Papuan Campaign

by United States Army Historical Division

 

PAPUAN
CAMPAIGN

 

The Buna-Sanananda Operation

16 NOVEMBER 1942–23 JANUARY 1943

 

 

American Forces in Action Series

 

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE DIVISION
WAR DEPARTMENT⁠WASHINGTON, D. C.

 

First Issued 1 May 1944

 

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For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D.C. - Price 50 cents.

Foreword

In the thick of battle, the soldier is busy doing his job. He has the knowledge and confidence that his job is part of a unified plan to defeat the enemy, but he does not have time to survey a campaign from a fox hole. If he should be wounded and removed behind the lines, he may have even less opportunity to learn what place he and his unit had in the larger fight.

American forces in action is a series prepared by the War Department especially for the information of wounded men. It will show these soldiers, who have served their country so well, the part they and their comrades played in achievments which do honor to the record of the United States Army.

G. C. MARSHALL,⁠

Chief of Staff.

WAR DEPARTMENT
Historical Division
Washington 25, D. C.

Papuan Campaign: the Buna-Sanananda Operation is the second of a series called AMERICAN FORCES IN ACTION. The series was prepared at the suggestion of General of the Army George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff. His foreword, as used in the original edition, appears on the previous page. The series was originally designed for military personnel only and primarily for wounded soldiers in hospitals to tell them the military story of the campaigns and battles in which they served. With the cessation of hostilities, Papuan Campaign is released as a public document.

This study was based on the best military records available. Although in its published form it contains no documentation, the original manuscript, fully documented, is on file in the War Department. Aerial photographs are by the Allied Air Forces, S. W. P. A.; all others are by the U. S. Army Signal Corps.

Readers are urged to send directly to the Historical Division, War Department, Washington 25, D. C., comments, criticisms, and additional information which may be of value in the preparation of a complete and definitive history of the Buna-Sanananda operation.

Table of Contents

 

INTRODUCTION
Page
THE JAPANESE THREAT TO AUSTRALIA		1
BEGINNING OF THE ALLIED COUNTEROFFENSIVE		2
PART I—BUNA
BACKGROUND OF THE BUNA OPERATION		9
⁠	Geography and Climate of the Buna Area	9
	The Japanese Defensive Position	13
	Air-Ground Cooperation	18
	Transport, Supply, and Communication	19
BATTERING AT BUNA (19 NOVEMBER–14 DECEMBER)		26
	First Contact	26
	Feeling Out the Enemy Lines (20–25 November)	27
	A Week of Attack (26 November–2 December)	29
	Breakthrough to the Sea(3–5 December)	36
	The Capture of Buna Village (6–14 December)	41
	Situation on 14 December	42
WARREN FRONT: CAPTURE OF THE OLD STRIP (15 DECEMBER–3 JANUARY)		45
	The Tanks Break Through to Cape Endaiadere (18 December)	45
	Our Troops Cross the Bridge (19–23 December)	45
	The Fight up the Old Strip (24–28 December)	48
	The last Days on the Warren Front (29 December–3 January)	50
URBANA FRONT: CAPTURE OF BUNA MISSION (15 DECEMBER–2 JANUARY)		53
	The Triangle and the Coconut Grove (15–20 December)	54
	Another Corridor to the Sea (21–28 December)	55
	The Mission Falls (28 December–2 January)	57
PART II–SANANANDA
Page
BACKGROUND OF THE SANANANDA OPERATION		63
THE ROAD BLOCK (22 NOVEMBER–9 JANUARY)		65
THE CAPTURE OF SANANANDA (4–23 JANUARY)		67
⁠	Situation on the Soputa-Sanananda Road (4 January)	69
	Opening Up the Cape Killerton Trail (4–15 January)	70
	The Envelopment (16 January)	74
	The Mopping-Up (17–23 January)	77
CONCLUSION		81

 

*⁠*⁠*

 

ANNEX NO. 1: COMPARATIVE TABLE OF STRENGTH AND CASUALTIES		82
ANNEX NO: 2: DECORATIONS		83

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Map No. 1

Cartographic Section, Diss. Unit by J.R.Hogan