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The Asiatic-Pacific Theater was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–1945. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, two U.S. operational commands were 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 Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Areas. The South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was commanded by General of the Army 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.
Brigadier Arnold William Potts, was an Australian grazier and army officer who served in the First World War and led the 21st Brigade of the Second Australian Imperial Force during its defence of the Kokoda Trail during the Second World War. He had a distinguished career, however, his place in history has largely been unacknowledged due to his dismissal by General Sir Thomas Blamey, at the very point when Potts had fought the Japanese to exhaustion. His fighting withdrawal over the Kokoda Trail has been called "one of the most critical triumphs in Australian military history and one that an apathetic nation has still to honour". Many contemporaries as well as Potts' official biographer regard this sacking as one of the most disgraceful actions of Blamey's military career. Following his dismissal, Potts went on to command the 23rd Brigade during the Bougainville campaign where he earned a reputation for setting high standards. He retired from the military following the end of the war and unsuccessfully pursued a career in politics. He died in 1968, aged 71.
Frank John Partridge, VC was an Australian soldier, farmer, quiz show champion, and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. He was decorated for his actions on Bougainville in July 1945, when he attacked two Japanese bunkers despite severe wounds. Partridge was the last and, at 20 years of age, the youngest Australian awarded the Victoria Cross in the Second World War. He later became a farmer and a television quiz champion, and unsuccessfully ran for political office shortly before his death in a car accident.
The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan, named after the island of Bougainville. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied grand strategy in the South Pacific. The campaign took place in the Northern Solomons in two phases. The first phase, in which American troops landed and held the perimeter around the beachhead at Torokina, lasted from November 1943 through November 1944.
The 8th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Initially raised in 1914 for the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War the battalion was completely recruited from Victoria and formed part of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. During the war it fought at Gallipoli and in France and Belgium on the Western Front. It was disbanded in 1919, before being re-raised as a Militia battalion in 1921. During the Second World War the 8th Battalion was used primarily as a garrison unit before taking part in the Bougainville campaign late in the war. It was disbanded again in 1946 during the demobilisation process, although it was reformed again in 1948 when it was amalgamated with the 7th Battalion. Today, its honours and traditions are perpetuated by the 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.
The 2/4th Armoured Regiment was an armoured regiment of the Australian Army, which served during World War II. The regiment was formed in November 1942 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force by amalgamating a number of previously existing armoured units and was disbanded in September 1946 after seeing action in New Guinea and Bougainville Island, where it provided individual squadron-group sized elements which operated in support of infantry operations against the Japanese. During its service the regiment received 10 battle honours.
The 26th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised in April 1915 for service in World War I as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), it was assigned to the 7th Brigade and consisted of personnel recruited from the states of Queensland and Tasmania. The battalion fought at Gallipoli in the latter stages of that campaign before being withdrawn to Egypt in late 1915. In mid-1916, it was sent to Europe where it served in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium for the rest of the war, fighting in most of the battles that the Australians took part in between 1916 and 1918. At the end of the war, it was disbanded in May 1919 as part of the demobilisation of the AIF.
The Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) was a unit of the Australian Army raised in the Territory of Papua for service during the Second World War. Formed in early 1940 in Port Moresby to help defend the territory in the event of a Japanese invasion, its soldiers were primarily Papuan natives led by Australian officers and non-commissioned officers. Following the outbreak of the Pacific War, the PIB served in many of the Allied campaigns in New Guinea; however, due to the nature of its role its sub-units mainly operated separately, attached to larger Australian and US Army units and formations. Slow in forming, the first members of the PIB were not officially posted in until March 1941. By 1942 it consisted of only three companies, all of which were under-strength and poorly equipped. It was subsequently employed on scouting, reconnaissance and surveillance patrols against the Japanese, where the natural bushcraft of its native soldiers could be used to their advantage. The PIB was sent forward in June 1942 to patrol the northern coast of Papua and was dispersed over a wide area. These small parties were the first to make contact with the Imperial Japanese forces upon their landing in Papua, before participating in the Kokoda Track campaign. As part of Maroubra Force, the PIB fought alongside the Australian 39th Battalion at Kokoda, Deniki, and Isurava as the Japanese forced them back along the Kokoda track, but was withdrawn before the campaign finally turned in favour of the Australians.
