Salamaua–Lae campaign
Part of the New Guinea campaign of World War II / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Salamaua–Lae campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian and United States forces sought to capture two major Japanese bases, one in the town of Lae, and another one at Salamaua. The campaign to take the Salamaua and Lae area began after the successful defence of Wau in late January, which was followed up by an Australian advance towards Mubo as the Japanese troops that had attacked Wau withdrew to positions around Mubo. A series of actions followed over the course of several months as the Australian 3rd Division advanced north-east towards Salamaua. After an amphibious landing at Nassau Bay, the Australians were reinforced by a US regimental combat team, which subsequently advanced north up the coast.
Salamaua-Lae campaign | |||||||
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Part of the New Guinea Campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II) | |||||||
A US Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber, flying over explosions on the Salamaua Peninsula, where the port is located. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Australia United States | Japan | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Douglas MacArthur Thomas Blamey Edmund Herring Stanley Savige Edward Milford George Wootten George Vasey David Whitehead Frank Berryman | Hidemitsu Nakano | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
~30,000 | ~10,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Australia: 81 killed and 396 wounded[3] | 11,600 killed, wounded or captured[1] |
As the Allies kept up the pressure on the Japanese around Salamaua, in early September they launched an airborne assault on Nadzab, and a seaborne landing near Lae, subsequently taking the town with simultaneous drives from the east and north-west. As the situation around Lae grew more desperate, the Salamaua garrison withdrew, and it was captured on 11 September 1943, while Lae fell shortly afterwards on 16 September, bringing the campaign to an end.