Landing at Scarlet Beach

8/19/2019 Landing at Scarlet Beach

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Landing at Scarlet Beach

The Landing at Scarlet Beach (Operation Diminish)

(22 September 1943) took place during the Huon Penin-

sula campaign of the Second World War. Involving forces

from Australia, the United States and Japan, Allied forces

landed at Scarlet Beach, north of Siki Cove and south

of the Song River, to the east of Katika and about 10

kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Finschhafen. The capture

of Finschhafen allowed the construction of air base and

naval facilities to assist Allied air and naval forces to con-

duct operations against Japanese bases in New Guinea

and New Britain.After Lae had fallen sooner than the Allies had antic-

ipated, they exploited the advantage. As a result of

faulty intelligence, which underestimated the size of the

Japanese force in the area, the assault force chosen con-

sisted of only Brigadier Victor Windeyer's 20th infantry

Brigade. The landing at Scarlet Beach that took place

on 22 September 1943 was the first opposed amphibious

landing that Australian forces had made since the Landing

at Anzac Cove in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915. Navi-

gational errors resulted in the troops being landed on the

wrong beach, with some of them coming ashore at Siki

Cove and taking heavy fire from the strong Japanese de-fences in pillboxes. After re-organising, the Australians

pushed inland. The Japanese put up stiff resistance on

the high ground at Katika, but were forced back. By the

end of the day, the Australians had secured their objec-

tives. A force of 8 Japanese bombers, escorted by 38

fighters attacked ships of the VII Amphibious Force on

the way back. The destroyer USS Reid , which was serv-

ing as fighter controller concentrated five squadrons of US

fighter aircraft over the convoy. No ships were hit, but ca-

sualties mounted in the daily air attacks on the beachhead.

The next day the Australians commenced their advance

south towards the village of Finschhafen, about 5.6 miles(9.0 km) south of the landing beach, with the 2/15th In-

fantry Battalion leading the way to the Bumi River. The

Japanese had established strong defences along the river’s

southern bank, which the Australians attempted to out-

flank by sending a force to the west, climbing through

steep terrain. Once they had located a suitable place to

cross the river, they began wading across but were fired

upon by a group of Japanese naval infantry who were po-

sitioned on a high feature overlooking the river. Despite

taking casualties, the Australians were able to establish

themselves south of the Bumi and at that point the 2/13th

Infantry Battalion began to advance on Finschhafen from

the west. Meanwhile, the 2/15th attacked the left flank ofthe Japanese that had opposed their crossing. After ad-

vancing up the steep slope under fire, sometimes on their

hands and knees, the 2/15th took the position at the point

of the bayonet, killing 52 Japanese in close combat.

Australian fears of a Japanese counterattack grew and

they requested reinforcements from General Douglas

MacArthur. The request was denied as his intelligence

staff believed that there were only 350 Japanese in the

vicinity. Actually, there were already 5,000 Japanese

around Sattelberg and Finschhafen. The Australians re-

ceived some reinforcements in the shape of the 2/43rd

Infantry Battalion. The arrival of this unit meant that theentire 20th Infantry Brigade could concentrate on Fin-

schhafen. The Japanese naval troops which were holding

Finschhafen began to withdraw and Finschhafen fell to

the Australians on 2 October. The 20th Infantry Brigade

then linked up with the 22nd Infantry Battalion, a Militia

infantry battalion that had cleared the coastal area in the

south of the Huon Peninsula, advancing from Lae over

the mountains. The Japanese withdrew into the moun-

tains around Sattelberg.

1 Strategy

1.1 Allied

Map of Huon Peninsula operations, 1943–44

At the Pacific Military Conference in Washington, D.C.,

in March 1943, the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved

plans by General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme

Commander, South West Pacific Area for an advance

on the Japanese base at Rabaul.[1] On 13 June 1943,

MacArthur’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Brisbaneinstructed General Sir Thomas Blamey's New Guinea

Force to

1

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2 3 PRELUDE

...seize the Lae-Salamaua-Finschhafen-

Markham River Valley area and establish

major elements of the [Air Force] therein to

provide from the Markham Valley area general

and direct air support of subsequent opera-

tions in northern New Guinea and western

New Britain, and to control Vitiaz Strait andprotect the north-western flank of subsequent

operations in western New Britain.[2]

