Battle of Bairoko

Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II

U.S. Marines cross a creek on the Dragons Peninsula in July 1943.

Date	20 July 1943
Location	New Georgia, Solomon Islands
Result	Japanese victory

Belligerents

United States

Empire of Japan

Commanders and leaders

Harry B. Liversedge

Minoru Sasaki
Saburo Okamura

Strength

2,000

Casualties and losses

50 killed^[1]

33+ killed^[1]

New Georgia Campaign

Viru Harbor Rendova Wickham Munda drive Enogai Counterattack Bairoko Munda Point

Solomon Islands campaign

Land 1st Tulagi Guadalcanal Cartwheel I-Go Vengeance New Georgia Vella Lavella Treasury Islands Choiseul Rabaul Bougainville Green Islands Naval Blackett Strait Kula Gulf Kolombangara Vella Gulf Naval Vella Lavella Empress Augusta Bay Horaniu Cape St. George Karavia Bay

The Battle of Bairoko was a battle between American and Imperial Japanese Army and Navy forces on 20 July 1943 during the New Georgia Campaign in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific War. In the battle, U.S. Marine Raiders—supported by two U.S. Army infantry battalions—attacked a Japanese garrison guarding the port of Bairoko on the Dragons Peninsula on New Georgia. The day-long assault on well-prepared Japanese defensive positions by the Americans was unsuccessful.

After calling-off the assault, the Americans withdrew to nearby Enogai. The American forces remained in the Enogai area until the end of the New Georgia Campaign. The Japanese used Bairoko to resupply and reinforce their troops who were guarding an airfield at Munda Point on New Georgia. After the U.S. and its allies successfully captured the airfield, the Japanese evacuated New Georgia and abandoned Bairoko on 24 August.

Notes

↑ 1.0 1.1 Shaw, p. 143.

References

Alexander, Joseph H. (2000). Edson's Raiders: The 1st Marine Raider Battalion in World War II. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-020-7.
Altobello, Brian (2000). Into the Shadows Furious. Presidio Press. ISBN 0-89141-717-6.
Hammel, Eric M. (2008). New Georgia, Bougainville, and Cape Gloucester: The U.S. Marines in World War II A Pictorial Tribute. Pacifica Press. ISBN 0-7603-3296-7.
Hammel, Eric M. (1999). Munda Trail: The New Georgia Campaign, June-August 1943. Pacifica Press. ISBN 0-935553-38-X.
McGee, William L. (2002). The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville--Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII). BMC Publications. ISBN 0-9701678-7-3.
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. 0785813071.
Peatross, Oscar F.; John P. McCarthy and John Clayborne (editors) (1995). Bless 'em All: The Raider Marines of World War II. Review. ISBN 0-9652325-0-6.
Rottman, Gordon L.; Dr. Duncan Anderson (consultant editor) (2005). Japanese Army in World War II: The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942-43. Oxford and New York: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-870-7.

External links

Craven, Wesley Frank; James Lea Cate. "Vol. IV, The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944". The Army Air Forces in World War II. U.S. Office of Air Force History. Archived from the original on 26 November 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
Hoffman, Jon T. (1995). "New Georgia" (brochure). FROM MAKIN TO BOUGAINVILLE: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War. Marine Corps Historical Center. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
Lofgren, Stephen J. Northern Solomons. The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II. United States Army Center of Military History. p. 36. CMH Pub 72-10. Retrieved October 18, 2006.
Melson, Charles D. (1993). "UP THE SLOT: Marines in the Central Solomons". WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. p. 36. Retrieved September 26, 2006.
Mersky, Peter B. (1993). "Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942-1944". Marines in World War II Commemorative Series. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
Miller, John, Jr. (1959). "CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul". United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific. Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Department of the Army. p. 418. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
Rentz, John (1952). "Marines in the Central Solomons". Historical Branch, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. Retrieved May 30, 2006.
Shaw, Henry I.; Douglas T. Kane (1963). "Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul". History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. Archived from the original on 20 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
Japanese Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, Volume II - Part I. Reports of General MacArthur (United States Army Center of Military History). 1994. Retrieved 2006-12-08. - Translation of the official record by the Japanese Demobilization Bureaux detailing the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy's participation in the Southwest Pacific area of the Pacific War.