The family of Northwest Solomonic languages is a branch of the Oceanic languages. It includes the Austronesian languages of Bougainville and Buka in Papua New Guinea, and of Choiseul, New Georgia, and Santa Isabel in Solomon Islands.
The 31st Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment was a Reserve infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Although it was officially formed as 31 RQR in 1965 the battalion can trace its lineage back to units formed in 1881 as part of the colonial defence forces of the state of Queensland.
The 31st/51st Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which served during World War II. Raised for service as part of the Militia in 1943 through the amalgamation of two previously existing battalions, the 31st/51st Battalion undertook garrison duties in Dutch New Guinea in 1943–44 before taking part in the Bougainville Campaign in 1944–45. Following the end of the war, the battalion served in the Pacific overseeing the transfer of Japanese prisoners of war and re-establishing law and order until mid-1946 when it returned to Australia and was disbanded.
The Battle of Porton Plantation took place near the village of Soraken on Bougainville Island, in the Solomon Islands archipelago during World War II. Involving forces from Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the battle was part of the wider Bougainville campaign, which had begun in late 1943 and lasted until the end of the war in August 1945. The battle formed part of Australian efforts to liberate the northern part of Bougainville.
The Battle of Tsimba Ridge was an engagement of the Second World War involving Australian and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Bougainville Campaign of the Pacific theatre, the battle occurred in the northern sector of Bougainville Island between 17 January and 9 February 1945, when the lead battalion of the Australian 11th Brigade—the 31st/51st Infantry Battalion—advanced towards the Genga River as part of a drive north to the Bonis Peninsula.
The Battle of the Hongorai River took place during the Second World War and involved Australian, New Zealand and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Bougainville Campaign of the Pacific theatre, the battle was fought in the southern sector of Bougainville Island. Coming after the Battle of Slater's Knoll in which a strong Japanese counterattack was defeated, the battle occurred in two distinct periods between 17 April and 22 May 1945, as elements of the Australian 15th Brigade advanced south along the Buin Road.
The 23rd Brigade was a brigade of the Australian Army. It was briefly raised in 1912 as a Militia formation providing training as part of the compulsory training scheme. Later, it was re-formed in July 1940 for service during the Second World War, the brigade was initially a formation of the Second Australian Imperial Force assigned to the 8th Division; however, after its sub units were captured by the Japanese in 1942 it was reformed with Militia battalions and was mainly used in a garrison role around Darwin, in the Northern Territory, until late in the war when it was committed to the fighting against the Japanese on Bougainville. It was disbanded in 1946.
The 27th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was initially raised in 1915 as part of the all-volunteer First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I. During the conflict, the battalion saw action briefly at Gallipoli before later fighting on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. It was disbanded in 1919, but was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizens Force, which later became the "Militia". During World War II the battalion was used mainly in a garrison role until the last year of the war when it was committed to the fighting against the Japanese during the Bougainville campaign. Following the end of hostilities it was disbanded in May 1946. Between 1948 and 1965 the battalion was re-raised and disbanded a number of times before eventually becoming part of the Royal South Australia Regiment. It was disbanded for a final time in 1987, when it was amalgamated with the 10th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment to form the 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment.
The Bougainville counterattack was an unsuccessful Japanese offensive against the Allied base at Cape Torokina, on Bougainville Island, during the Pacific War of World War II. The Japanese attack began on 8 March 1944 after months of preparation, and was repulsed by United States Army forces in fighting which lasted until 25 March. The attack was hampered by inaccurate intelligence and poor planning and was defeated by the well-prepared Allied defenders, who greatly outnumbered the Japanese force. The Japanese suffered severe casualties, while Allied losses were light.