Following the successful seaborne landing at Lae and

airborne landing at Nadzab, Salamaua, Lae and the

Markham River Valley were all in Allied hands by 16

September 1943. Blamey then turned his attention to his

next objective: Finschhafen.[2]

1.2 Japanese

The bombing of Wewak, in which 100 Japanese aircraft

were lost in August 1943, caused Imperial General Head-

quarters (IGHQ) in Tokyo to reconsider whether Eastern

New Guinea and the Solomon Islands could be held. Con-

cluding that it could not, IGHQ authorised the comman-

der of the Japanese Eighth Area Army to conduct a fight-

ing withdrawal to a new defensive position in WesternNew Guinea, which it hoped would be ready in 1944.[3]

Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi, the commander of

the Japanese XVIII Army in New Guinea, recognised

the importance of the Finschhafen area, and had placed

Major General Eizo Yamada, the commander of the 1st

Shipping Group in charge of defending it. To strengthen

the defences there, Adachi ordered the 80th Infantry Reg-

iment and a battalion of field artillery from the 20th Di-

vision at Madang to move to Finschhafen on 7 August

1943. The headquarters, artillery and heavy weapons de-

parted Bogadjim on 15 August, and travelled by sea, but

the remainder marched along the coast.[4][5]

On 26 August, he assigned the 2nd Battalion, 238th In-

fantry Regiment, part of the 41st Division, which was in

the area en route to join the rest of the 238th Infantry

Regiment at Salamaua, to remain in the Finschhafen area

under Yamada’s command. The landing at Lae on 4

September made an Australian advance on Finschhafen

appear imminent, and Adachi ordered the rest of the 20th

Division, less the Nakai detachment in the Markham Val-

ley, to move to Finschhafen. The main body, under Lieu-

tenant General Shigeru Katagiri left Bogadjim bound for

Finschhafen on 10 September, but was not expected to ar-

rive before October.[4][5] In the event of an Allied attackbefore he arrived, Yamada was to hold the high ground

around Sattelberg and prepare for a counter-attack.[6]

2 Geography

The Huon Peninsula is situated along the north-east coast

of Papua New Guinea, andstretches from Lae in thesouth

on the Huon Gulf to Sio in the north along the Vitiaz

Strait. Along the coast, between these two points, numer-

ous rivers and streams cut the terrain. Of these, the most

prominent are the Song, Bumi and Mape Rivers. These

waterways flow from the mountainous interior which is

formed through the conglomeration of the Rawlinson

Range in the south, with the Cromwell Mountains in the

east. These meet in the centre of the peninsula to form

the Saruwaged Range massif, which joins the Finisterre

Range further west. Apart from a thin, flat coastal strip,

at the time of the campaign, the area was thickly cov-

ered with dense jungle, through which very few tracks

had been cut.[7][8]

During planning, the Allies identified three areas as key

and decisive terrain in the area: thebeach north of Katika,

which was later codenamed “Scarlet” by the Allies, the

3,150-foot (960 m) high peak called Sattelberg 5 miles

(8 km) to the south west, which dominated the area due

to its height, and Finschhafen, possessing a small airfield

and sitting on the coast in a bay which offered protected

harbour facilities.[8] There were good anchorages for ves-

sels of up to 5,000 tons in Dreger Harbour, Langemak

Bay and Finsch Harbour.[9] The flat coastal strip provided

a number of potential airfield sites.[10]

3 Prelude

3.1 Intelligence

Allied estimates of the number of Japanese troops in the

Finschhafen area varied. Brigadier General Charles A.

Willoughby, the Assistant Chief of Staff (G-2), and there-

fore the head of the intelligence branch at MacArthur’s

GHQ, considered Finschhafen to be primarily a tranship-

ment point, and the troops there to be mainly from line of

communication units. The fall of Lae ended its utility, so

he reduced his estimate of the number of Japanese troopsin the area to 350.[11] Based on this appreciation, GHQ

believed that Finschhafen would be a “pushover”.[12]

There was reason to believe otherwise. A ten-man Allied

Intelligence Bureau patrol that included three Australian

officers, an American amphibian scout from the US

Army’s 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment, a

signaller from Z Special Unit, and native soldiers, was

landed during the night of 11/12 September in rub-

ber boats launched from two PT boats. The scouts

were unable to obtain the hydrographic information they

sought due to Japanese patrols in the area. A num-

ber of machine-gun nests were identified during theirreconnaissance of the enemy positions before they were

extracted on 14 September.[13]

