The Asiatic-Pacific Theater, was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–45. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, there were two U.S. operational commands in the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), divided into the Central Pacific Area, the North Pacific Area and the South Pacific Area, were commanded by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Areas. The South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area. During 1945, the United States added the United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, commanded by General Carl A. Spaatz.
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force. The division was raised on the British establishment of nine infantry battalions per division and consisted of two new brigades and three of the original 12 battalions of the 6th Division forming the third brigade. The division is sometimes known by the nickname "The Silent Seventh", due to a perception that its achievements were unrecognised, in comparison to the other Australian divisions. The origin of this belief appears to be censorship of the part played by the 7th Division in the fierce fighting in the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign. The 7th Division along with the 6th and 9th Australian Divisions were the only divisions to serve in both the Middle East and the South West Pacific Area. It was disbanded in 1946, following the end of the war.
The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs 96 kilometres (60 mi) overland – 60 kilometres (37 mi) in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea. The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanese and Allied – primarily Australian – forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua.
Maroubra Force was the name given to the ad hoc Australian infantry force that defended Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from the Japanese, and was involved in the Kokoda Track Campaign of the Pacific War, World War II. The force was established by the Allies under the codename "Maroubra", referring to the troops in the forward area, it was one of many units forming the body of the New Guinea Force, the main Allied army formation in the South West Pacific Area during 1942.
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was primarily a land battle, between the Japanese South Seas Detachment under Major General Tomitarō Horii and Australian and Papuan land forces under command of New Guinea Force. The Japanese objective was to seize Port Moresby by an overland advance from the north coast, following the Kokoda Track over the mountains of the Owen Stanley Range, as part of a strategy to isolate Australia from the United States.
Litoria is a genus of Hylidae tree frogs native to Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Moluccan Islands, and Timor. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Australasian treefrogs. They are distinguishable from other tree frogs by the presence of horizontal irises, no pigmentation of the eyelids, and their Wallacean distribution. About 150 species are described, but several new species are described every year on average, such as the Pinocchio frog, described in 2008 but not yet given a taxonomic name.
Boridi is a village in the Owen Stanley Range in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Royal South Australia Regiment is a reserve regiment of the Australian Army consisting of a single battalion, the 10th/27th Battalion, part of the 9th Brigade. It was raised on 1 July 1960, as The South Australia Regiment.
The Royal Western Australia Regiment is a reserve infantry regiment of the Australian Army consisting of two battalions, the 11th/28th Battalion and the 16th Battalion. The regiment was raised in July 1960 as part of the reorganisation of the Australian Army Reserve through the amalgamation of the three existing infantry regiments in Western Australia:
The Efogi tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is found in Papua New Guinea and possibly West Papua in Indonesia.
The 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment is an Australian Army reserve infantry battalion located in Western Australia and one of the two battalions of the Royal Western Australia Regiment. The battalion was first formed during the First World War, during which it fought during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front in France and Belgium as part of the Australian Imperial Force. It was re-formed as a part-time unit in Western Australia during the inter-war years, and served in the New Britain Campaign against the Japanese during the Second World War. In the post war years, the battalion became part of the Royal Western Australia Regiment and currently forms part of the 13th Brigade.
The 2/16th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, serving during World War II. Attached to the 21st Brigade that was assigned to the 7th Division, the 2/16th was raised in 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force from volunteers drawn mainly from the state of Western Australia. After training in Australia, the battalion was deployed to the Middle East where it undertook defensive duties along the Egyptian–Libyan border in early 1941 before taking part in the Syria–Lebanon campaign, fighting against Vichy French forces in June and July. At the conclusion of the campaign, the 2/16th remained in Lebanon, contributing to the Allied occupation force there, before returning to Australia in early 1942 following Japan's entry into the war. In August 1942, they were committed to the fighting along the Kokoda Track and then later fought around Buna and Gona. After a period of rest and reorganisation in Australia, the battalion fought around Lae and then took part in the Finisterre Range campaign in 1943–44. Its final campaign of the war came in Borneo in July 1945. At the end of the war, the 2/16th were disbanded in January 1946.
Airlines PNG Flight 4684(CG4682/TOK4684) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight, operated by Papua New Guinean airliner Airlines PNG, flying from Jacksons International Airport in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby to Kokoda Airport in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. On 11 August 2009, the aircraft operating the flight, a de Havilland Canada Twin Otter, crashed and exploded into a forest in Kokoda Valley, a popular trekking site in Papua New Guinea while carrying 13 people in bad weather. A search and rescue operation was conducted by authorities and found the wreckage of the crashed plane on the next day, 12 August 2009. The aircraft was pulverized, and searchers didn't find any signs of life. Papua New Guinean Search and Rescue Agency then announced that everyone on board were killed instantly in the crash.
Kairuku-Hiri District is a district of Central Province in Papua New Guinea. It is one of the four administrative districts that make up the province, and surrounds the national capital, Port Moresby.
The Kokoda Challenge is Australia’s premier cross country team event, a punishing 96 km of hills and bushwalking that takes place in the Gold Coast hinterland in July of each year.
The Battle of Mission Ridge – Brigade Hill took place between 6 and 9 September 1942, during the Kokoda Track campaign of the Second World War. Involving forces from Australia, the United States, and Japan, the fighting centred on a high feature south of the village of Efogi on the Kokoda Track.
The Battle of Ioribaiwa took place between 14 and 16 September 1942, during the Kokoda Track campaign of the Second World War. Involving forces from Australia, the United States, and Japan, the fighting centred on a high feature known as Ioribaiwa Ridge, south of Ofi Creek on the Kokoda Track, in the Territory of Papua. It was the last of three defensive battles fought by the Australians along the Kokoda Track to halt the Japanese advance from the north coast of Papua towards Port Moresby.
The First Battle of Eora Creek – Templeton's Crossing was fought from 31 August 1942 to 5 September 1942. Forming part of the Kokoda Track campaign of the Second World War, the battle involved military forces from Australia, supported by the United States, fighting against Japanese troops from Major General Tomitaro Horii's South Seas Detachment who had landed in Papua in mid-1942, with the intent of capturing Port Moresby. The battle was one of three defensive actions fought by the Australians along the Kokoda Track. The fighting resulted in the delay of the Japanese advance south, which allowed the Australians to withdraw to Efogi. Eora Creek village and Templeton's Crossing was subsequently the site of a battle in late October 1942 as the Australian forces pursued the Japanese forces retiring back toward the north coast of Papua.
