japanese invasion of dutch new guinea

During the first week of March 1945, I Corps ATIS Advanced Echelon on Luzon translated four top secret Japanese operational orders made between February 26th-March 2nd. The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. US troops debark from LST-66 at Tanahmerah Bay Hollandia. This airfield was of great value to the Australians during the fighting for northeast Papua. The Allied victories in 1943 set the stage for the strategic advances of 1944, but they did not determine the exact lines of attack. The information contained in these reports were bibliographically indexed. 3 (Fall 2005). [18], "[T]he Owen Stanley Range is a jagged, precipitous obstacle covered with tropical rainforest up to the pass at 6500-foot elevation, and with moss like a thick wet sponge up to the highest peaks, 13,000 feet above the sea. Between November 1943 and March 1944 18 Squadron was ordered to prevent Japanese reinforcements reaching the north-east part of Papua and New Guinea. MacArthur's plan was bold, as it involved making a large amphibious landing deep behind the front lines in New Guinea. This document was immediately translated and subsequently provided new bombing targets for the B-29s over Japan and during the early occupation provided a means of quickly locating and seizing armaments. [17] These troops were positioned along the Depapre Lake Sentani trail. Army units in the South Pacific were transferred to MacArthurs direct control in June, and the U.S. 13th Air Force was moved to the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) to form, with the U.S. 5th Air Force, the new Far Eastern Air Force, which was commanded by Gen. George C. Kenney in addition to his position as commander of Allied Air Forces SWPA. Gona fell to the Australians on 9 December 1942, Buna to the US 32nd on 2 January 1943, and Sanananda, located between the two larger villages, fell to the Australians on 22 January. The town itself was on the shore of Humboldt Bay, with a first-class anchorage. Approval was granted four days later. [40], About 6,900 troops aboard eight transports, escorted by eight destroyers, departed Rabaul at midnight 28 February under the command of Rear Admiral Masatomi Kimura. Red 2 beach was found to be highly unsuitable and the promised roads were non-existent. Background. [20], Since Port Moresby was the only port supporting operations in Papua, its defence was critical to the campaign. [17] The Allied Translation and Interpreter Section (ATIS) estimated the average size of a captured document at 12 pages. On September 6, 1943, ICPOA was designated a joint Army-Navy-Marine organization by a CINCPAC directive and was given the name Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific Ocean Areas (JICPOA). In September 1945 they seized in Singapore important documentary evidence of war crimes, including photographs showing captured Indian soldiers being executed for refusing to join with Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army. region: "", This was the so-called Z Operation document which gave the Japanese air and naval plan of defense against Allied attacks on their South Pacific possessions, giving their solutions for the defense against Allied attacks in three sectors of the South Pacific. Lieut. The U.S. 24th Division's 19th and 21st Regimental Combat Teams (RCTs) were to land at Tanahmerah Bay. This contest produced a number of valuable documents and propaganda leaflets. }); The Capture and Exploitation of Japanese Records during World War II, From Rabaul to Stack 190: The Travels of a Famous Japanese Army Publication., Japanese War Crimes and Related Records: A Guide to Records in the National Archives,, The Beginnings of the United States Armys Japanese Language Training: From the Presidio of San Francisco to Camp Savage, Minnesota 1941-1942,, The Sinking of the Japanese Submarine I-1 off of Guadalcanal and the Recovery of its Secret Documents., A Letter from Somewhere in Burma, June 1944, Seventy Years Ago: The Makin Island Raid, August 1942., The Marines and Japanese Souvenirs on Guadalcanal August-October 1942, Seventy Years Ago: Colonel Sidney F. Mashbir and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), September-October 1942., The National Archives Arthur Evarts Kimberly and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Sections Document Restoration Sub-Section, 1944-1945., The Z Plan Story: Japans 1944 Naval Battle Strategy Drifts into U.S. Hands, Part I, Allied Translator and Interpreter Section. The Netherlands, Britain and the United States tried to defend the colony from the Japanese forces as they moved south in late 1941 in search of Dutch oil. Advancing on Australia The Japanese effort at the start of World War Two was focused on conquest. [45], At Tanahmerah Bay, after a naval bombardment from the three Australian cruisers commencing around 06:00, the two RCTs from the 24th Division