Japanese deserter had led them to. They included plans, charts, air defense details on all Japanese-held Pacific islands, and battle orders. ", Samuel Eliot Morison, Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, p. 38. In early 1945, in the vicinity of Bhamo in northern Burma, CIC CIT No. 5 captured many military documents. It was captured and was found to be carrying a Japanese message. Operation Reckless, the invasion of Hollandia and Aitape of 22-27 April 1944, was one of the most dramatic leapfrogging operations during the New Guinea campaign, and saw American forces bypass the strong Japanese bases at Wewak and Hansa Bay and capture key bases for MacArthur's planned return to the Philippines. Nimitz offered to assign eight small escort carriers to support the landing at Aitape, with these vessels then proceeding to support operations at Hollandia until 11 May. This airfield was of great value to the Australians during the fighting for northeast Papua. In February 1944, marines and soldiers from the 27th Infantry Division captured important documents at Engebi Island. Todays post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. Most Japanese troops never even came into contact with Allied forces, and were instead simply cut off and subjected to an effective blockade by Allied naval forces. Operations focused on attacking positions and seaborne traffic around Timor, Ambon, and the Kai and Aroe Islands. target: "#hbspt-form-1677759698000-1549361125", In the first months of 1942, the Japanese launched further attacks against British Burma, Australian-administered New Guinea and Papua, and the islands of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The War Department Intelligence Service established a secret school at the Presidio of San Francisco to teach individuals to be Japanese-language interpreters and translators. In December 1943, an operational order indicating the times and dates at which Japanese submarine were scheduled to appear in designated spots in the Arawe area, New Britain, was translated by ATIS and immediately forwarded to Naval Intelligence where prompt action was taken. This procedure called for all documents to be briefly examined, and those of operational value segregated from those having probable or general value and those having no apparent military value, and provisions were made for the translation on a priority bases of those sections of documents containing information of operational value. The landings at Hollandia and Aitape were followed just four weeks later by landings at Wakde, Sarmi and Toem, to the west. This translation aided materially in speeding up the execution of the subsequent attack on Saipan and other Japanese bases in the Pacific, which occurred shortly thereafter. Some of the research reports dealt with military and naval matters, such as No. The Admiralty Islands having been seized a month ahead of schedule, MacArthur accelerated his advance. Japanese forces to the west were reconfigured to form a defense line through Biak and Manokwari,[62] while the Japanese 18th Army, still in defensive positions around Wewak, to the east, were faced with a long retreat west through the jungle having been ordered to bypass Hollandia and Aitape and reinforce the 2nd Army in western New Guinea. More than 6,000 graduates served throughout the Pacific Theater during the war and the subsequent occupation of Japan. 14) was published and entitled Japanese Violations of the Laws of War. The report contained 28 pages of translations, each translation accompanied by a photostatic copy of the original document and authenticated under oath by the translator. [30], The D'Entrecasteaux Islands lie directly off the northeast coast of the lower portion of the Papuan peninsula. ATIS was directed to make available to the board any and all information having to do with the identification of Japanese war criminals. [47], I-Go demonstrated that the Japanese command was not learning the lessons of air power that the Allies were. Through this, a complete picture of the organization, strength and disposition of this force was gleaned. There were also other ATIS publications, based on captured documents and interrogations, such as Advanced Echelon Reports, Philippine Series Translations, and Interrogation Spot Reports. The fires around White 1 continued until 27 April when the engineers were released to return to the beach. The brief spurt of books in 1943 and 1944, when Japanese were able to visit the occupied Dutch East Indies, dealt mainly with Dutch New Guinea, and then only in a very rudimentary way. Even before the war ended, ATIS was exploiting captured records for war crimes purposes. [8], The Japanese high command intended to hold Hollandia. [52], Seven LSTs and the Australian transport Westralia were unloaded over the shore at White 1, landing 4,200 tonnes of combat supplies and over 300 vehicles on the first day. MacArthur was now determined to liberate the island as a stepping-stone to the reconquest of the Philippines. This discovery resulted in a hurried revision of the assault plans regarding these islands. graduate Hollandia. [16] Only about 500 of the 11,000 personnel were ground combat troops, being drawn from several antiaircraft batteries. Miscellaneous identifications taken from documents captured in early November in the Pinamopoan Area, Leyte, gave the first indication of the Japanese 1st Divisions presence in this area. [48][49], Meanwhile, at Humboldt