The landings were undertaken simultaneously with the amphibious invasion of Aitape ("Operation Persecution") to the east. It was captured and was found to be carrying a Japanese message. The loss of Hollandia made the Japanese strategic defense line at Wakde, to the west, and all Japanese positions to the east untenable. This information was given to the 163rd Infantry Regiment of the 41st Infantry Division who used it in subsequent offensive operations. Land-based aircraft of the Allied air forces softened up the Hollandia area, destroying more than 300 enemy aircraft during the weeks preceding the attack. RAAF radar could not provide sufficient warning of Japanese attacks, so reliance was placed on coastwatchers and spotters in the hills until an American radar unit arrived in September with better equipment. These documents, contrary to American intelligence, indicated that the Japanese were strongly entrenched on Parry and Eniwetok islands. In February 1943, the first contingent of twenty graduates from the Navys Japanese Language School at Boulder, Colorado arrived at ICPOA and began interrogating prisoners of war and translating captured documents. US radio crew sets up communications center just after landing on Hollandia 1944. The operation consisted of two landings, one at Tanahmerah Bay and the other at Humboldt Bay, near Hollandia. Operation Reckless, the invasion of Hollandia and Aitape of 22-27 April 1944, was one of the most dramatic leapfrogging operations during the New Guinea campaign, and saw American forces bypass the strong Japanese bases at Wewak and Hansa Bay and capture key bases for MacArthur's planned return to the Philippines. [5] The first Nisei linguists were tested when the Marines invaded Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942 and flew prisoners of war and captured Japanese documents were sent a short distance away to New Caledonia for processing by the Nisei language team attached to Task Force 6814. In the early months of 1944, both at Bougainville and at Rabaul, large numbers of Japanese troops were effectively put out of action without being confronted in bloody combat. [13], Due north of Port Moresby, on the northeast coast of Papua, are the Huon Gulf and the Huon Peninsula. Often, they consisted of combined translations of several documents relating to the same subject, such as (No. The large majority of the defending Japanese troops there had uncharacteristically abandoned their positions and fled inland. They subsequently neutralized the Japanese positions, as well as interdicted a portion of the Japanese movements, and anticipated Japanese defensive position and strengths. Written orders including route, objective of raid, and extent to which enemy intended to rely on these new tactics were also included. 99-108 (Japanese Place Names-Philippines). Between the mountain ridge and the lake was a narrow plain where the Japanese had built a number of airfields; three had been constructed by April 1944 and a fourth was under construction. A complete list of the names of all officers and noncommissioned officers of the Japanese 222nd Infantry Regiment was captured on May 28, 1944. [39] This operation had no effect on the Japanese, as the air units were being held in reserve for a planned major attack on American naval forces in the Central Pacific. [21] Japanese bombers were often escorted by fighters which came in at 30,000ft (9,100m)too high to be intercepted by the P-39s and P-40sgiving the Japanese an altitude advantage in air combat. [16] Only about 500 of the 11,000 personnel were ground combat troops, being drawn from several antiaircraft batteries. He did successfully conduct the Western New Guinea campaign in 1944 which liberated much of Dutch New Guinea. In many instances these organizations were staffed with translators trained in military and naval language schools in the United States. 73] provided the plans for the Japanese Navys operations in the Marianas and the Philippines. In September 1945 they seized in Singapore important documentary evidence of war crimes, including photographs showing captured Indian soldiers being executed for refusing to join with Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army. Red 1 was found to be better, allowing LVTs and LCMs to come ashore with their infantry charges, but the approaches had to be cleared by engineers to allow the passage of the larger LCMs and even after this had been completed. In early January 1943, Japanese documents taken from the body of a sniper killed near Soputa, New Guinea, revealed the entire standing operating procedure of the Japanese in that area. [6], The struggle for New Guinea began with the capture by the Japanese of the city of Rabaul at the northeastern tip of New Britain Island in January 1942 (the Allies responded with multiple bombing raids, of which the action off Bougainville was one). Subsequently, Supplements No. [45], At Tanahmerah Bay, after a naval bombardment from the three Australian