Battle of Wickham Anchorage

Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II

A 105mm gun crew from the U.S. Army's 152nd Field Artillery Battalion supports the assault on Wickham Anchorage on or around 1 July 1943.

Date	30 June-3 July 1943
Location	Vangunu, Solomon Islands
Result	U.S. victory

Belligerents

United States

Empire of Japan

Commanders and leaders

Richmond K. Turner
John H. Hester
Lester E. Brown
James R. Clark

Minoru Sasaki
Genjiro Hirata

Strength

1,000^[1]

100-200^[1]

Casualties and losses

20-30 killed^[1]

100 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 Wickham Anchorage took place during the New Georgia Campaign in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific War from 30 June -3 July 1943. In the battle, a force of United States Marine Corps Raiders and United States Army soldiers landed by ship in Wickham Anchorage on Vangunu Island and attacked a garrison of Imperial Japanese Navy and Army troops. The purpose of the attack by the U.S. was to secure the lines of communication and supply between Allied forces involved in the New Georgia Campaign and Allied bases in the southern Solomons. The U.S. forces were successful in driving the Japanese garrison from the area and securing the anchorage.

Notes

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Miller, p. 83.

References

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.
Dyer, George Carroll. "The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner". United States Government Printing Office. Archived from the original on 12 September 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. 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.
United States Army Center of Military History. "Japanese Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, Volume II - Part I". Reports of General MacArthur. 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.