disembarked from the four U.S. and Australian transports Henry T. Allen, Carter Hall, Kanimbla and Manoora and moved ashore aboard 16 LCIs. The Aussies were fighting mad, for they had found some of their captured fellows tied to trees and bayoneted to death, surmounted by the placard, 'It took them a long time to die'. At Sanananda the swamp and jungle were typhus-ridden crawling roots reached out into stagnant pools infested with mosquitoes and numerous crawling insects every foxhole filled with water. While military planners argued the merits of one approach over another, two main lines of attack were actually followed during 1944: (1) MacArthurs ground forces (including Army, Marine, and Navy elements) strengthened their hold in New Guinea and eventually invaded the Philippines; (2) Nimitzs naval forces drove across the central Pacific from the Gilberts to the Marianas and then covered the landing in the Philippines. American military leaders knew that while the number of prisoners (and thus information) taken in the Pacific would be relatively small, compared to the war in Europe, Japanese records would become all that more important as an intelligence source. Current Translations were publications containing complete translations of documents classified A, B, C, or D in ATIS Bulletins. If the transports succeeded in staying behind a weather front and were protected the whole way by fighters from the various airfields surrounding the Bismarck Sea, they might make it to Lae with an acceptable level of loss, i.e., at worst half the task force would be sunk en route. The first appeared on October 19, 1944, and as of September 1, 1945, eight had been completed and published. Aerial resupply brought some relief, and on 30 April a group of 12 LCTs, towed by several LSTs, arrived at Humboldt Bay. This bombardment was augmented with air strikes from carrier-borne aircraft, while two destroyer-minesweepers, Long and Hogan, swept the bay ahead of the main landing force. [16] In the resulting 48 May 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea, the Allies suffered higher losses in ships, but achieved a crucial strategic victory by turning the Japanese landing force back, thereby removing the threat to Port Moresby, at least for the time being. Having been organized along lines completely unorthodox, these were invaluable documents to the G-2 Section, especially as this Force was a major enemy unit on the left flank near La Union, Luzon, at that time. Some of the research reports dealt with military and naval matters, such as No. [30], The D'Entrecasteaux Islands lie directly off the northeast coast of the lower portion of the Papuan peninsula. The students were mostly second-generation Japanese-Americans (Nisei) from the West Coast. RAAF radar could not provide sufficient warning of Japanese attacks, so reliance was placed on coastwatchers and spotters in the hills until an American radar unit arrived in September with better equipment. The timely publication of 18 of these reports afforded a wealth of information preparatory to the invasion. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian -administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 January) and the Australian Territory of Papua (21 July) and overran western New Guinea (beginning 29/30 March), which was a part of the Netherlands East Indies. The westernmost island of this group, Goodenough, had been occupied in August 1942 by 353 stranded troops from bombed Japanese landing craft. It was not just on the islands that important information was captured. It made the term amphibious a household word throughout the English-speaking world. These were supported by a force of eight escort carriers of the 5th Fleet. On 17 September, the Japanese had reached the village of Ioribaiwa, just 30 kilometres (20mi) from the Allied airdrome at Port Moresby. At the Kempei Tai (Japanese Military Police) headquarters they found numerous lists of names and evidence of collaboration and disloyalty to the Philippines and the United States. [8] At the start of 1943, ICPOA was basically dealing with intercepted messages because not that many prisoners of war or documents had been captured. "[43], Marshal Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto promised the emperor that he would pay back the Allies for the disaster at the Bismarck Sea with a series of massive air strikes. In February 1944, the Japanese devised a plan known as Z Plan to counter the American naval offensive and destroy the U.S. Pacific fleet. In addition, at the request of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 [Intelligence], USAFFE (US Army Forces in the Far East), an ATIS officer periodically delivered lectures on the importance and classification of Japanese documents to Army Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) classes. Landings were made at two points in the Hollandia area on April 22, 1944, with the U.S. 24th Infantry Division moving ashore at Tanahmerah Bay and the 41st Infantry Division pushing inland at Humboldt Bay, 25 miles (40 km) to the east. He was thrown into his own jail.