Remembering the war in New Guinea - Who fought in New Guinea

Who fought in New Guinea? (QnA)
This page was contributed by Mr Damien Fenton (Australian War Memorial)

The Japanese

Approximately 250,000 Japanese were sent to fight in New Guinea. Most of these men served in the Imperial Japanese Army but there were also a number of naval units present such as the Special Naval Landing Force that fought the Australians in the Battle of Milne Bay. Other naval troops included construction and maintenance units that built and ran a number of shore bases and airbases in the region. The Japanese forces in New Guinea also included an unknown number of Formosan and Korean conscripts (Formosa - now Taiwan - and Korea were then part of the Japanese Empire). These men were usually posted to labour and construction units rather than combat units but as the Japanese position in New Guinea deteriorated many of them were caught up in the fighting.

The Australians

When the Pacific War broke out the Australian Army consisted of two parts: an expeditionary force of volunteers called the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF); and the Citizen Military Force (usually known simply as the Militia) which included conscripts and could not be sent outside Australia or Australian-administered territories such as Papua. In December 1941 most of the 2nd AIF was fighting the Germans and Italians in North Africa as part of the British 8th Army. Therefore much of the initial defence of Australia's possessions in New Guinea fell to the Militia units who were not as well equipped or trained as the units of the 2nd AIF. This situation improved as the AIF units were brought back from North Africa and the Militia units were placed on a more professional footing. New Guinea became the main focus of Australia's war effort between 1942 and 1944 and at least 400,000 Australians served there. This figure includes large numbers of Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy perso
nnel whose planes and ships supported the efforts of the soldiers on land.

The Americans

Japan's conquest of Southeast Asia in late 1941/early 1942 made Australia a vital part of the United States' strategy to defeat Japan. The first advance party of American troops arrived in Brisbane on 22 December 1941 and for the next two years Australia became the main base for American forces in the South West Pacific. By 1943 the American presence in Australia reached a peak of 340,000 Army, Air Force and Naval personnel. While not all of these Americans were involved with the fighting in New Guinea many of them did see action there. American engineers and other support troops were sent to Port Moresby in mid-1942 and in September of that year the first American combat units joined the Australians in the battles for Buna and Sanananda. By the end of 1943 American combat troops outnumbered Australian ones in the New Guinea theatre. In August 1944 the Americans withdrew their combat units from New Guinea in preparation for the invasion of the Philippines and left the Australians in charge of all remain
ing operations in the area.

The Papuans and New Guineans

The indigenous peoples of Papua and New Guinea had little say in the war being fought over their lands. For the most part they simply tried to adapt to the difficult circumstances and survive as best they could. Both the Australians and the Japanese employed Papuan and New Guinean men to carry supplies up to the front-line troops and to carry out other forms of manual labour. Local tribesmen also acted as scouts and spies for both sides on occasion. In 1942 the Australians raised a Papuan Infantry Battalion to fight alongside Australian troops and in 1944 this unit was joined by four New Guinea infantry battalions. A number of Papuan and New Guinean guerrilla units were also formed under the command of Australian officers and operated behind the Japanese lines. While some New Guinean men volunteered to work at Japanese bases there is no evidence that the Japanese ever tried to raise indigenous units to fight alongside the Japanese Army.

The New Zealanders

For the first two years of the Pacific War the New Zealanders fought alongside the Americans in the Solomon Islands while the Australians fought alongside the Americans in New Guinea. However by 1944 bomber squadrons of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) were taking part in air raids against the major Japanese base of Rabaul on the Island of New Britain. In September 1944 the Australians took over from the Americans the responsibility for pinning down the Japanese garrisons on New Britain and Bougainville. While the Americans went to the Philippines the New Zealanders stayed behind to work with the Australians. For the rest of the war RNZAF fighter-bomber and bomber squadrons provided air support to Australian ground forces on Bougainville and New Britain.
Click images to enlarge. Japanese naval troops enjoy a break.
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Australian soldiers sort through a box of tinned food supplied by the Australian Comforts Fund, Finschhafen, New Guinea, December 1943. With the outbreak of hostilities in the Pacific New Guinea became the focus of Australia's war effort between 1942-1944 and at least 400,000 Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen fought there. This figure included soldiers serving in the Militia (many of whom were only 18) who could not legally be sent to fight outside of Australia but who could still serve in Papua and New Guinea as these were Australian controlled territorities.
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American paratroopers of the 503rd Parachute Regiment pack their equipment and weapons in preparation for their aerial assault to capture the airfield at Nadzab in the Markham River Valley, New Guinea, September 1943. American troops played a vital role in supporting the Australian forces in New Guinea from the middle of 1942 onwards. By the beginning of 1944 the American presence in New Guinea had grown to the point where they outnumbered their Australian allies in the region.
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Soldiers of the 1st New Guinea Infantry Battalion aboard a transport taking them to Jacquinot Bay, New Britain, November 1944. The men of the New Guinea and Papuan infantry battalions fought alongside the Australians against the Japanese and established a formidable reputation as jungle fighters in the process. They were usually employed on long-range patrols and scouting missions.
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Two New Zealand (left) and two Australian (right) pilots pose together in front of a Corsair fighter-bomber after completing a ground strike mission against Japanese positions on Bougainville, January 1945. The Corsair was flown by fighter squadrons of the Royal New Zealand Air Force in support of Australian ground forces against the Japanese garrison on Bougainville from September 1944 to the end of the war. The Australian pilots of No. 5 (Tactical Reconnaissance) Squadron RAAF helped to locate targets and guide the New Zealanders on to them.
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This page was last updated on 1 June 2004.
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