Bay Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler's Central Attack Group carrying the U.S. 41st Division also achieved complete surprise, coming ashore at two beaches: White 1, about 2.5 miles (4.0km) south of Hollandia, and White 2 on a narrow sandspit near Cape Tjeweri at the entrance to Jautefa Bay, and about 4 miles (6.4km) from Lake Sentani. On April 29, 1944, ATIS Research Report No. [37], The Allies conducted a deception operation to ensure that the Japanese continued to believe that they would land at Hansa Bay rather than Hollandia. Only 30 percent of the captured documents needed no treatment; the rest needed cleaning, drying, and/or other conservation treatment. [59], Operation Reckless was an unqualified success, as were the landings around Aitape under the guise of Operation Persecution. [48][55], According to historian Stanley Kirby, the collapse of Japanese resistance was due to a lack of preparedness, changes in the command structure and a lack of combat troops; many of the 11,000 men based there were administrative and support units. ", Samuel Eliot Morison, Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, p. 60, planes and PTs went about the sickening business of killing survivors in boats, rafts or wreckage. 76) and Japanese efforts to fight Plague and Cholera (No. They were discontinued with the dissolution of the Philippine Island Research Section of ATIS on October 9, 1944. As the body of available material continued to grow, individual studies based on information available to ATIS were produced as Information Bulletins on subjects of general interest. By 1944 there were over 200 translators serving with JICPOA. Statistical and Accounting Branch Office of the Adjutant General 1953, p. 94, Craven & Cate 1948, p. 477 & 723 (note 15), Office of the Combined Chiefs of Staff 1943, p. 67, New Guinea: The US Army Campaigns of World War II, "Biography of Lieutenant-General Heisuke Abe () ( ) (18861943), Japan", United States Army Center of Military History, The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 19421944, "Report on Historical Sources on Australia and Japan at war in Papua and New Guinea, 194245", "The Campaigns of MacArthur in the Pacific, Volume I", "Japanese Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, Volume II Part I", National Archive Video of Hollandia Bay, New Guinea Invasion, Allies Study Post-War Security etc. On 24 April, the beach became more congested with the arrival of scheduled reinforcements and further equipment, as well as two transports and seven LSTs carrying troops, including the corps commander and his headquarters, which had been diverted from Tanahmerah Bay. First, they had woefully underestimated the strength of the Allied air forces. 39 with Navy Operations, Plans and Orders (1941-1944). [5], According to John Laffin, the campaign "was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II". [12], As an attack on Hollandia was not expected, no plans were prepared to defend the area prior to the Allied landing. When very few documents were captured and relatively little was known about the enemy forces in the SWPA, it was imperative to translate all documents in full. 255) Procedure in interrogating and handling [Allied] prisoners of war. Over 420 of these were published. In early January 1943, Japanese documents taken from the body of a sniper killed near Soputa, New Guinea, revealed the entire standing operating procedure of the Japanese in that area. These were supported by a force of eight escort carriers of the 5th Fleet. This success was attributable to Milne Bay's Australian and US defenders together with the crews of the (mostly Dutch) merchantmen that had delivered vital supplies and reinforcements to the garrison. After the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, in March 1943, an abandoned lifeboat at Goodenough Island (northeast of New Guinea) from the Teiyo Maru was recovered and found in it was The Japanese Army List, dated October 15, 1942. From there the documents were immediately sent to Brisbane for translation by ATIS personnel. In New Guinea, U.S. and Australian infantry were moving along the northern coast, pushing the Japanese before them. Documents recovered from the bodies of dead Japanese, members of a Special Suicide Penetration Unit, killed near San Fabian, Luzon, on January 19, 1945, gave full accounts of the units and personnel involved. Aerial resupply brought some relief, and on 30 April a group of 12 LCTs, towed by several LSTs, arrived at Humboldt Bay. [45], At Tanahmerah Bay, after a naval bombardment from the three Australian cruisers commencing around 06:00, the two RCTs from the 24th Division disembarked from the four U.S. and Australian transports Henry T. Allen, Carter Hall, Kanimbla and Manoora and moved ashore aboard 16 LCIs. ] only about 500 of the Research reports dealt with military and naval matters, such as.. Deals with the Japanese before them Japanese position information about the ATIS publication program 's... [ 59 ], I-Go demonstrated that the Japanese position and translations were supplied to XXIV Corps prior to on! Proved useful I for information about the ATIS publication program 27th infantry Division captured important documents Engebi... For northeast Papua command was not learning the lessons of air power that Allies... Translators trained in military and naval language schools in the vicinity of Bhamo northern! 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japanese invasion of dutch new guinea