Battle of Finschhafen

Battle of Finschhafen
Part of World War II, Pacific War

A view of Finschhafen, October 1943
Date22 September – 24 October 1943
LocationFinschhafen area, Morobe Province, Territory of New Guinea
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 Australia
 United States		 Japan Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
George Wootten
Victor Windeyer		 Hatazo Adachi
Eizo Yamada
Shigeru Katagiri
Units involved

9th Division

Eighteenth Army

Strength
~ 5,000
Casualties and losses
~ 600 ~1,500

The Battle of Finschhafen was part of the Huon Peninsula campaign during World War II and was fought between Australian and Japanese forces. The fighting took place between 22 September and 24 October 1943 following the landing at Scarlet Beach, which was followed by a two-pronged advance on Finschhafen as the Australian 20th Infantry Brigade advanced on the town from the north, while the 22nd Infantry Battalion drove from the south, having advanced from the landing beaches east of Lae. After the capture of Finschhafen, the Japanese forces in the area withdrew towards Sattelberg where they sought to hold the Australians before launching a counter-offensive, which subsequently threatened the landing beach. This was repelled with heavy casualties by US and Australian forces.

Background

Finschhafen had been occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army on 10 March 1942 as part of strategic moves to provide protection to Lae, which they had established as an airbase.[1] Throughout early 1943, the Allies had begun offensive operations in the Salamaua area of New Guinea and following the landing at Nadzab and capture of Lae in early September 1943, the Allies attempted to exploit their success with an advance to Finschhafen to begin the Huon Peninsula campaign.[2]

The operation to capture Finschhafen was important to capture the western cape of the Vitiaz Strait for the construction of airfields and naval facilities for the upcoming New Britain campaign as part of Operation Cartwheel.[3][4] The responsibility for securing the Huon Peninsula was assigned to Major General George Wootten's Australian 9th Division. On 22 September, the Australian 20th Infantry Brigade, under the command of Brigadier Victor Windeyer, had landed at Scarlet Beach – about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Finschhafen[4] – and proceeded to establish a beachhead there.[5] At the same time, the 22nd Infantry Battalion, an Australian Militia unit that had landed east of Lae in early September to relieve the troops holding the beachhead,[6] began pursuing the Japanese that were withdrawing to the east, marching from Hopoi Mission Station towards Finschhafen, with a view to placing pressure on the Japanese southern flank.[7]

The Japanese had expected an Allied assault on the Finschhafen region from around late July 1943, having appreciated its significance in relation to the Vitiaz and Dampier Straits. The Japanese Eighteenth Army commander, Lieutenant General Hatazo Adachi, had begun moving forces into the region. The majority of these were drawn from the 20th Division, which dispatched a force of about 2,800 men from Madang in August. These forces consisted of the 80th Infantry Regiment, one battalion of the 26th Field Artillery Regiment, and the 7th Naval Base Force. In addition, following the fall of Lae, elements of the 41st Division – primarily the 238th Infantry Regiment – and the 51st Division's 102nd Infantry Regiment, were also moved to the area, and placed under the command of Major General Eizo Yamada, commander of the 1st Shipping Group. The total number of Japanese in the area was around 4,000 to 5,000.[8][9]

Yamada's forces were spread out in a series of outposts that were orientated around a main defensive position established at Sattelberg, an abandoned Lutheran mission situated atop a 975-metre (3,199 ft) mountain that dominated the terrain about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north-west of Finschhafen. The Japanese forces lacked transportation and the road network had not been fully developed. They were low on ammunition for all calibres of weapons, especially artillery, and the majority of stores had to be carried by combat troops, as local carriers had ceased working for the Japanese in response to Allied propaganda.[10] Following the landing at Scarlet Beach, Yamada was ordered to launch an attack on the Australian forces in order to delay them for further reinforcements to arrive from the 20th Division.[11]

