South West Pacific Area ( command ) South West Pacific Area ( SWPA ) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II . It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War . SWPA included the Philippines , Borneo , the Dutch East Indies ( excluding Sumatra ) , East Timor , Australia , the Territories of Papua and New Guinea , and the western part of the Solomon Islands . It primarily consisted of United States and Australian forces , although Dutch , Filipino , British and other Allied forces also served in the SWPA . General Douglas MacArthur was appointed as the Supreme Commander , Southwest Pacific Area , on its creation on 18 April 1942 . He created five subordinate commands : Allied Land Forces , Allied Air Forces , Allied Naval Forces , United States Army Forces in Australia ( USAFIA ) , and the United States Army Forces in the Philippines . The last command disappeared when Corregidor surrendered on 6 May 1942 , while USAFIA became the United States Army Services of Supply , Southwest Pacific Area ( USASOS SWPA ) . In 1943 , United States Army Forces in the Far East was reformed and assumed responsibility for administration , leaving USASOS as a purely logistical agency . Both were swept away in a reorganisation in 1945 . The other three commands , Allied Land Forces , Allied Air Forces and Allied Naval Forces , remained until SWPA was abolished on 2 September 1945 . Origins . The forerunner of the South West Pacific Area was the short - lived American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDA ) . In December 1941 and January 1942 , ABDA was referred to as the South West Pacific Area . The rapid Japanese advance through the Dutch East Indies effectively divided the ABDA area in two , and in late February 1942 , ABDA was dissolved at the recommendation of its commander , Field Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell , who — as Commander - in - Chief in India — retained responsibility for Allied operations in Burma and Sumatra . Another command , established under emergency conditions when a convoy intended for supply of the Philippines , known as the Pensacola Convoy , was rerouted to Brisbane due to the attack on Pearl Harbor . Brigadier General Julian F . Barnes was ordered to assume command of all troops in the convoy on 12 December 1941 concurrent with their designation as Task Force — South Pacific , and place himself under the command of MacArthur . The next day , by radiogram , the Chief of Staff of the United States Army , General George C . Marshall , ordered Barnes to assume command as Commander , US Troops in Australia and take charge of all troops and supplies . On 22 December 1941 , with the convoy ' s arrival in Brisbane , the command was designated as United States Forces in Australia ( USFIA ) . It was renamed U . S . Army Forces in Australia ( USAFIA ) on 5 January 1942 . Its mission was to create a base in Australia for the support of the forces still in the Philippines . The staff , known as the " Remember Pearl Harbor " ( RPH ) group , selected by the War Department for USAFIA arrived Melbourne 1 February 1942 aboard and in the first large convoy bearing personnel , supplies and munitions intended for transhipment to Java and Philippines as well as Australia . For a brief time , due to the increased isolation of the Philippines and before the fall of Java , UASFIA was withdrawn from MacArthur ' s command and placed under the ABDA with continued direction to support both Java and the Philippines . What would replace ADBA was the subject of discussions between the Australian and New Zealand chiefs of staff that were held in Melbourne between 26 February and 1 March 1942 . They proposed creating a new theatre of war encompassing Australia and New Zealand , under the command of Wavell ' s former deputy , Lieutenant General George Brett , who had assumed command of the US Army Forces in Australia ( USAFIA ) on 25 February . The President of the United States , Franklin Roosevelt , and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , Winston Churchill , discussed the matter of command arrangements in the Pacific in Washington , D . C . , on 9 March . Roosevelt proposed that the world would be divided into British and American areas of responsibility , with the United States having responsibility for the Pacific , where there would be an American supreme commander responsible to the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Churchill responded favourably to the proposal , and the governments of Australia and New Zealand were then consulted . They endorsed the idea of an American supreme commander , but wanted to have some input into matters of strategy . This resulted in the creation of the Pacific War Council , which met for the first time in London on 10 February 1942 . Churchill , Clement Attlee ( Deputy Prime Minister ) and Anthony Eden ( Foreign Secretary ) represented the United Kingdom , and Earle Page represented Australia , along with representatives from the Netherlands , New Zealand , India and China . Page was replaced as the Australian representative by Stanley Bruce in June 1942 . A