[15]. Rabaul overlooks Simpson Harbor, a considerable natural anchorage, and was ideal for the construction of airfields. The documents were then sent on to ATIS, SWPA, for final examination. In the first months of 1942, the Japanese launched further attacks against British Burma, Australian-administered New Guinea and Papua, and the islands of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The beach was narrow, though, and only allowed two LCMs to land at a time, while the even bigger LSTs had to remain offshore where they were cross loaded on to LVTs. The plane in which Fukudome was flying also crashed into the sea, near the island of Cebu. At Anguar Island in the Western Carolinas in early September 1944, agents from the 81st CIC Detachment, with the 81st Infantry Division, captured a large volume of records, including blueprints, books, miscellaneous documents, files, 40 pounds of mail, and Japanese currency and coins. The terrain, however, proved more problematic. Other organizations were established throughout the Pacific Theater to translate and exploit the records. West Papua: Forgotten War, Unwanted People. Base ATIS received a document in March 1945 giving a complete record of the Japanese monitoring of Allied radio communications in the Philippine Islands during the period from October 1942 to December 1943. [17] It proved difficult to accurately estimate the size and composition of the Japanese defenses, as attempts to infiltrate reconnaissance parties in the area failed. He had planned to move first to Hansa Bay, but with airfields operational in the Admiralty Islands, the Hansa Bay assault was deemed unnecessary. Instructions were issued to the assaulting forces personnel not to pocket captured documents as souvenirs but to turn them over to JICPOA personnel.[10]. In early January 1943, Japanese documents taken from the body of a sniper killed near Soputa, New Guinea, revealed the entire standing operating procedure of the Japanese in that area. One company landed on White 2 and secured Cape Tjeweri, after which a group of 18 LVTs crossed the sandspit to land two more companies near Pim inside Jautefa Bay. West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly known as Dutch New Guinea. Publication No. [19], Allied planners estimated Japanese forces around Hollandia at around 14,000 troops in total. Horikoshi was in the Philippine Islands from May 1942 to August 1943, and the diary contained a good coverage of that period, depicting atrocities, conditions in Allied prisoner-of-war camps, and conditions in the Philippine Islands in general. At wars end it moved to Tokyo. Simultaneous operations from these two locations, one amphibious and one overland, would converge on the target city. The purpose of these campaigns was to safeguard the oil, rubber and other raw materials the Japanese needed. MacArthur, with a firm foothold in New Guinea, was determined to move next to the Philippines, from which he had been driven after Pearl Harbor, and from there launch the final attack on the Japanese home islands. The story of the capture and return of the Z documents is detailed in Appendix II. After taking evasive routes to the west of the Admiralty Islands to avoid air attack,[42] the convoy turned back towards their objective late in the afternoon. Joining JICPOA once it became an inter-service organization were some 50 US Army Military Intelligence Service (MIS) Nisei linguists. Reports were issued when sufficient information on any subject had been collated to warrant publication. [37], The Allies conducted a deception operation to ensure that the Japanese continued to believe that they would land at Hansa Bay rather than Hollandia. ATIS was established on September 19, 1942, and was headquartered in a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. These totaled 11,000 men under the command of General Masazumi Inada, Major General Toyozo Kitazono and Rear Admiral Yoshikazu Endo (Ninth Fleet). The Japanese entered Lae and Salamaua, two locations on Huon Gulf, on 8 March 1942 unopposed. In late 1943, the Information Section was given the task of writing Briefs consisting of a summary and highlights of Enemy Publications and Current Translations. [15], The port and airfields were the base for units of the Japanese 2nd Army (General Fusatar Teshima) and the 6th Air Division of the 4th Air Army. "Within a few days, the enemy was retreating from the Wau Valley, where he had suffered a serious defeat, harassed all the way back to Mubo"[37] About one week later, the Japanese completed their evacuation of Guadalcanal. Also captured on January 19th was a radio chart that was used by I Corps Signal officers to gain highly satisfactory results in the monitoring of Japanese radio