Battle

Drive on Finschhafen

Map showing the capture of Finschhafen

After the landing, the Australians began establishing a beachhead several kilometres deep, during which significant actions were fought around Katika and Siki Cove.[12][13] Late in the day, a large Japanese air raid struck the Allied fleet off shore, but this was eventually defeated by a strong US fighter umbrella that was forewarned by Allied picket ships.[14] The following day, 23 September, the 20th Brigade's drive on Finschhafen began,[15] with two battalions commencing the advance south – the 2/13th and 2/15th – while the 2/17th remained to secure the beachhead and push it further to the north.[9] The advance succeeded in capturing the Heldsbach plantation and the nearby airfield, and continued until the Australians came up against strong resistance around the Bumi River. There a force of around 300 Japanese sailors and marines, reinforced by elements of the 238th Infantry Regiment, having been placed into a blocking position by Yamada, held up the Australian advance on 26 September, until they were overcome through an attack on their flanks by the 2/15th Infantry Battalion.[16]

In response to concerns about the large number of Japanese forces in the area, which had proven to be in larger numbers than Allied intelligence had estimated, Windeyer requested reinforcements, and on 29/30 September the 2/43rd Infantry Battalion relieved the 2/17th;[16] the 2/43rd were subsequently tasked with defending the beachhead and the surrounding areas including the Heldsbach area, and was ordered to prepare for further actions around Sisi and Sattelberg. Heavy rain fell around this time, the Australian brigade commander was compelled to use combat troops to carry stores forward from the landing zone to the forward areas as motor transport was unable to transit the primitive track system.[17] The 2/17th extended the Australian perimeter towards Jivevaneng but came under heavy attack on the Sattelberg Road and west of Katika on 25 and 26 September.[18]

Meanwhile, concerned about their rear, due to the presence of a large number of Japanese troops around Sattelberg, the Australians pushed cautiously to Kakakog, which saw heavy fighting at the end of the month, resulting in around 100 Japanese casualties as the Australians called in heavy artillery fire and air attacks to soften up the Japanese defences prior to attacking with all three battalions.[19] From the south, the 22nd Infantry Battalion advanced north against limited opposition. On 1 October they crossed the Mape River adjacent to Langemak Bay, while the forward troops from the 20th Infantry Brigade reached their objective.[20] The two forces married up the following day as troops from the 2/17th contacted the 22nd.[21] This ended the first phase of the battle. During operations to capture Finschhafen, the Australians lost 73 killed, 285 wounded. Japanese casualties were reported as "heavy".[20] In the same time, US forces from the 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment lost eight killed and about 42 wounded.[22]

Japanese counter-attack

Following the capture of Finschhafen, the main part of the Australian 20th Infantry Brigade returned to Scarlet Beach, due to intelligence that the Japanese were about to attack. The 2/13th and 22nd Infantry Battalions were left around Finschhafen, while the 2/15th and 2/17th Infantry Battalions were re-orientated to defend the approaches to Scarlet Beach.[17] Around Jivevaneng, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Sattelberg, the 2/43rd had taken up a blocking position and in the early days of October fought a Japanese attack by a battalion from the 80th Infantry Regiment along the coast road to a halt.[23] In an effort to shore up their western flank, the Australian 2/17th Infantry Battalion pressed towards Kumawa, which was met with a fierce response from the Japanese on 5 October when their line of communication from the west was threatened.[24]

On 10/11 October, as it became apparent to the Allies that Japanese were preparing for a major assault, Wootten and his headquarters landed at Finschhafen, along with the remainder of the Brigadier Bernard Evans' 24th Infantry Brigade.[25][24] That day, the bulk of the Japanese 20th Division, under Shigeru Katagiri arrived in the area.[25] The Australian 24th Infantry Brigade was subsequently given responsibility for defence-in-depth around the Heldsbach Plantation and Arndt Point, while the 20th Infantry Brigade defended around the Sattelberg Road and the Mape River, with the 22nd Infantry Battalion on their southern flank around Dreger Harbour. As troops from the 20th Infantry Brigade attempted to push towards Sattelberg, the 24th began patrol actions towards Bonga; during one of these patrols, the Allies gained a significant intelligence boon when they discovered a Japanese briefcase containing an operational order detailing plans for a coming counter-attack. This allowed the Australians to switch to a defensive strategy instead of continuing to push on towards Sattelberg.[26]