parallel Pacific War Council was created in Washington , D . C . , that first met on 1 April 1942 . It was chaired by Roosevelt , with Richard Casey and later Owen Dixon representing Australia , and Prime Minister Mackenzie King representing Canada . The Pacific War Council never became an effective body , and had no influence on strategy , but did allow the Dominions to put their concerns before the President . Formation . The obvious choice for a supreme commander in the Pacific was General Douglas MacArthur . He had been ordered to leave the Philippines for Australia to take command of a reconstituted ABDA area on 22 February 1942 , and had therefore been promised the command even before there were discussions on what it should be . MacArthur had solid support from the President , the Army and the American people , but not the Navy . The Commander in Chief , United States Fleet , Admiral Ernest King , saw the Pacific primarily as a naval responsibility and would not yield command to an Army officer . As there was no naval officer who could match MacArthur in prestige and standing , he proposed dividing the Pacific into separate areas . While the Army planners , led by Brigadier General Dwight Eisenhower , were willing to compromise on a divided command , they objected to placing Australia and New Zealand in separate theatres . The Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed the matter between 9 and 16 March , the result of which was a decision to adopt the Navy ' s plan , with only minor amendments . While this was still going on General Marshall , had contacted Brett and asked him to get the Australian government to nominate MacArthur , whose arrival in Australia was now imminent , as its choice for supreme commander . This was done on 17 March when MacArthur arrived at Batchelor , Northern Territory . On 24 March 1942 , the Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive formally designating the Pacific theatre an area of American strategic responsibility . On 30 March , the Joint Chiefs of Staff divided the Pacific theatre into three areas : the Pacific Ocean Areas ( POA ) , under Admiral Chester Nimitz ; the Southwest Pacific Area ( SWPA ) , under MacArthur ; and the Southeast Pacific Area , which never became an active theatre . An annex defined SWPA ' s boundaries : On 17 April 1942 the Prime Minister of Australia , John Curtin , directed all Australian defence forces personnel to treat orders from MacArthur " as emanating from the Commonwealth Government " . The Army ' s workshops and fixed fortifications , and the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) ' s logistical and training infrastructure , were not placed under SWPA . Having placed its troops at MacArthur ' s disposal , the Australian government was adamant that it should be consulted on any alteration to the boundaries or command arrangements in SWPA . The government was particularly concerned that the Supreme Commander should not move troops outside Australia or Australian territory without its consent , as there were legal restrictions on where the Australian Militia could serve . The matter of changes in command first came up when Brett was replaced as Commander of Allied Air Forces by the Joint Chiefs of Staff . MacArthur and Curtin agreed that there would be no change to Blamey ' s status , and that the government would be consulted about any other proposed changes . When Vice Admiral Herbert F . Leary was replaced a few months later , Curtin was consulted , and concurred with the change . General Headquarters . MacArthur became the Supreme Commander Southwest Pacific Area ( SWPA ) on 18 April 1942 , although he preferred to use the more conventional title of Commander in Chief . MacArthur ' s first General Order created five subordinate commands : Allied Land Forces , Allied Air Forces , Allied Naval Forces , United States Army Forces in Australia ( USAFIA ) , and the United States Army Forces in the Philippines . The last command had a short life . Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright ' s United States Army Forces in the Philippines disintegrated over the following three weeks , and disappeared entirely when Wainwright surrendered on Corregidor on 6 May . MacArthur announced the composition of his staff , known as General Headquarters ( GHQ ) on 19 April . Major General Richard K . Sutherland became Chief of Staff ; Brigadier General Richard J . Marshall , Deputy Chief of Staff ; Colonel Charles P . Stivers , Assistant Chief of Staff , G - 1 ; Colonel Charles A . Willoughby , Assistant Chief of Staff , G - 2 ; Brigadier General Stephen J . Chamberlin , Assistant Chief of Staff , G - 3 ; Colonel Lester J . Whitlock , Assistant Chief of Staff , G - 4 ; Brigadier General Spencer B . Akin , Signal Officer ; Brigadier General Hugh J . Casey , Engineer Officer ; Brigadier General William F . Marquat , Antiaircraft Officer ; Colonel Burdette M . Fitch , Adjutant General ; and Colonel LeGrande A . Diller , Public Relations Officer . Although Marshall had recommended that MacArthur appoint as many Australian and Dutch officers to senior positions as