page_title: Huon Peninsula campaign
section_title: Sattelberg
hierarchical_section_title: Huon Peninsula campaign / Campaign / Sattelberg
caption_attribution_description: Thomas Currie "Diver" Derrick VC DCM hoists the Australian flag at Sattelberg, New Guinea following the town's capture by the 2/48th Australian Battalion.
context_page_description: The Huon Peninsula campaign was a series of battles fought in north-eastern Papua New Guinea in 1943–1944 during the Second World War. The campaign formed the initial part of an offensive that the Allies launched in the Pacific in late 1943 and resulted in the Japanese being pushed north from Lae to Sio on the northern coast of New Guinea over the course of a four-month period. For the Australians, a significant advantage was gained through the technological edge that Allied industry had achieved over the Japanese by this phase of the war, while the Japanese were hampered by a lack of supplies and reinforcements due to Allied interdiction efforts at sea and in the air.
  The campaign was preceded by an amphibious landing by troops from the Australian 9th Division east of Lae on 4 September 1943. This was followed by an advance west along the coast towards the town where they were to link up with 7th Division advancing from Nadzab. Meanwhile, Australian and US forces mounted diversionary attacks around Salamaua. Heavy rain and flooding slowed the 9th Division's advance, which had to cross several rivers along the way.
context_section_description: An old German mission, Sattelberg lay roughly 5 miles (8.0 km) inland and due to its size and height – 3,150 feet (960 m) – its possession by a large force of Japanese posed a significant threat in the minds of the Australian commanders. It offered good observation of the coastal area and could serve as a base for the Japanese to disrupt Australian lines of communication. As a result, Wootten decided to capture it. The main approach to the mission lay along the road that ran through Jivevaneng. Although the main thrust of the Japanese counterattack had been turned back by 25 October, Jivevaneng was still in doubt and the 2/17th Infantry Battalion was still fending off Japanese attacks. Consequently, the 2/13th Infantry Battalion was brought up, and together with the 2/17th they began clearing operations. These were completed by the night of 2/3 November when the Japanese ceased their assault and withdrew from around the village. Follow up actions on 6 November resulted in the destruction of the road-block that the Japanese had established on the Sattelberg road east of Jivevaneng in October.
  With Jivevaneng decided, the Australians turned advancing west towards Sattelberg. The force that was chosen for this was the recently arrived 26th Brigade, which would be supported by nine Matildas of the 1st Tank Battalion. At the same time, the 4th Brigade, a Militia formation detached from the 5th Division, was brought up to relieve the 26th Brigade of garrison duties around Finschhafen. The tanks moved up to Jivevaneng under the cover of an artillery barrage to drown out their noise in an effort to keep their presence secret until the start of the advance. On 16 November, the 2/48th Infantry Battalion, supported by the artillery of the 2/12th Field Regiment and the machine guns of the 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion, captured Green Ridge overlooking the track, which was the designated forming-up point for the advance on Sattelberg, which began the following day.
  The advance got off to a bad start initially as it was hampered in the inland area by the prevalent rugged terrain which consisted largely of thick jungle and steep "razor-back" ridges. The ability of forces to manoeuvre in this environment was limited and Whitehead, the Australian brigade commander, determined to use infiltration tactics as a result. He sent columns of infantry, no more than company-size, to advance along "narrow fronts" ahead of one or two tanks, with engineers in support to improve the track or deal with "booby traps" or mines as they were found. The brigade's scheme of manoeuvre saw the 2/48th advance up the main track as the 2/23rd and 2/24th Infantry Battalions protected its flanks to the south and north respectively. None of the Australians' first day objectives were met. The 2/48th was held up in front of Coconut Ridge by stubborn resistance after one of the tanks was disabled and two others were damaged. On the flanks, both the 2/23rd and 2/24th also came up against strong defences in the shape of pillboxes and machine-gun nests, suffering many casualties and Coconut Ridge did not fall until the following day.
  The advance then continued, and by 20 November Steeple Tree Hill had been secured by the 2/48th, with the 2/23rd advancing towards its southern portion from Kumawa, while the 2/24th continued to strike north towards the "2200" feature. Initially, this had just been conceived as a holding action to protect the 2/48th's flank, but due to the slow progress on the main track, at this point, the Whitehead decided to change his strategy, determining to use a "double-pronged" attack, with the 2/24th also attempting to break through to Sattelberg from the north.
  Elsewhere, in the north-east, closer to the coast, the establishment of observation posts on key terrain overlooking Japanese main supply routes by Australian forces began affecting the supply situation of the Japanese forces around Sattelberg, as supply parties were ambushed as they attempted to bring up food and ammunition. The Australians were also short of supplies and, as a result, they p
caption: Sergeant Tom Derrick raising the Australian flag over Sattelberg mission
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