page_title: Battle of Wau
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Wau / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: English: Quick concentration of men and guns by air was responsible for the defeat of the Japanese attack on Wau (New Guinea - 1943). This photo shows transport planes flying across the mountains towards Wau.
context_page_description: The Battle of Wau, 29 January – 4 February 1943, was a battle in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Forces of the Empire of Japan sailed from Rabaul and crossed the Solomon Sea and, despite Allied air attacks, successfully reached Lae, where they disembarked. Japanese troops then advanced overland on Wau, an Australian base that potentially threatened the Japanese positions at Salamaua and Lae. A race developed between the Japanese moving overland, hampered by the terrain, and the Australians, moving by air, hampered by the weather. By the time the Japanese reached the Wau area after a trek over the mountains, the Australian defenders had been greatly reinforced by air. In the battle that followed, despite achieving tactical surprise by approaching from an unexpected direction, the Japanese attackers were unable to capture Wau.
context_section_description: The Commander, Allied Air Forces, South West Pacific Area, Lieutenant General George Kenney, ordered his bomber commander, Brigadier General Kenneth Walker, to carry out a full-scale dawn bombing attack on the shipping in Rabaul Harbour before it could depart. Walker demurred; his bombers would have difficulty making their rendezvous if they had to leave Port Moresby at night. He recommended a noon attack instead. Kenney acknowledged Walker's concerns but was insistent; he preferred bombers out of formation to bombers shot down by the enemy fighters that were sure to intercept a daylight attack. Inclement weather precluded participation by bombers from Australia, so all that was available were the aircraft on hand in Papua: six B-17s and six B-24s. In spite of Kenney's orders, Walker attacked Rabaul Harbour at noon on 5 January, and encountered heavy flak and continuous fighter attacks. Forty 500 lb (230 kg) and 24 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs were dropped from 8,500 ft (2,600 m). The formation claimed hits on nine ships, totalling 50,000 tons. Two B-17s were shot down, including the one carrying Walker, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. After the war, JANAC confirmed the sinking of only one Japanese merchant ship, the 5,833-ton Keifuku Maru. Two other ships were damaged, as was the destroyer Tachikaze.
  On 6 January, the Japanese convoy carrying Okabe's force set out for Lae from Rabaul. Forewarned by Ultra, USAAF and RAAF aircraft spotted, shadowed and attacked the convoy, which was shielded by low clouds and Japanese fighters. The Allies claimed to have shot down 69 Japanese aircraft for the loss of 10 of their own. A P-38 pilot, First Lieutenant Richard Bong claimed three, becoming an ace. A RAAF Catalina of No. 11 Squadron RAAF under the command of Flight Lieutenant David Vernon made a night bombing attack on the convoy which sank the transport Nichiryu Maru. Destroyers rescued 739 of the 1,100 troops on board, but the ship took with it all of Okabe's medical supplies. Another transport, Myoko Maru, was so badly damaged at Lae by USAAF B-25s that it had to be beached. Nonetheless, the convoy succeeded in reaching Lae on 7 January and landing about 4,000 troops. In all, the Allied Air Forces flew 416 sorties.
  Between 10 and 16 January, the Okabe Detachment  moved down the coast in barges to Salamaua, where it assembled and completed its preparations for the attack on Wau. On 16 January, the Japanese encountered a platoon of the 2/7th Independent Company under Captain Geoffrey Bowen. A brief action followed in which Bowen was killed, and the Australians retreated back to Skindewai. However, instead of pursuing them, Okabe chose to advance on Wau down an old and seldom used track running through difficult country parallel to the Black Cat Track, and the two sides lost contact. Okabe thereby disguised the strength and objective of his force, and took the Australians by surprise. It was necessary to cross Komiatum Hill, advance to Mubo, and then take the track westward. This route was chosen so as to avoid observation from Allied aircraft in the daytime as they cut their way into the jungle. The mountain range east of Wau was about 1,500 ft (460 m) high and not particularly difficult to cross, but in parts there were no tracks. These had to be prepared without being spotted by the Allied aircraft. As the troops had to carry their food, ammunition and equipment on their backs, the advance was difficult and took longer than anticipated. Eventually they reached a peak from which they were able to look down on the Wau-Bulolo Valley. By this time, food was running short. The commander of the Okabe Detachment, pointing at the Wau village, gave the order to attack: "We are short of food—let us quickly capture Wau and get food from the enemy!" However, the movement through such dense jungle caused his units to lose touch with each other. The resulting attack was delivered piecemeal, without sufficient preparation.
  Meanwhile, the first group of the 17th Infantry Brigade—the 2/6th Infantry Battalion—had embarked for Port 
caption: Dakotas fly across the mountains towards Wau. Blamey's ability to reinforce his position at Wau depended on these aircraft, but they were limited in numbers and hampered by the weather.
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