page_title: Huon Peninsula campaign
section_title: Opposing forces
hierarchical_section_title: Huon Peninsula campaign / Background / Opposing forces
caption_attribution_description: English: AWM Caption: Nadzab, New Guinea. 5 October 1943. Pilots and ground crew of No. 4 (Tactical Reconnaissance) Squadron RAAF beside a Boomerang aircraft, serial no. A46-???, code name QE-H, named `On the Job'. Identified from left to right: Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Black LAC Brough Flying Officer (FO) David Murrie FO Philip Simpson Corporal Chambers LAC Rayson Note the nose art, the cartoon character Goofy painted on the side of the aircraft by Corporal Chambers.
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: At the time, there were no US ground forces under MacArthur's command in action against the Japanese, and the task of securing Finschhafen was allocated to Australian troops from the 9th Division. A veteran formation of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), the 9th Division was vastly experienced, having fought in the North African campaign, where it had held Tobruk against a German onslaught earlier in the war and had been heavily engaged at the First and Second Battle of El Alamein. In early 1943, the division had been brought back to Australia, and it had subsequently been reorganised to take part in jungle warfare. With an establishment of 13,118 men, the division consisted of three brigades of infantry – the 20th, 24th and 26th – each consisting of three battalions, along with organic battalion-level engineer, pioneer, artillery, and armoured formations attached at divisional level. In support of the 9th Division, Militia infantry units from the 4th Brigade would also take part in the fighting after the initial fighting. American forces would also be involved, mainly providing logistical, naval and engineering support.
  Air support was provided by No. 9 Operational Group RAAF, which included several Royal Australian Air Force squadrons such as No. 4 Squadron RAAF, flying CAC Boomerangs and Wirraways, and No. 24 Squadron RAAF equipped with Vultee Vengeance dive bombers; these units undertook numerous close air support and resupply missions throughout the campaign. American Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and Lockheed P-38 Lightnings from the 348th and 475th Fighter Groups were also used to provide fighter cover for Allied shipping, while heavy and medium bombers from the Fifth Air Force carried out strategic bombing missions to reduce Japanese airbases around Wewak and New Britain, and raided Japanese lines of communication in concert with PT boats. Due to the impracticalities of using wheeled transport in the jungle, Allied logistics was undertaken primarily by means of water transport such as landing craft and barges which moved supplies along the coast, with overland supply to combat units being completed by New Guinean labourers and, at times, by Australian combat troops themselves, which were re-roled temporarily to undertake portage tasks as required, and augmented where possible with jeeps.
  The main Japanese force in the campaign was provided by the XVIII Army under the command of Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi and was headquartered at Madang. This force consisted of three divisions – the 20th, the 41st and the 51st – and a number of smaller forces which included naval infantry and garrison units. Around the Finschhafen area in mid-September 1943, the main forces were drawn from the 20th Division's 80th Infantry and 26th Field Artillery Regiments, the 41st Division's 238th Infantry Regiment, the naval 85th Garrison Unit and a company from the 51st Division's 102nd Infantry Regiment. These forces were under the command of Major General Eizo Yamada, commander of the 1st Shipping Group, although tactical command was devolved at local level due to the geographical spread of the Japanese units. These units were situated across a broad area between the Mongi River, east of Lae to Arndt Point, Sattelberg, Joangeng, Logaweng, Finschhafen, Sisi and on Tami Island. The largest concentrations were around Sattelberg and Finschhafen, where the main forces came under the command of Lieutenant General Shigeru Katagiri, commander of the 20th Division. The strength and efficiency of the Japanese units had been reduced by disease, and their employment in road construction tasks between Madang and Bogadjim.
  Like the Allies, the Japanese also relied on water transport to ferry supplies and reinforcements around the New Guinea, using a force of three submarines to avoid interdiction by Allied aircraft which had previously inflicted heavy casualties during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. These submarines were augmented by  barges, although they were limited in supply and were subject to attack by Allied aircraft
caption: A Boomerang fighter and ground crew from No. 4 Squadron RAAF in October 1943
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