In keeping with the overall Allied grand strategy of defeating Nazi Germany first, the immediate aim of these operations was not the defeat of Japan but merely the reduction of the threat posed by Japanese aircraft and warships based at Rabaul to air and sea communications between the United States and Australia.
Pioneer sand and gravel series#
In July 1942, the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff approved a series of operations against the Japanese bastion at Rabaul, which blocked any Allied advance along the northern coast of New Guinea toward the Philippines or north toward the main Japanese naval base at Truk. Nadzab then became the major Allied air base in New Guinea.īackground Strategy Allied After strenuous efforts in the face of wet weather, the road was opened on 15 December 1943.
Pioneer sand and gravel upgrade#
The development of Nadzab was delayed by the need to upgrade the Markham Valley Road. Troops of the 25th Infantry Brigade reached Lae shortly before those of the 9th Division that had been advancing on Lae from the opposite direction. This proved to be a gruelling test of endurance for the Japanese soldiers who had to struggle over the rugged mountains in the end, the Japanese Army managed to withdraw its forces from Salamaua and Lae, though with extensive losses from exposure and starvation during the retreat. Instead of fighting for Lae, the Japanese Army withdrew over the Saruwaged Range. During this skirmish, Private Richard Kelliher won the Victoria Cross, Australia's highest award for gallantry. After defeating them, it engaged and defeated a larger Japanese force at Heath's Plantation. On 11 September, it engaged the Japanese soldiers at Jensen's Plantation. Once assembled at Nadzab, the 25th Infantry Brigade commenced its advance on Lae. An air crash at Jackson's Field ultimately caused half the Allied casualties of the battle. Over the next days, the 25th Infantry Brigade of the Australian 7th Division gradually arrived. The first transport aircraft landed the next morning, but bad weather delayed the Allied build up.
The Australian 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, 2/6th Field Company, and B Company, Papuan Infantry Battalion reached Nadzab after an overland and river trek that same day and began preparing the airfield. The parachute drop was carried out by the US Army's 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment and elements of the Australian Army's 2/4th Field Regiment into Nadzab, New Guinea in the Markham Valley, observed by General Douglas MacArthur, circling overhead in a B-17. The Nadzab action began with a parachute drop at Lae Nadzab Airport, combined with an overland force. The Landing at Nadzab was an airborne landing on 5 September 1943 during the New Guinea campaign of World War II in conjunction with the landing at Lae.
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