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Japanese Forces
Japanese forces land at Buna, Gona and sanananda -
Period: to
Battle of the beachheads
The Battle of Buna-Gona was the largest and longest battle fought in Papua. Of 13,000 Japanese who fought in the battle 3400 either escaped by sea or gathered at Amboga River and began a long retreat to Lae. The rest were dead. The Australian and American victors had committed 27,000 men, almost half of them Australians, to the Battle of Buna-Gona. Their losses were 6419 killed or wounded. Casualties to illness far exceeded this number. -
The Japanese on the Kokoda Track retreated
Australian troops fought hard to halt the Japanese attacking, with the Japanese on the Kokoda Track finally falling into retreat in late September- this meant that Australian troops believed they could easily win the battle of the beachheads as the Japanese army appeared weak. -
Attacks on Buna
the U.S launched initial attacks on Buno. they contacted the enemy about 1.6 km. Genreal requested tanks from Milne Bay -
Battle Opened
he battle opened on 19-20 November with simultaneous attacks against Buna by the Americans, Gona by the Australians and Sanananda by both Australians and Americans. Both Americans and Australians suffered heavy casualities. -
Planning
New Guinea Force had planned to supply the attacking forces using small ships and aircraft but, after the small ships were attacked, demand for air supply soared. Japanese fighters continue to patrol over the area in Lae. -
Australians failed to outflank the Japanese
The Australian 25th Brigade sent one battalion through the swamps, to attack the Japanese positions from the east. They had done the same a day earlier (22 november 1942).Both attacks failed, at a cost of 129 Australian killed and wounded. -
Limited artillery
The Allies found it hard deafeat the Japanese due to the lack of tanks and artillery support. This resulted to troops having serious injuries from crawling through cross-fire and sniper bunkers. -
16th and 25th Brigades relieve from attacks
By the end of November, the Australian 21st and 30th Brigades, including many veterans of the Kokoda Track, had been flown in to relieve the exhausted 16th and 25th Brigades. -
21st Brigade Captured
On 9 December, the 21st Brigade captured Gona after suffering heavy casualties in repeated attacks. Meanwhile, the Americans at Buna had also made some ground but, having taken heavy casualties, had to be reinforced by the Australian 18th Brigade, which had earlier fought at Milne Bay. Over the rest of the month, with support from Australian light tanks, this brigade made steady progress in pushing back the enemy at Buna, but suffered hundreds of battle casualties. -
Buna Captured
The Allied forces only made significant progress when they were finally given the tanks and artillery they had long sought. On 2 January, they captured Buna, -
Buna had fallen to the 18th Brigade
By 3 January 1943 the last positions around Buna had fallen to the 18th Brigade. -
Australia attacks on Japanese
Australian forces attack Japanese positions near Buna. Both tanks attack Japanese pillboxes -
The Australian and American relieve thier attacks
The Australian 18th Infantry Brigade and tanks of 2/6th Armoured Regiment had begun arriving in mid-December. On 18 December, the Australian and American 2/9th Battalion and tanks renewed the attack, making ground but suffering heavily. -
Battle dragged on...
The battle for the beachheads dragged on into the middle of January 1943, by which time only the enemy pocket around Sanananda remained. The 30th Brigade, which was comprised of inexperienced militiamen reinforced by other inexperienced troops, had suffered over 50 per cent casualties attacking along the Sanananda Track and made little further progress. -
Japanese forces captured by Allies
After prolonged intense fighting in extraodinary difficult conditions, the allied forces killed or captured almost the entire defending Japanese forces. Only dew hundred escaped to the north -
Japanese evacuating and Papua Wins!
It seemed that the Allies could only surround and starve out the Japanese, but suddenly in the middle of January it became clear that the Japanese were evacuating survivors in submarines. By 22 January 1943, Japanese resistance had ended and the campaign in Papua had been won. By the time the last Japanese positions fell on 22 January 1943, about 1300 Australians and 1000 Americans lay dead, with thousands more evacuated wounded or sick. More than 6000 Japanese had fought to the death. It was th -
Australian and American Troops gaining up on Japan
When Buna fell, Allied commanders agreed to send the Australian and American troops and also tanks from that front over to Sananda. The opening tank attack in mid-January failed, and the battle again bogged down. Finally, the Japanese, exhausted by battle and sickness casualties, retreated from their foward positions and the Allies were able to advance to the coast, gaining the Sananda front.