possible , most of his staff was made up of US Army officers who had served under him in the Philippines . The rest , including Whitlock , Fitch and Chamberlain , had been on the staff of USAFIA . MacArthur reported to Marshall that there were no qualified Dutch officers in Australia , and that the Australian Army had a critical shortage of staff officers , which he did not wish to exacerbate . Nevertheless , several Dutch and Australian army officers , as well as some American naval officers , served in junior positions on the staff . In July , MacArthur moved his GHQ north , from Melbourne to Brisbane , where it was located in the AMP Building . The original intention had been to move to Townsville , but this was found to be impractical , as Townsville lacked the communications facilities that GHQ required . The Allied Air Forces and Allied Naval Forces headquarters were co - located with GHQ in the AMP building . The Advanced Headquarters of Allied Land Forces opened at St Lucia , about away . The Advanced GHQ subsequently moved to Hollandia in September 1944 , Leyte in October 1944 , and Manila in May 1945 . There was a major reorganisation in April 1945 for the planned invasion of Japan . All Army forces in the Pacific were placed under MacArthur ' s command , including those in Nimitz ' s Pacific Ocean Areas . A new command was formed , Army Forces Pacific ( AFPAC ) , with GHQ operating as the headquarters of both AFPAC and SWPA . However , units in POA remained under Nimitz ' s operational control , and the first major formation , the Tenth United States Army , did not pass to AFPAC control until 31 July 1945 . SWPA , together with the Allied Air Forces , Allied Naval Forces and Allied Land Forces , was abolished on 2 September 1945 , but GHQ remained as GHQ AFPAC . Allied Land Forces . The Australian Army ' s Commander in Chief , General Sir Thomas Blamey , was appointed Commander , Allied Land Forces , SWPA . His headquarters was the existing General Headquarters ( Australia ) , and became known as LHQ . An Australian commander was chosen as most of the land forces were Australian . In April 1942 , there were 38 , 000 American ground troops in SWPA and 369 , 000 Australian . LHQ controlled five major commands : Lieutenant General Sir John Lavarack ' s First Army , based in Queensland ; Lieutenant General Sir Iven Mackay ' s Second Army in Victoria ; Lieutenant General Gordon Bennett ' s III Corps in Western Australia ; the Northern Territory Force under Major General Edmund Herring ; and New Guinea Force under Major General Basil Morris . Between them they controlled ten Australian and two American divisions . In August 1944 , the Australian Army had a strength of 463 , 000 men and women , while there were 173 , 000 US Army ground personnel in SWPA . By late 1944 , however , there were eighteen American divisions in SWPA , while the Australian Army had just seven . When GHQ moved up to Brisbane , LHQ remained behind in Melbourne , but Blamey formed an Advanced LHQ under his Deputy Chief of the General Staff ( DCGS ) , Major General George Alan Vasey , which moved to nearby St Lucia . Major General Frank Berryman replaced Vasey as DCGS in September 1942 , and remained in the post until January 1944 . He resumed the post in July 1944 and remained until December 1945 . When the main body of GHQ moved to Hollandia , Advanced LHQ followed , opening there on 15 December , but when the main GHQ moved to Leyte in February 1945 , Advanced LHQ remained behind . A Forward Echelon LHQ was formed under Berryman that remained co - located with the main body of GHQ , while the main body of LHQ remained at Hollandia until it moved to Morotai for the operations in Borneo in April 1945 . In practice , MacArthur controlled land operations through " task forces " . These reported directly to GHQ , and their commanders could control all Allied land , air , naval and service forces in their area if a Japanese land attack was imminent . The most important of these was New Guinea Force , which was formed in 1942 and was commanded personally by Blamey in September 1942 , and again in September 1943 . In February 1943 , Lieutenant General Walter Krueger ' s Sixth Army arrived in SWPA , and its headquarters became that of Alamo Force . Alamo Force reported directly to MacArthur , and as a result Blamey did not command of the majority of American land forces in the theatre after that time , although his post was not abolished . In March 1944 , MacArthur met with Curtin and detailed his plans for the Western New Guinea campaign , explaining that he would assume direct command of land forces when he reached the Philippines , and suggesting that Blamey could either go with him as an army commander , or remain in Australia as Commander in Chief . The new organisation went into effect in September 1944 , with Lieutenant General Walter Krueger ' s Sixth US Army , Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger ' s Eighth United States Army , Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee ' s First Australian Army , Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead ' s I Australian