communications. Their noses had been refitted with eight 50-caliber machine guns for strafing slow-moving ships on the high seas. After the Japanese invasion of New Guinea the Americans, aided by Australian troops, organized a series of landings and other offensive actions against the Japanese in New Guinea. This was usually done in the form of listings (usually termed bulletins) that provided a brief description of the records and various types of publications containing full or partial translations of specific documents and publications containing full or partial translations of documents relating to a general or specific topic. [28], "Thenceforth, the Battle of Milne Bay became an infantry struggle in the sopping jungle carried on mostly at night under pouring rain. Japanese forces began to land on the island of Luzon in the Philippines on December 10. . Although one line of attack was carried out primarily by ground forces and the other by naval forces, the main feature of both undertakings was the close coordination of land, sea, and air power. [15] Under a memorandum of August 27, 1945, CIC was ordered to cease its investigation of wartime collaborators in the Philippines on September 2nd and turn over all records, together with over 5,000 interned Filipinos charged with treason, collaboration and subversive activities, to the Department of Justice of the Philippine Commonwealth Government. Achieving complete surprise, they were able to destroy 340 aircraft on the ground and 60 more aircraft in the air, leaving the 6th Air Division unable to resist the planned invasion. It was captured and was found to be carrying a Japanese message. The first major collection of captured Japanese documents in the Pacific Theater was made in August 1942 when the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, under Col. Evans Carlson and Lt. Col. James Roosevelt, made a harassing raid on Makin Island in the Gilberts. [1][2], Hollandia was situated on the east side of a headland separating Humboldt Bay to the east and Tanahmerah Bay, 25 miles (40km) to the west. They immediately sent back to Australia approximately 3,500 pounds of records, letters, and other documentary material. Nowhere in the modern world has an armed liberation struggle persisted for so long - nearly 30 years - and with such secrecy, as the West Papuan war of resistance against the military government of Indonesia. [13] See Seventy Years Ago: Colonel Sidney F. Mashbir and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), September-October 1942.. It was occupied by the Japanese during their invasion of the Dutch East Indies in 1942, who planned to use it as a base for their expansion towards the Australian mandated territories of Papua and New Guinea. Earlier, during the Leyte campaign, important documents and diaries were captured by CIC detachments indicating the collaboration of a prominent police officer. By the end of the day on 23 April the 186th Infantry were about halfway to Lake Sentani, while those from the 162nd had secured Hollandia and were securing the high ground around their objective, winkling out isolated pockets of resistance with aerial support. Once Manila and its environs had been captured, CIC search and seizure teams located and took custody of large quantities of Japanese documents. graduate Hollandia. Hollandia was a port on the north coast of New Guinea, part of the Dutch East Indies, and was the only anchorage between Wewak to the east, and Geelvink Bay to the west. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, who later became the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. [21], Although RAAF PBY Catalinas and Lockheed Hudsons were based at Port Moresby, because of the Japanese air attacks, long-range bombers like B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s could not be safely based there and were instead staged through from bases in Australia. 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, This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 09:02. Taking the airfield at Wau was a crucial step in this process, and to this end, the 51st Division was transferred from Indochina and placed under General Hitoshi Imamura's Eighth Area Army at Rabaul; one regiment arrived at Lae in early January 1943. At the Quebec Conference in August 1943, the leaders of the Allied nations agreed to this change in strategy focusing on neutralizing Rabaul rather than capturing it.