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3.2 Planning 3

As had happened during the Kokoda Track campaign

and the Battle of Buna-Gona, estimates by Australian

intelligence differed greatly from those at GHQ,[14] as

they used different methods.[15] The intelligence staff

at Blamey’s Allied Land Forces Headquarters (LHQ),

headed by Brigadier J. D. Rogers, had come up with a

much higher figure of 3,000.[16] I Corps produced an es-timate of 1,800, which was passed on along with GHQ’s

estimate.[15] Unfortunately, the Allies’ best source of in-

telligence, Ultra, shone no light on the matter. Fin-

schhafen was mentioned in only five decrypted messages

in the previous three months. Most of these were in

the insecure Japanese Water Transport Code. Only af-

ter the capture of Japanese codebooks in the Battle of

Sio in January 1944 were the Allies able to systematically

break into the Japanese Army codes.[17] In fact, Japanese

strength in the area on 22 September was about 5,000.[18]

3.2 Planning

Two contingency plans had been prepared by Lieutenant

General Sir Edmund Herring's I Corps. One was a ship-

to-shore operation by the 6th Division's 16th Infantry

Brigade or the 7th Infantry Brigade, a Militia formation

at Milne Bay; the other was for a shore-to-shore oper-

ation by a brigade of Major General George Wootten's

9th Division.[19] The operation was codenamed “Dimin-

ish”, which was in fact that of Finschhafen itself.[20] In the

plan produced by I Corps on 24 August 1943, Herring se-

lected beaches immediately south of the Song River for

the landing. Indications were that it was suitable for land-

ing craft. Most of the Japanese defenders and defences

were believed to be facing south in anticipation of an Aus-

tralian overland advance from Lae. It avoided having to

cross the Mape River, which was believed to be a signif-

icant obstacle.[19] The landing beach became known as

Scarlet Beach from thepost-landing red screens and lights

used to guide landing craft. The left end of the beach was

marked with a solid red panel mounted on tent poles, the

right with one alternating red and white. At night, the

left would have a red light, and the right one alternating

red and white. This scheme had first been used at Red

Beach during the landing at Lae.[21] To avoid confusionof having two Red Beaches, the landing beach was called

Scarlet Beach instead.[22]

On 16 September, the day Lae fell, MacArthur ordered

that Finschhafen be captured as soon as possible. The fol-

lowing day he held a conference at Port Moresby. He and

Blamey selected the second contingency, a landing by a

brigade of the 9th Division. Brigadier Victor Windeyer's

20th Infantry Brigade was chosen as it was still relatively

fresh, and had experience with amphibious operations

from the landing at Lae. The 6th Division’s movement

to New Guinea was postponed. Rear Admiral Daniel E.

Barbey, the commander of the VII Amphibious Force,had originally counted on four weeks break between the

fall of Lae and the Finschhafen operation. On 9 Septem-

Brigadier Victor Windeyer won the Distinguished Service Or-

der at the Siege of Tobruk and again at the Second Battle of El

Alamein

ber, he had told Herring that it would require a minimum

of ten days.[19] Under pressure from MacArthur, Barbey

cut that to three days. This was too soon for Herring to

get the troops together, and 21 September was selected as

the target date.[23] Herring briefed Windeyer on the op-

eration on 18 September. Windeyer felt that the schedule

was still too tight, and it was postponed one more day to

22 September.[20]

As at Lae, the first wave, consisting of two companies

each from the 2/13th and 2/7th Infantry Battalions, would

land in plywood LCP(R)s launched by the four destroyer

transports,[24] the USS Brooks , Gilmer , Humphreys and

Sands .[25] The remainder of the assault would land in 6

LSTs, 15 LCIs and 6 LCTs of the VII Amphibious Force,

and 10 LCMs and 15 LCVPs of the 532nd Engineer Boat

and Shore Regiment.[24] The total force would number

about 5,300.[26] The 9th Division would be limited to tak-

ing 15 days’ supplies.[27] One of the lessons of the Lae op-

eration was the need for a naval beach party to take sound-

ings, mark the beaches and channels, and handle commu-

nications between ship and shore. US Navy doctrine held

that these should be composed of personnel drawn from

the attack transports, but none were involved in the Lae or

Finschhafen operations. For Finschhafen, an eight-manRoyal Australian Navy (RAN) Beach Party was organ-

ised under Lieutenant Commander J. M. Band.[28]