cruisers commencing around 06:00, the two RCTs from the 24th Division disembarked from the four U.S. and Australian transports Henry T. Allen, Carter Hall, Kanimbla and Manoora and moved ashore aboard 16 LCIs. The Allies proceeded to turn the island into an air base. As a result, code breaking was the main source of intelligence. [43][44] Meanwhile, carrier-borne aircraft attacked targets around Wakde, Sarmi and Hollandia from 21 April, destroying at least 33 Japanese planes in the air and more on the ground. Japanese expansion in East Asia began in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria and continued in 1937 with a brutal attack on China. All of these factors had to be taken into account in determining the lines of advance in 1944. However, this is contradictory to the total number of Japanese combat deaths calculated across most individual battles in the campaign. In early 1943, it became apparent, as the Allies assumed the offensive, that the volume of documents captured would far exceed the capacity of personnel available to translate each and every document in full. On 17 September, the Japanese had reached the village of Ioribaiwa, just 30 kilometres (20mi) from the Allied airdrome at Port Moresby. Opposition on the ground at Hollandia was negligible and within four days the two divisions had secured inland Japanese airfields. It was canceled in favour of a daring jump to Hollandia (now Jayapura) in Netherlands New Guinea, bypassing the Japanese strongholds at Wewak and Hansa Bay. I Corps, became commander of the newly formed U.S. 8th Army. The terrain, however, proved more problematic. This plan was eventually reversed in favor of a counterattack on U.S. forces around Aitape. Cushing, realizing the possible significance of the documents, notified his superiors who in turn notified the Allied Intelligence Bureau in Brisbane. The ATIS Information Section supplied information derived from interrogations; translations; and, situation reports, intelligence summaries, maps, photos, and other outside publications. [23] The Australian and American anti-aircraft gunners of the Composite Anti-Aircraft Defences played a crucial part. [13] See Seventy Years Ago: Colonel Sidney F. Mashbir and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), September-October 1942.. [36] The air and naval attacks succeeded in isolating the remaining Japanese forces in New Guinea. The Battle of Hollandia (code-named Operation Reckless) was an engagement between Allies of World War II and Japanese forces during World War II. They totaled 104 in number. Japanese forces to the west were reconfigured to form a defense line through Biak and Manokwari,[62] while the Japanese 18th Army, still in defensive positions around Wewak, to the east, were faced with a long retreat west through the jungle having been ordered to bypass Hollandia and Aitape and reinforce the 2nd Army in western New Guinea. The Battle of Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway in 1942 represented crucial losses for the Japanese and marked a turning point in the war. During July and August 1944 the Japanese 18th Army, based on Wewak, mounted an attack on Aitape, employing more than 20,000 troops in the forward area. ATIS was directed to make available to the board any and all information having to do with the identification of Japanese war criminals. Allied troops set up 105mm howitzer in Depapre New Guinea 1944. [14] The 18th Army did not plan for the defense of Hollandia, and the Army Air Force and Naval units stationed there had little opportunity to develop plans due to the rapid turnover of their leadership. In 1944, a CIC officer was detailed for liaison with ATIS for eventual duty as an instructor for CIC units. The landing was unopposed as the enemy garrison indicated its intention of surrendering by hoisting a white flag at the first sight of the invasion force. [7] The volume would have been more but members of the 414th CIC unit learned that Chinese soldiers through ignorance destroyed many documents. The Netherlands, Britain and the United States tried to defend the colony from the Japanese forces as they moved south in late 1941 in search of Dutch oil. By December 27, 1942, 1,100 Japanese documents had been received at the Advanced Land Headquarters, Brisbane, from the New Guinea area. In March 1944, plans were developed for ATIS to be located in closer proximity to combat operations. Later, the procedure was altered again to cope with the tons of documents captured at main Japanese bases. [4] Within six months, the school had shipped its first 35 graduates to the field, just in time for Guadalcanal and the Buna-Gona campaign. [34], Wau is a village in the interior of the Papuan peninsula, approximately 50 kilometres (30mi) southwest of Salamaua. The campaign was long and arduous, but by the end of 1944 the Japanese threat was contained in New Guinea. Philippine Series Bulletins represented special reports of items pertaining to the Philippine