Corps and Major General Oscar Griswold ' s XIV Corps reporting directly to GHQ . Allied Land Forces remained as an important administrative and logistical command , until it was abolished , along with SWPA , on 2 September 1945 . Allied Air Forces . The April 1942 reorganisation that created the Allied Land Forces and Allied Naval Forces also created the Allied Air Forces under Brett . Unlike MacArthur , Brett created a completely integrated headquarters , with a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) officer , Air Vice Marshal William Bostock , as his chief of staff . Each United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) staff officer was paired with a RAAF officer , with the senior staff posts divided evenly between them . A majority of command positions were held by Australians . To make up shortages of USAAF aircrew , RAAF aircrew were assigned to USAAF air groups , serving in every role except aircraft commander . In May 1942 , the Australian government appointed Air Vice Marshal George Jones as Chief of the Air Staff . He became responsible for matters other than operations , such as administration and training . It soon became clear that Jones and Bostock could not get along together , but Kenney preferred to have Bostock in operational command , and although he regarded the antipathy between Jones and Bostock as a nuisance , was happy to leave arrangements the way they were . One of MacArthur ' s first orders to Brett was for a bombing mission to the Philippines , an order delivered personally by Sutherland . When Brett protested , Sutherland informed him that MacArthur wanted the mission carried out . The mission was flown by Brigadier General Ralph Royce , but MacArthur personally wrote a reprimand to Brett . Henceforth , communications with Sutherland were handled by Bostock . Further disagreements between MacArthur and Brett followed . Meanwhile , in Washington , General George Marshall and the Chief of Army Air Forces , Lieutenant General Henry Arnold , had become alarmed at Brett ' s integration of the USAAF and RAAF , and disturbed by his inability to work with MacArthur . On 6 July 1942 Marshall radioed MacArthur to offer him Major General George Kenney or Brigadier General Jimmy Doolittle as a replacement for Brett ; MacArthur selected Kenney . Kenney sent home Major General Royce , Brigadier Generals Edwin S . Perrin , Albert Sneed and Martin Scanlon , and about forty colonels . In Australia he found two talented , recently arrived brigadier generals , Ennis Whitehead and Kenneth Walker . Kenney reorganised his command in August , appointing Whitehead as commander of the V Fighter Command and Walker as commander of the V Bomber Command . Allied Air Forces was composed of both USAAF and RAAF personnel , and Kenney moved to separate them . Brigadier General Donald Wilson arrived in September and replaced Air Vice Marshal Bostock as Kenney ' s chief of staff , while Bostock took over the newly created RAAF Command . Walker was shot down over Rabaul in January 1943 . His successor , Brigadier General Howard Ramey , disappeared in March 1943 . Kenney deviated from the normal structure of an air force by creating the Advanced Echelon ( ADVON ) under Whitehead . The new headquarters had the authority to alter the assignments of aircraft in the forward area , where fast - changing weather and enemy action could invalidate orders drawn up in Australia . He created the 1st , 2nd and 3rd Air Task Forces to control air operations in a forward area for a specific mission , another departure from doctrine . While Kenney was enthusiastic about this innovation , Washington did not like it and , over Kenney ' s objections , converted the three air task forces into the 308th , 309th and 310th Bombardment Wing s . In June 1944 , Major General St . Clair Streett ' s Thirteenth Air Force was added to the Allied Air Forces . Kenney created the Far East Air Forces ( FEAF ) from his Fifth Air Force headquarters , while ADVON became the Fifth Air Force under Whitehead . The RAAF formed the Australian First Tactical Air Force under Air Commodore Harry Cobby in October 1944 , and when MacArthur became commander of all Army forces in the Pacific , the Seventh Air Force was added as well . Major General Paul Wurtsmith replaced Streett in March 1945 , and Air Commodore Frederick Scherger replaced Cobby in May . Allied Air Forces was abolished on 2 September 1945 . Allied Naval Forces . Vice Admiral Leary was appointed Commander , Allied Naval Forces , in April 1942 . In February 1942 , he had been appointed to command Anzac Force , the naval forces in the Anzac Area to the east of Australia . He was answerable directly to Admiral King . The most important force under his command was Rear Admiral John Gregory Crace ' s Anzac Squadron . When SWPA and the Allied Naval Forces were formed in April 1942 , Leary also became Commander , Southwest Pacific Force ( COMSOUWESPAC ) , while Crace ' s Anzac Squadron became Task Force 44 . In June , Crace was succeeded by another Royal Navy officer , Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley . With the agreement