The main Japanese counter-attack began on 16 October. The attack was conceptualised as a three-pronged action, involving a diversionary attack by elements of the 79th Infantry Regiment to the north from Bonga, a company-level attack on Scarlet Beach from the sea by elements of the 79th, and a drive from Sattelberg by the remainder 79th and 80th Infantry Regiments orientated upon two lines of advance: one towards Scarlet Beach, conforming with the Song River, and the other striking towards Heldsbach advancing astride the Sattelberg Road. If successful, following a regrouping, it was intended that the two infantry regiments would then clear Finschhafen and Langemak Bay. Despite forcing a contraction of the Australian forces defending the beachhead, the attack was eventually called off the counter-attack on 24 October, having suffered heavily due to tactical deficiencies, poor co-ordination and operational security, and a lack of artillery.[27] Casualties during the attack amounted to at least 679 Japanese killed with another 821 estimated as wounded, while the Australians lost 49 killed and 179 wounded.[28]

Aftermath

Following the conclusion of the fighting around Finschhafen and the defeat of the Japanese counter-attack, the Allies began preparing for a concerted assault on the Japanese main defensive position around Sattelberg, which was eventually secured in October and November following a hard slog through dense jungle and against determined resistance. Elsewhere, further actions were planned, with the 7th Division preparing to advance through the Markham and Ramu Valleys as part of the inland advance towards Shaggy Ridge and then the north coast, in order to cut of the Japanese withdrawal route from the Huon Peninsula. This drive would ultimately be unsuccessful in preventing the bulk of the Japanese forces on the Huon Peninsula from escaping. At the same time, once Sattelberg was secured, a simultaneous drive was undertake to clear Wareo and then advance along the coast towards Sio, while US forces landed at Saidor to follow up the withdrawing Japanese. Nevertheless, the US and Australian forces would come up against the same forces throughout the remainder of the war around Aitape and Wewak.[29]

Finschhafen was subsequently developed into "one of the largest bases in the Southwest Pacific area" according to Garth Pratten.[30] Throughout 1944, the base saw considerable development with the establishment of a staging camp that had a divisional capacity, a wharf, tank landing ship ramps and piers. In addition, several airfields were established capable of hosting both fighter and bomber aircraft, as well as several fuel dumps. From Finschhafen, the Allies were able to project air power towards the main Japanese base at Rabaul, and seal off the Vitiaz and Dampier Straits. In addition, the base became an important logistics hub, playing an important role in supplying the US war machine as it advanced through the Philippines in 1944–45.[30]

References

  1. ↑ "March". This Month in Australian Military History. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Keogh 1965, p. 315.
  3. ↑ Miller 1959, p. 214.
  4. 1 2 Coulthard-Clark 1998, p. 242.
  5. ↑ Keogh 1965, pp. 315–316.
  6. ↑ Australian Military Forces 1944a, p. 46.
  7. ↑ Keogh 1965, p. 316.
  8. ↑ Pratten 2014, pp. 260–261.
  9. 1 2 Keogh 1965, p. 322.
  10. ↑ Pratten 2014, pp. 261–262.
  11. ↑ Miller 1959, pp. 218–219.
  12. ↑ Maitland 1999, p. 80.
  13. ↑ Johnston 2005, pp. 4–5.
  14. ↑ Dexter 1961, p. 466.
  15. ↑ Coates 1999, p. 98.
  16. 1 2 Miller 1959, p. 218.
  17. 1 2 Keogh 1965, p. 324.
  18. ↑ Pratten 2014, pp. 265–266.
  19. ↑ Coulthard-Clark 1998, pp. 242–243.
  20. 1 2 Coulthard-Clark 1998, p. 243.
  21. ↑ Pratten 2014, p. 265.
  22. ↑ Dexter 1961, p. 500.
  23. ↑ Tanaka 1980, p. 190.
  24. 1 2 Coulthard-Clark 1998, p. 244.
  25. 1 2 Pratten 2014, p. 267.
  26. ↑ Keogh 1965, p. 325.
  27. ↑ Pratten 2014, pp. 267–269.
  28. ↑ Coulthard-Clark 1998, p. 245.
  29. ↑ Keogh 1965, pp. 345–428.
  30. 1 2 Pratten 2014, p. 280.

Bibliography

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