Islands. [41] After rehearsals and loading, on 16 to 18 April the amphibious forces sailed from their bases at Finschafen and Goodenough Island; they joined up with other ships carrying troops bound for Aitape from Seeadler Harbour and then rendezvoused with the escort aircraft carriers providing air cover off Manus Island early on 20 April. In addition, at the request of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 [Intelligence], USAFFE (US Army Forces in the Far East), an ATIS officer periodically delivered lectures on the importance and classification of Japanese documents to Army Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) classes. Intelligence gained from breaking the codes protecting Imperial Japanese Army radio messages led the Allies to learn that the Hollandia area was only lightly defended, with Japanese forces being concentrated in the Madang-Wewak region. Possibly the most important translations published by the 6th Army ATIS Advanced Echelon in February 1945, were files of orders of the Japanese 58th Independent Mixed Brigade. I want you to take Buna, or not come back alive. [1][2], Hollandia was situated on the east side of a headland separating Humboldt Bay to the east and Tanahmerah Bay, 25 miles (40km) to the west. [36], The Australians decisively turned back the Japanese assault in the ensuing 2931 January 1943 Battle of Wau. It was recognized that before an invasion of the Japanese home islands became possible it would be necessary to undertake extensive aerial bombardment of the islands and cut Japans lines of communications to the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. The following month at least 20 fighters were lost in combat, while eight were destroyed in July. Japanese plans to occupy Port Moresby were negated by losses during the Battle of the Coral Sea and Battle of Milne Bay. [11] This document was quickly translated and published as ATIS Publication No. He had planned to move first to Hansa Bay, but with airfields operational in the Admiralty Islands, the Hansa Bay assault was deemed unnecessary. It was occupied by the invading Japanese during the invasion of the Dutch East Indies in 1942 and became a base for their expansion to the east towards the Australian mandated territories of Papua New Guinea. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 January) and the Australian Territory of Papua (21 July) and overran western New Guinea (beginning 29/30 March), which was a part of the Netherlands East Indies. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Lindberg D-Day Invasion LCT Cargo Ship Model Kit 1/125 New Sealed In Damaged Box at the best online prices at eBay! After taking evasive routes to the west of the Admiralty Islands to avoid air attack,[42] the convoy turned back towards their objective late in the afternoon. It was occupied by the Japanese during their invasion of the Dutch East Indies in 1942, who planned to use it as a base for their expansion towards the Australian mandated territories of Papua and New Guinea. MacArthur was now determined to liberate the island as a stepping-stone to the reconquest of the Philippines. per cubic foot, this works out to 1,350 cubic feet of records. Operations focused on attacking positions and seaborne traffic around Timor, Ambon, and the Kai and Aroe Islands. U.S. Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Area (except the B-29s) were placed under Lieut. Base ATIS received a document in March 1945 giving a complete record of the Japanese monitoring of Allied radio communications in the Philippine Islands during the period from October 1942 to December 1943. [14], Operation Mo was the designation given by the Japanese to their initial plan to take possession of Port Moresby. Reports were issued when sufficient information on any subject had been collated to warrant publication. [18] A large number of Japanese aircraft were stationed at airfields near Hollandia in March 1944. To the invaders from Japan, and the occupiers from Australia and the United States, however, New Guineans appeared as colonial subjects at best, and as slaves at worst. Thousands perished from starvation and disease; the commanding general, Horii, was drowned. When very few documents were captured and relatively little was known about the enemy forces in the SWPA, it was imperative to translate all documents in full. The Allied Air Forces acted promptly on this information and sank both Japanese submarines and supply barges. 4, to acquire Japanese records, staged a contest, making awards to Burmese or Chinese turning in the most documents. To help ensure soldiers turned in any souvenirs of intelligence interest, the CIC established a souvenir grab bag. This contained items of no intelligence value, such as Japanese postcards, stationery, pictures, and clothing, and any soldier who handed over a souvenir needed for intelligence analysis was allowed to take an item from the grab bag in exchange. Such experiments led to improvements in naval gunfire techniques and infantry tactics in time for the Marshalls operation. The attack force comprised 84,000 personnel, including 52,000 combat troops, 23,000 support personnel, and a naval task force of 200 vessels of 7th Fleets Task Force 77 under Rear Admiral Daniel Barbey. The documents were then sent on to ATIS, SWPA, for final examination. [20], I Corps under Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger provided most of the ground forces for the combined Operations Reckless and Persecution. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress. [10] After the chief of staff of the Second Area Army travelled to Wewak to deliver Adachi orders in person, he directed that the 66th Infantry Regiment begin moving from Wewak to Hollandia on 18 April; it was expected that this unit would arrive there in mid-June. The town itself was on the shore of Humboldt Bay, with a first-class anchorage. The Allied reduction of Rabaul was only made possible by relentless air strikes that took place day after day, but Yamamoto thought the damage inflicted by a few attacks of large formations would derail Allied plans long enough for Japan to prepare a defense in depth. In the meantime another landing was made at Aitape in Australian New Guinea, about 125 miles (roughly 200 km) southeast of Hollandia, where Australian engineers soon completed an airstrip. Nimitz offered to assign eight small escort carriers to support the landing at Aitape, with these vessels then proceeding to support operations at Hollandia until 11 May. The Aussies were fighting mad, for they had found some of their captured fellows tied to trees and bayoneted to death, surmounted by the placard, 'It took them a long time to die'. On October 22, 1944, X Corps captured four sketches, one of gun positions north of Dulag, Leyte, and three of San Roque, Catmon Hill Area, Leyte, containing gun and coastal defense positions. This discovery resulted in a hurried revision of the assault plans regarding these islands. The Japanese defended Biak valiantly, even managing at one point to bring in 1,100 reinforcements, but they were finally overcome in early August. [58], Japanese casualties amounted to 3,300 killed and 600 wounded in combat;[59] a further 1,146 were killed or died in the area up to 27 September 1944. While military planners argued the merits of one approach over another, two main lines of attack were actually followed during 1944: (1) MacArthurs ground forces (including Army, Marine, and Navy elements) strengthened their hold in New Guinea and eventually invaded the Philippines; (2) Nimitzs naval forces drove across the central Pacific from the Gilberts to the Marianas and then covered the landing in the Philippines. target: "#hbspt-form-1677759698000-1549361125", SEATIC and SINTIC operating in Southeast Asia and China received and translated relatively large quantities of captured documents during the war. Most important of all, the bombers of MacArthur's air forces, under the command of Lieutenant General George C. Kenney, had been modified to enable new offensive tactics. ATIS Inventories were also prepared. As their number grew, and the volume of available intelligence increased, such a procedure became unnecessary, and also impossible due to the limited number of linguists available. MacArthur, the supreme commander in the area, also commanded all U.S. Army troops in the Southwest Pacific in his capacity as commanding general, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East. US troops debark from LST-66 at Tanahmerah Bay Hollandia. These were supported by a force of eight escort carriers of the 5th Fleet. The publication was intended as a manual for the training and indoctrination of intelligence personnel and as a reference book for the exploitation of intelligence documents. All agreed, of course, that the naval forces that had met with such success in the Gilbert Islands should push toward the Marianas, from which the heavy B-29 bombers of the Army Air Forces could strike at Japan. [6] See The Sinking of the Japanese Submarine I-1 off of Guadalcanal and the Recovery of its Secret Documents., [7] See A Letter from Somewhere in Burma, June 1944. 16 dealt with interrogation of captured American B-24 air crews; No. On December 7, 1941, Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, severely damaging the US Pacific Fleet. 119 deals with the Japanese Military Police Service and Report No. Joining JICPOA once it became an inter-service organization were some 50 US Army Military Intelligence Service (MIS) Nisei linguists. The other landing would be made at Humboldt Bay by two RCTs (the 162nd and 186th) of the 41st Division. Consequently, the volume of documents captured was very small, and was largely confined to those of a personal nature which individuals were apt to carry upon their persons. Philippine Series Bulletins represented special reports of items pertaining to the total number Japanese... 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