The Road Back: New Guinea

Another in the Crusade in the Pacific series.

It starts by talking about Japanese domination of the Pacific area.

March, 1942, the Japanese land on New Guinea.

American troops landing in Australia.

It then talks about Japanese pilots could fly as far as Australia without much fear of being shot down.

Japanese planes attacked the Australian city of Port Darwin about fifty times in 1942.

Japan plans to attack here at Milne Bay.

Japanese soldiers gain a foothold, but are hit hard by U.S. bombers. The Japanese ended up abandoning the offensive.

Australian troops make their way across the southern tip of New Guinea. One of them is even narrating the footage.

Supplies are air-dropped to the Australian troops.

They called the natives “fuzzy-wuzzys.”

Australian casualties are moved to native villages.

Additional Australian troops are ferried in while U.S. troops land on the other side of New Guinea, planning to link up with the Australian troops.

Some Japanese prisoners were taken.

March, 1943; a Japanese convoy is found and attacked.

This is the Battle of the Bismarck sea, which went on for three days and resulted in twelve Japanese ships being sunk.

More amphibious landings are made as U.S. and Australian forces leap-frog up New Guinea.

MacArthur demanding that some particular objective be seized at once.

Sept. 5, 1943; U.S. paratroopers take to the air as part of a large operation.

MacArthur, flying in a B-17, went with the attack force.

The Japanese evacuated Lae. (The narrator talks about “northern New Guinea, yet, when I look at the map, it looks like it's in the southern part, to me.)

The white area is the part under Allied control (which still looks like it's south to me.)

Allied planes then started attacking western New Guinea.

Another Allied target. It was invaded on November 1st, 1943.



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