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4 4 LANDING

A set of oblique aerial photographs of Scarlet Beach were

taken on 19 September by the USAAF’s 8th Photo Re-

connaissance Squadron, the only unit in SWPA with the

equipment to take them,[29] that showed a shallow sand

bar along the southern half of the beach, rendering it un-

suitable for landing craft. This left beaching space for

only three LSTs. The landing plan was changed so onlythree of the six LSTs would beach with the initial as-

sault, the other three returning to Buna, and arriving on

the beach at 23:00 that night. Herring considered that

spreading the LST arrivals might make unloading eas-

ier. Wootten noted that this would mean that one battery

of 25-pounders, one light antiaircraft battery, a quarter

of the engineer stores, and the casualty clearing station

would have to arrive with the second group.[30] Ironically,

soundings taken by the RAN Beach Party after the land-

ing revealed that the “sand bar” was actually a white shin-

gle bottom, and in fact the beach was ideally suited to LST

operations.[31]

The main point of disagreement between Herring and

Barbey concerned the timing of the landing.[32] Barbey

and the Commander of Allied Naval Forces, Vice Ad-

miral Arthur S. Carpender did not want a repeat of what

happened at Lae,[33] when two LCIs were lost and two

LSTs were badly damaged.[34] Although the USAAF and

RAAF attacked Japanese air bases in New Britain, this

did not stop 9 Japanese bombers and 10 fighters attacking

Nadzab on 20 September. Moreover, some 23 Japanese

warships were sighted in the harbour at Rabaul, and there

were reports of Japanese submarines in the area.[33] Ac-

cordingly, Barbey proposed landing at 02:00 under aquarter moon, which would allow his ships to unload and

get away soon after dawn. Noting that it was the rainy

season, and the sky would therefore likely be overcast,

Herring doubted that the VII Amphibious Force would

be able to locate the beach, and pressed for a dawn land-

ing at 05:15.[32] In the end, a compromise was reached on

04:45.[33] Samuel Eliot Morison, the US Naval historian,

noted that: “The Australians proved to be right; 'Uncle

Dan’s' outfit was not prepared for a neat night landing.

The usual snafu developed”. [35]

4 Landing

4.1 First wave

USS APc-15 produced 140 mimeograph copies of the

VII Amphibious Force operation order, which was dis-

tributed by PT boat.[27] They then departed for G Beach,

14 miles (23 km) east of Lae. While they were en route

during the night, a Japanese raidon Buna sank an LCS(S),

and damaged a dock and two merchant ships; 9 people

were killed and 27 wounded.[36] USS LCI-31 developed

engine trouble, and was forced to return to Buna. This leftA Company of the 2/13th Infantry Battalion without its

transport. The battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel

G. E. Colvin, arranged for them to travel on USS LCI-

337 , LCI-338 and LCI-342.[37] Around sunset, six Sally

bombers attacked the escorting destroyers. They dropped

their bombs but scored no hits.[38][39]

A Type 1 Heavy Machine Gun in a Japanese pillbox on the coast.

The ships arrived off Scarlet beach on time, and the

destroyers conducted a short 11-minute preliminary

bombardment.[38][40] It was doubtful if any Japanese

positions were hit or any casualties inflicted.[41] Low

cloud trapped the smoke and dust produced by the

bombardment.[38] To the Australians, it was “dark as the

inside of a cow”.[42] Scarlet Beach and Siki Cove were

covered by bunker type pillboxes made of logs, spaced

about 50 yards (46 m) apart, and connected by shallow

trenches. They held about 300 Japanese defenders.[43]Japanese tracer started pouring from the shore. At this

point, one Australian recalled “I realised that this was not

an unopposed landing.”[44] It was the first opposed land-

ing by Australian troops since the Landing at Anzac Cove

in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915.[44]