of the Australian government , Leary was succeeded as Commander , Southwest Pacific Force , and Commander , Allied Naval Forces , by Vice Admiral Arthur S . Carpender on 11 September 1942 . Like his predecessor , he reported to King in the former role , and MacArthur in the latter . Also like Leary , Carpender was not the most senior naval officer in the theatre , as the Royal Australian Navy Chief of the Naval Staff ( CNS ) , Admiral Sir Guy Royle , and the Royal Netherlands Navy ′ s Vice Admiral Conrad Helfrich were both senior to him . However , Royle agreed to serve under Carpenter as Commander , South West Pacific Sea Frontier , which was formed on 16 March 1943 . The Southwest Pacific Force was renamed the Seventh Fleet on 15 March 1943 , and its task forces were renumbered to match , so Task Force 44 became Task Force 74 . Another important component was Task Force 76 , the Amphibious Force , Southwest Pacific , which had been formed under Rear Admiral Daniel Barbey on 8 January 1943 . It became the VII Amphibious Force later in the year . A training centre , was established at Port Stephens , New South Wales , and another at Toorbul Point , Queensland . The VII Amphibious Forces initially consisted of the Australian Landing Ships , Infantry , and and the American attack transport , but gradually grew in size as additional landing craft and landing ships arrived . MacArthur was annoyed at the way that Royle , a Royal Navy officer , communicated directly with the Admiralty ; he was also aware that Royle had been critical of SWPA ' s command arrangements , and of some of his decisions . MacArthur proposed that an Australian officer , Captain John Collins , replace Royle as CNS , an appointment that Carpender also supported . Over the Admiralty ' s objections , Curtin appointed Collins to replace Crutchley as Commander , Task Force 44 , in June 1944 , at the rank of commodore , with the intention that Collins would replace Royle when his term expired . This did not occur , because Collins was seriously wounded in Leyte Gulf on 21 October 1944 . MacArthur did not get along with Carpender , and twice asked for him to be replaced , only to be embarrassed in November 1943 when King replaced Carpender with Vice Admiral Thomas C . Kinkaid without informing MacArthur or seeking the approval of the Australian government . However , a face - saving formula was agreed upon . For the invasion of Leyte , the Seventh Fleet was massively reinforced by ships from the Pacific Fleet . Cover was provided by Admiral William F . Halsey ' s Third Fleet , which remained under Nimitz . At the Battle of Leyte Gulf , the divided command brought the Allies to the brink of disaster when misunderstandings arose between Kinkaid and Halsey . Allied Naval Forces was abolished , along with SWPA , on 2 September 1945 . U . S . Army Services of Supply . Under U . S . Army Forces in Australia ( USAFIA ) a series of bases had gradually been built in Australia , initially to support the US forces in the Philippines . Seven base sections were established in Australia to operate under USAFIA : Base Section 1 at Birdum , Northern Territory ; Base Section 2 in Townsville ; Base Section 3 in Brisbane ; Base Section 4 in Melbourne ; Base Section 5 in Adelaide ; Base Section 6 in Perth ; and Base Section 7 in Sydney . On 20 July USAFIA became the United States Army Services of Supply , Southwest Pacific Area ( USASOS SWPA ) , under the command of Brigadier General Richard J . Marshall , and Barnes returned to the United States . When Lieutenant General Krueger ' s Sixth United States Army headquarters arrived in Australia in February 1943 , the administrative functions were taken from USASOS and given to a new headquarters , United States Army Forces in the Far East ( USAFFE ) , under MacArthur ' s command . This had the same name as MacArthur ' s old headquarters in the Philippines , but its function was different . This left USASOS with logistical responsibilities only . The new arrangement was awkward , and required considerable adjustment before it functioned properly . In September 1943 , Marshall was replaced by Brigadier General James L . Frink . The New Guinea Advanced Base was formed in Port Moresby in August 1942 , and sub bases were created at Milne Bay and Oro Bay . These became Advanced Sub Base A and Advanced Sub Base B respectively in April 1943 . Advanced Sub Base C was created on Goodenough Island in April 1943 , but was discontinued when the island was handed over to Sixth Army control in July . Meanwhile , Advanced Sub Base D was formed at Port Moresby in May . The sub bases became bases in August 1943 . Advanced Base E was formed at Lae and Advanced Base F at Finschhafen in November 1943 , followed by Bases G and H at Hollandia and Biak respectively . With a worldwide shipping crisis and SWPA being at the end of a very long supply line , as well as being a region without well developed transportation nets , regional logistics were almost entirely dependent on water transport . No one fleet composed the assets available to the Commander in Chief , SWPA as the U . S . Navy , Royal Navy , Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army , Netherlands East Indies Navy were under his operational command while being maintained under their respective organizations . Those assets were inadequate resulting in the creation of a large Army fleet unique to SWPA , the Permanent Local Fleet , under first USFIA , later USASOS and finally Army Forces , Western Pacific ( AFWESPAC ) , starting with the retention of the USAT " Meigs " , " Admiral Halstead " and " Coast Farmer " from the convoy diverted to Brisbane in December 1941 . That core was augmented by vessels fleeing the Japanese advance , particularly twenty - one Dutch vessels later known as the " KPM vessels " after the Dutch shipping line ' s name , Koninklijke Paketvaart - Maatschappij . As of 28 April 1942 the Army fleet had grown to twenty - eight ships and by 24 January 1945 that fleet of large ships exceeded ninety with a peak of ninety - eight by 1 August 1945 . That number did not count a much larger fleet of small vessels , ranging from landing craft , barges and other floating equipment to seagoing vessels under 1 , 000 tons , including the Small Ships Section of requisitioned and locally constructed ( 2 , 712 craft ) vessels manned largely by Australian civilian employees , 1 , 719 as of June 1945 , of the U . S . Army , and a large number of such vessels and floating equipment delivered from the United States . The permanent fleet of SWPA almost had as many vessels as the Army ’ s general fleet during some periods , though those vessels were often small , obsolete , in poor condition and under unorthodox management in comparison . As the Allied forces advanced , new bases were formed , and the old ones in Australia were closed . Base Sections 5 and 6 were closed in January 1943 , and Base Section 4 in June 1944 . The remaining four became bases , and a Base Section was formed in Brisbane to control them . Bases 1 and 3 were closed in December 1944 , leaving only Bases 2 and 7 . These were deactivated in June 1945 and their functions absorbed by the Australia Base Section , as the Base Section had been renamed in February 1945 . In New Guinea , Base D was closed in July 1945 , and Bases A , B and E in September , leaving Bases F , G and H . Meanwhile , a series of bases were opened in the Philippines : Base K on Leyte , Base M on Luzon , Base R at Batangas , Base S on Cebu and base X at Manila . These came under the Luzon Base Section , which was redesignated the Philippine on 1 April 1945 . On 7 June 1945 , USASOS became AFWESPAC , under the command of Lieutenant General Wilhelm D . Styer , and it absorbed USAFFE . Intelligence . In April 1942 , Brigadier General Spencer Akin and his Australian counterpart at LHQ , Major General Colin Simpson , agreed to pool their resources and establish a combined intelligence organisation , known as the Central Bureau . The Australian , British , and US Armies , as well as the RAAF and the RAN all supplied personnel for this formation , which worked on codebreaking and decrypting Japanese message traffic . This Magic and Ultra intelligence was vitally important to operations in SWPA . To handle other forms of intelligence , Blamey and MacArthur created the Allied Intelligence Bureau ( AIB ) . This included the Services Reconnaissance Department with its Z Special Unit that carried out special operations like Operation Jaywick ; Secret Intelligence Australia ; the Coastwatchers , who watched for Japanese aircraft and ships from observation posts behind Japanese lines ; and the propaganda specialists of the Far Eastern Liaison Office ( FELO ) . Two other important combined organisations , not part of AIB , were the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section ( ATIS ) , which translated Japanese documents , and the Allied Geographical Section , which prepared maps and charts , and drafted appreciations of the terrain . Since quality tended to be more important than quantity in intelligence , this proved to be a fruitful field in which the minor Allies , Australia and the Netherlands , could play an key part . Good intelligence enabled the Allied forces to minimise the risk of failures and maximise the chances of success . Moreover , the organisation built up in Australia proved to be useful after the war as well . David Horner later wrote that " it may prove that present day intelligence cooperation has proved to be the most lasting and important legacy of Australia ' s experience of coalition warfare in the Second World War . " Legacy . The Allied command structure in the South West Pacific Area faced the challenges of coalition warfare in a number of different ways , with varying degrees of success . The benefits of the wartime alliances proved to be substantial , but required constant effort to maintain . For Australia and New Zealand , coalition warfare became the norm , and the experience in SWPA proved to be a formative and informative one , with many political and military lessons . Over the following decades , Australian , New Zealand and American forces would fight together again , in the Korean War , Vietnam War and the War on Terror .