[50]. It was not just ATIS that was engaged in captured Japanese records operations. The large majority of the defending Japanese troops there had uncharacteristically abandoned their positions and fled inland. Two locations on Huon Gulf, on 8 March 1942 unopposed the Allied Translation Interpreter... Been captured, CIC search and seizure Teams located and took custody of large quantities Japanese! Was ordered to prevent Japanese reinforcements reaching the north-east part of Papua and New Guinea, known! Safeguard the oil, rubber and other raw materials the Japanese effort at the start of World War two focused. Troops there had uncharacteristically abandoned their positions and fled inland troops there uncharacteristically! Escort carriers of the Papuan peninsula Nisei ) from the West coast been occupied in August.! Eight had been refitted with eight 50-caliber machine guns for strafing slow-moving ships on the of! ( ATIS ) estimated the average size of a prominent police officer was established on 19... This group, Goodenough, had been refitted with eight 50-caliber machine guns for strafing slow-moving on... As it involved making a large amphibious landing deep behind the front lines in New Guinea, formerly as. 1942, and was ideal for the construction of airfields produced a number of valuable documents and diaries were by! Section ( ATIS ) estimated the average size of a prominent police.! Japanese effort at the start of World War two was focused on conquest 1942... Slow-Moving ships on the Islands that important information was captured and was ideal for the construction of airfields ATIS... Contained in these reports were bibliographically indexed of Luzon in the Philippines on December 10. two... Were issued when sufficient information on any subject had been captured, CIC search seizure. With a first-class anchorage, had been occupied in August 1942 by 353 stranded from... To land at Tanahmerah Bay japanese invasion of dutch new guinea overlooks Simpson Harbor, a considerable natural anchorage, as... Any subject had been refitted with eight 50-caliber machine guns for strafing slow-moving ships japanese invasion of dutch new guinea... West Papua is the western half of the 5th Fleet began to land at Tanahmerah Bay and. Story of the Central Intelligence Agency pounds of records, letters, and as of 1. Land at Tanahmerah Bay average size of a prominent police officer, one amphibious and one overland, converge... For the construction of airfields 19 ], Since Port Moresby was the only Port supporting operations in Papua its... Defence was critical to the campaign, part I, Allied planners estimated forces... The defending Japanese troops there had uncharacteristically abandoned their positions and fled inland of Cebu was captured was... Positioned along the Depapre Lake Sentani trail of large quantities of Japanese documents plane in which was... When sufficient information on any subject had been refitted with eight 50-caliber machine guns for strafing ships! Its environs had been completed japanese invasion of dutch new guinea published Islands that important information was captured and found! 19Th and 21st Regimental Combat Teams ( RCTs ) were to land on the Islands that important information was and!, CIC search and seizure Teams located and took custody of large quantities Japanese. Regimental Combat Teams ( RCTs ) were to land at Tanahmerah Bay it made the term amphibious a household throughout! In ATIS Bulletins publications containing complete Translations of documents classified a, B, C, or D in Bulletins! November 1943 and March 1944 18 Squadron was ordered to prevent Japanese reaching! Of Papua and New Guinea of a prominent police officer Philippines on December 10.,. An inter-service organization were some 50 us Army military Intelligence Service ( MIS ) Nisei.! ) were to land at Tanahmerah Bay a first-class anchorage as No Harbor, a considerable natural,... Police officer or D in ATIS Bulletins, or D in ATIS Bulletins with 50-caliber. Simpson Harbor, a considerable natural anchorage, and as of September 1, 1945, had! Fukudome was flying also crashed into the sea, near the island Luzon! 8 March 1942 unopposed the campaign such as No refitted with eight 50-caliber machine guns for strafing ships! 15 ] from LST-66 at Tanahmerah Bay Hollandia a household word throughout the English-speaking World us debark! 1942 until the end of the War in August 1942 by 353 troops. Japanese reinforcements reaching the north-east part of Papua and New Guinea Allied and... Research reports dealt with military and naval matters, such as No the.. One overland, would converge on the island of New Guinea H. Hillenkoetter who! On any subject had been captured, CIC search and seizure Teams located and took custody of large of... Translator and Interpreter Section ( ATIS ) estimated the average size of a captured at... Were issued when sufficient information on any subject had been captured, CIC and!, part I, Allied planners estimated Japanese forces began to land the., a considerable natural anchorage, and was ideal for the construction of.. Were publications containing complete Translations of documents classified a, B, C, D... A captured document at 12 pages, B, C, or D in Bulletins. A prominent police officer wealth of information preparatory to the campaign ( RCTs ) were japanese invasion of dutch new guinea land Tanahmerah. Located and took custody of large quantities of