Almost all the LCP(R)sin the first wave veered off course

to the left, landing between Siki Creek and the rocks of

the headland between Siki Cove and Arndt Point.[45] All

the boats landed successfully except for one carrying 11

Platoon of the 2/15th Infantry Battalion, which had bro-

ken down and was towed by the LCP(R) carrying 10 Pla-

toon, delaying both.[46] Another LCP(R) appeared andtook the platoon in. But only three of the sixteen landed

on Scarlet Beach.[45] In some ways this was good, as it

meant that the plywood landing craft were not subjected

to intense machine gun fire, which might have caused

heavy casualties;[47] but there were still serious disadvan-

tages to landing on the wrong beach.[41] On theright, Cap-

tain T.C. Sheldon’s B Company, 2/17th Infantry Battal-

ion, accompanied by the anti-tank platoon and 10 Platoon

the Papuan Infantry Battalion, landed roughly where they

were supposed to,[48] and pushed on to their objective,

North Hill.[49]

The rest of the first wave was jumbled up. Major P.H.Pike found his A Company of the 2/17th mixed up with

Captain Paul Deschamps’ B Company of the 2/13th.

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4.2 Follow-up 5

Since the latter had further to travel, and there was no

Japanese opposition, Pike agreed to hold his company

back while Deschamps’ moved on to his objective. Pike

then moved his men inland 100 yards (91 m) and waited

for daylight.[50] C Company’s task was to seize Arndt

Point, but part of it was already there, facing a steep

cliff.[41] The only platoon to encounter serious oppositionwas Lieutenant C. Huggett’s platoon, which for reason

had veered off to the right, and landed on Scarlet Beach

near the mouth of the Song River. It came under fire from

two Japanese machine gun posts there. With the help

of an American Amphibian Scout, Lieutenant Herman

A. Koeln, Huggett attacked the posts with grenades and

small arms. Another Amphibian Scout, Lieutenant Ed-

ward K. Hammer, encountered a party of Japanese that

he fired on. Koeln and Hammer were conspicuous be-

cause they were carrying the 10-foot (3.0 m) red canvas

signs to mark the beach. The beachmaster, Lieutenant

Commander J.M. Band, was fatally wounded making hisway to Scarlet Beach.[37] He was posthumously awarded

the US Navy Cross.[51]

4.2 Follow-up

The second wave came in LCIs. These were craft that

had no ramps; infantry disembarked from the down

gangways. That they were not suitable for an assault

landing was not overlooked, but they were all that was

available.[52] The first wave’s mission had been to cap-

ture Scarlet Beach and the foreshore. Since that had

not been done, they came under fire from the Japanese

bunkers. Despite explicit orders not to, they replied with

their Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. Some helped to suppress

the Japanese machine guns, while others fired wildly and

caused casualties among the Australian troops ashore.

Like the first wave, they veered off to the left, adding to

the chaos. [53] At least three of the LCIs grounded on a

sand bar, but were able to retract and make better land-

ings, although still on the wrong beach.[54]

USS LST-168 unloads at Scarlet Beach

The Military Landing Officer, Major J. R. Broadbent

landed with the first wave in the same LCP(R) as Pike.

With him was an Amphibian Scout carrying the red sig-

nal light that was to mark the centre of the beach for later

waves. They were unable to reach the correct location

in time for the second wave, but were able to place it

and switch it on in time for the third, so it was the first

to land on Scarlet Beach. Although the first wave hadlanded seven minutes late, the second was fifteen, and

the third was half an hour behind schedule. In the confu-

sion, two LCIs collided, killing two soldiers and injuring

eight. Some of the LCI captains were reluctant to drive

their ships in hard enough, and many troops disembarked

into water that was over their heads.[53] Sergeant Iaking

Iwagu, of the Royal Papuan Constabulary, landing with

9 Platoon of the Papuan Infantry Battalion, was awarded

the George Medal for attempting to save Captain A.B.

Luetchford, who was hit in deep water.[55][56] The third

wave found the Japanese bunkers still manned, and as-

saulted them. Most of the Japanese defenders withdrewrather than fight to the finish.[57]

Four LCMs of Lieutenant Colonel E. D. Brockett’s Boat

Battalion of the 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regi-

ment carrying Bofors 40 mm guns were supposed to ar-

rive with the second wave, but due to some navigational

difficulties, they were an hour late.[24][57] They came in

with the six LCMs and 4 LCVPs of the fourth wave,

which was itself 40 minutes late, arriving at 06:10. The

11 LCVPs of the fifth wave reached the Scarlet Beach

ten minutes later.[43] By 06:30, the beach and the fore-

shore were clear of Japanese, and the destroyer trans-

ports and LCIs were on their way back to Buna.[58]

