The final battle in the territory was waged on the north coast, where the Japanese had established beachheads at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. The Allies believed that the battle would be won relatively easily, but it turned into one of the hardest and most costly battles of the entire war in New Guinea.
Up to 9,000 Japanese troops occupied the three strongpoints. Engineers had spent months building a string of bunkers around the beachheads, and the garrison had been reinforced with fresh troops who were determined to fight tenaciously and, if necessary, to the death.
The Allied attack opened on 19 November 1942. American troops were confident as they advanced on Buna, but were ambushed and suffered heavy casualties. The Australians attacking Gona and Sanananda also came up against strong resistance. Both sides were undermined by malaria epidemics, as the ‘west season’ had swollen the coastal swamps, but the Allies were fortunate to have air superiority and aircraft to fly in reinforcements and supplies. They later also shipped in tanks.
After hard fighting on every front, the Allies overcame Gona on 9 December, then Buna on 3 January 1943 and finally Sanananda. About 2,000 Japanese were able to escape in the final days, but virtually all others had been killed in action or died of disease. Allied mopping-up ended on 22 January 1943, and the Papuan campaign ended officially the following day.
Buna–Gona–Sanananda:
Overview text Longer text Images Ben LoveClick images to enlarge.
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