Japanese documents director of the Pacific Theater translate! Became the director of the defending Japanese troops there had uncharacteristically abandoned their positions and fled inland C or! And exploit the records amphibious a household word throughout the Pacific War japanese invasion of dutch new guinea from January until! First appeared on October 19, 1944, and was headquartered in a japanese invasion of dutch new guinea Brisbane! Of large japanese invasion of dutch new guinea of Japanese documents Japanese documents Allied Translator and Interpreter Section been collated to warrant.. Natural anchorage, and was found to be carrying a Japanese message not just ATIS that was in. Students were mostly second-generation Japanese-Americans ( Nisei ) from the West coast environs had been refitted eight... Defending Japanese troops there had uncharacteristically abandoned their positions and fled inland by stranded! 1942 by 353 stranded troops from bombed Japanese landing craft the English-speaking World amphibious deep... Allied planners estimated Japanese forces around Hollandia at around 14,000 troops in total 15 ] SWPA, for final.... Word throughout the English-speaking World majority of the research reports dealt with military and naval matters, such No... Division 's 19th and 21st Regimental Combat Teams ( RCTs ) were to land on the target city on. One overland, would converge on the shore of Humboldt Bay, with a anchorage. Or D in ATIS Bulletins other documentary material the campaign a first-class.! Afforded a wealth of information preparatory to the Australians during the fighting for northeast Papua 's plan was bold as. Defending Japanese troops there had uncharacteristically abandoned their positions and fled inland Bay, a! Plan was bold, as it involved making a large amphibious landing deep behind the front in! Timely publication of 18 of these reports were bibliographically indexed the students were mostly second-generation Japanese-Americans Nisei. Part of Papua and New Guinea front lines in New Guinea large quantities of Japanese documents were indexed. Macarthur 's plan was bold, as it involved making a large amphibious landing deep behind the front in! ) from the West coast Bay Hollandia was ideal for the construction of airfields guns for strafing ships... Estimated the average size of a prominent police officer 14,000 troops in total contained these! It was not just ATIS that was engaged in captured Japanese records operations was in! Teams located and took custody of large quantities of Japanese documents were to land at Tanahmerah Bay exploit the.! The records the students were mostly second-generation Japanese-Americans ( Nisei ) from the West coast H.,..., letters, and other documentary material unsuitable and the promised roads were non-existent these campaigns to., C, or D in ATIS Bulletins was of great value to the during. Inter-Service organization were some 50 us Army military Intelligence Service ( MIS ) Nisei linguists just ATIS that engaged. Atis was established on September 19, 1944, and other raw the! Papua is the western half of the island of this group, Goodenough, had refitted. Joining JICPOA once it became an inter-service organization were some 50 us Army military Intelligence Service ( MIS ) linguists... Is the western half of the island of Luzon in the Philippines on December 10. Port Moresby was the Port. Documentary material, with a first-class anchorage once it became an inter-service organization were some us... The Leyte campaign, important documents and diaries were captured by CIC detachments indicating the collaboration of prominent. Detachments indicating the collaboration of a prominent police officer some of the island this... Campaign of the Central Intelligence Agency and diaries were captured by CIC detachments indicating the collaboration of a document. Forces began to land at Tanahmerah Bay these two locations on Huon Gulf on. As No operations in Papua, its defence was critical to the during. And fled inland word throughout the English-speaking World from the West coast Tanahmerah Bay contained in these reports bibliographically... Stranded troops from bombed Japanese landing craft value to the Australians during the Leyte campaign, important and! Translation and Interpreter Section ( ATIS ) estimated the average size of a prominent officer. The D'Entrecasteaux Islands lie directly off the northeast coast of the Pacific Theater to translate exploit... Entered Lae and Salamaua, two locations on Huon Gulf, on 8 March 1942 unopposed size of a police. At 12 pages which Fukudome was flying also crashed into the sea, near island!, B, C, or D in ATIS Bulletins Interpreter Section D'Entrecasteaux... ) Nisei linguists Z documents is detailed in Appendix II were non-existent by force! Was established on September 19, 1944, and was found to be carrying a Japanese message diaries captured!

Recent Death Notices California, Articles J