Remembering the war in New Guinea
Salamaua–Lae, 1943 (Photographs)
Module name: Campaign history (All groups perspective)
This page was contributed by Mr Damien Fenton (Australian War Memorial)

AWM 141998 (Australian War Memorial) An RAAF Beaufighter heading out on patrol over the Bismarck Sea, March 1943. Aircraft like this, along with American B-17 and B-25 bombers, intercepted and annihilated a Japanese troop convoy trying to reinforce Lae in what became known as the Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943). Improved Allied anti-shipping techniques were demonstrated to deadly effect and not a single Japanese transport made it to the New Guinea coast. After this disaster the Japanese abandoned any further attempt to reinforce New Guinea by convoy and had to resort to piecemeal night movements by barge.
AWM 141996 (Australian War Memorial) A Japanese troop transport burns fiercely after being hit by Allied aircraft during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Altogether eight Japanese transport ships and three destroyers were sunk and almost half of the 6,500 Japanese soldiers embarked were killed. Many of these deaths occurred in controversial circumstances after the initial sinkings as Allied aircraft continued to roam the area hunting down as many of the survivors as they could find.
AWM 015219 (Australian War Memorial) A 3-inch mortar and its Australian crew in action during 17th Brigade’s attack on Mubo, 8 July 1943. The capture of Mubo signalled the beginning of the hard-fought Australian advance towards the coast and Salamaua.
AWM 015361 (Australian War Memorial) An American 0.50 calibre heavy machine gun and its crew lay down suppressing fire against suspected Japanese positions on Lababia Island, Nassau Bay, July 1943. The landings at Nassau Bay by the American 162nd Infantry Regiment were intended to support the 3rd Australian Division’s drive on Salamaua. As this was the 162nd’s first combat operation, a company of the Papuan Infantry Battalion was attached to add some experience to the force.
AWM 015377 (Australian War Memorial) A weary Australian soldier takes a break along with the rest of his unit during the fighting around Komiatum and Mount Tambu, August 1943. The 3rd Australian Division had to fight a series of bitterly contested battles for control of the heights and ridgelines surrounding the approaches to Salamaua before the township finally fell on 11 September.
AWM 055147 (Australian War Memorial) New Guinean carriers line up to collect their loads at an Australian forward supply depot at Mubo, 27 July 1943. Although Allied air transports were able to deliver supplies to Wau and carry out air drops in the forward areas,.the 3rd Australian Division still had to rely heavily on carrier lines to keep it going.
AWM 015566 (Australian War Memorial) American gunners of the 218th Field Artillery Battalion and their 75 mm pack howitzer fire at targets on Mount Tambu, 16 August 1943. Thanks to the landings at Nassau Bay and its subsequent use as a supply point for Allied water transport units, Australian and American forces were able to enjoy substantial artillery support in the final stages of the battle for Salamaua.
AWM 127651 (Australian War Memorial) A B-24 Liberator heavy bomber of the 90th Bomber Group, USAAF, soars above Salamaua as bombs explode on the township below, 3 August 1943. In an effort to maintain the pressure on its besieged Japanese defenders, Allied air raids against Salamaua intensified in the lead-up to its capture.
AWM 306542 (Australian War Memorial) Men of the 9th Australian Division pour out of American LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank) during the landings north of Lae, 4 September 1943. Four hours after the first wave of assault troops hit the beach almost 8,000 men had been put ashore and the advance inland was underway. Despite extensive preparations to deal with expected Japanese resistance, including a preliminary naval bombardment, the landing was virtually unopposed.
AWM 015713 (Australian War Memorial) Paratroopers of the American 504th Parachute Regiment prepare to board C-47 Dakota transports prior to their assault on Nadzab, 5 September 1943. Accompanying them to provide artillery support was the Australian 2/4th Field Regiment. The operation represented a huge undertaking for the transport groups of the American Fifth Air Force – a total of 87 C-47s were needed to carry the American and Australian troops to the drop zone.
AWM 015709 (Australian War Memorial) American paratroops descend on Nadzab under a smokescreen laid by accompanying A-20 Havoc tactical bombers, 5 September 1943. Contrary to expectations, no Japanese troops were in the area and, like the 9th Australian Division’s landings, the operation was unopposed.
AWM 015931 (Australian War Memorial) Australian infantry in the jungle of the Markham valley probe forward during the 9th Division’s advance on Lae, September 1943. While ferocious pockets of Japanese resistance were encountered these were mostly rearguard actions by remnants of the 51st Division – Major General ADACHI Hatazô had already ordered the bulk of the Lae garrison to withdraw across the Finisterre Ranges.
AWM P00564.005 (Australian War Memorial) Two Japanese Type 96 150 mm howitzers abandoned by the Butibum River near Lae and discovered just before its capture. The 9th Division’s route of advance took it across the path of several rivers each of which caused delays and created choke-points that were readily exploited by the Japanese rearguards.
AWM 015783 (Australian War Memorial) Australian troops file past a dead Japanese soldier as they move in to occupy Lae, September 1943. The town was taken by units of the 9th Division on 16 September, less than two weeks after the Division had landed on the coast. In that short space of time the Division had suffered 547 casualties including 77 killed and 73 missing. Japanese losses for the entire Lae–Salamaua area during August and September are estimated to have been just over 2,000.
AWM ART21353 (Australian War Memorial) Roy Hodgkinson, Wounded gunner home from Lae, 1943, crayon with wash, 55.4 x 37.6 cm, Australian War Memorial, ART21353.
AWM ART33838 (Australian War Memorial) Ivor Hele, Shooting wounded Japanese, Timbered Knoll, 1943, charcoal, 53.5 x 50.2 cm, Australian War Memorial, ART33838.
AWM ART22561 (Australian War Memorial) Ivor Hele, Walking wounded, Missim Trail, 1944, oil on canvas, 76.5 x 91.3 cm, Australian War Memorial, ART22561.
AWM ART22497 (Australian War Memorial) Ivor Hele, Malaria, Salamaua, 1943, pencil, 33.4 x 49.5 cm, Australian War Memorial, ART22497.
AWM ART22324 (Australian War Memorial) Geoffrey Mainwaring, The beach-head, Lae, 1943, oil on canvas on cardboard, 48.5 x 58.4 cm, Australian War Memorial, ART22324.