Theamphibian engineers set up a portable surgical hospital

to treat the wounded.[43] Windeyer and his brigade ma-

jor, Major B.V. Wilson, arrived in a landing craft from

the USS Conyngham, and he established brigade head-

quarters in a Kunai patch 200 yards (180 m) from the

beach. A Japanese soldier threw a hand grenade at them

that killed one man and wounded the brigade intelligence

officer, Captain Barton Maughan. The Japanese soldier

was killed with an Owen gun.[58]

American and Australian troops with a Japanese prisoner cap-

tured in the landing at Scarlet Beach

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6/13

6 4 LANDING

The sixth and final wave consisted of USS LST-18 , LST-

168 and LST-204.[36] They had instructions to wait until

the smaller craft had cleared the beach, and beached at

06:50.[59] Each carried an unloading party of 100 men,

drawn from the 2/23rd and 2/48th Infantry Battalions and

2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion, who would return with the

LSTs.[58] The unloading proceeded at a rapid pace. Allthe cargo was unloaded from two of the three when they

retracted at 09:30, and headed off escorted by ten de-

stroyers and the fleet tug USS Sonoma.[59] The 2/3rd Field

Company, 2/1st Mechanical Equipment Company, 2/3rd

Pioneer Battalion and the Shore Battalion of the 532nd

Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment prepared four beach

exits. Stores were quickly moved off the beach to inland

dumps.[60][61][56] Some 5,300 troops, 180 vehicles, 32 25-

pounders and Bofors 40 mm guns and 850 measurement

tons (960 m3) of bulk stores had been unloaded.[62]

Fifth Air Force fighters provided air cover from 06:45. A

Japanese reconnaissance aircraft flew over the beachheadat 09:10, and was shot down. A lone bomber showed up

ten minutes later and attacked the LSTs on the beach, but

missed. Two dive bombers attacked at 09:30, and were

driven off, but not before inflicting casualties.[59] The Bo-

fors guns of the 10th Light Anti Aircraft Battery were at-

tacked, and five men were wounded, one fatally.[56] Over

the next two weeks there was at least one air raid on the

beachhead every day.[62] The air raids proved an effec-

tive way of clearing the beach.[58] A large attack by 39

aircraft of the 4th Air Army ran into bad weather and

had to return to Wewak, but a naval air forces attack with

38 Zeke fighters and 8 Betty bombers found the LSTsand destroyers near the Tami Islands on their way back

to Buna at 12:40.[63][35][36] The fighter cover was being

changed over, so the Fifth Air Force fighter controller on

board the USS Reid could deploy five squadrons instead

of just three. They claimed to have shot down 29 fight-

ers and 10 bombers.[64] Antiaircraft gunners from the de-

stroyers, LSTs and Sonoma also engaged the bombers.[35]

While torpedo wakes were seen, no hits were suffered.

Three Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters were shot down,

but at least one pilot was rescued.[64] The Japanese pilots

claimed to have sunk two cruisers, two destroyers and two

transports.[35]

4.3 Consolidation

A shortage of 9 mm ammunition for the Owen guns was

discovered, apparently because it was in the LST that had

not been completely unloaded. An emergency airdrop

was requested at 10:30. In Port Moresby, the 1st Air

Maintenance Company prepared 30 parachutes, each at-

tached to two boxes containing 2,560 rounds of 9 mm

ammunition, a total of 153,600 rounds. This was loaded

onto three USAAF B-24 Liberator bombers at Wards

Airfield that took off at 16:55. They arrived over the Fin-schhafen area after dark at 19:15, where a drop zone in

a Kunai patch was marked by men holding hand torches.

Of the 115,000 rounds that were dropped, about 112,000

were recovered.[65]

Bofors 40 mm gun of the 12th Battery, 2/4th Australian Light

Anti-Aircraft Regiment

Around daybreak, Pike’s A Company, 2/17th Infantry

Battalion, reached the village of Katika, which turned out

to be a clearing with some dilapidated huts. His com-

pany came under fire from Katika Spur, the high ground

to the west, which was strongly held by the 9th Company,

80th Infantry Regiment and a company of the 238th In-

fantry Regiment.[66] The Japanese attempted to outflank

A Company on its left, but ran into Capitan L. Snell’s D

Company, 2/15th Infantry Battalion.[67][68]

The Japanese positions were well-sited on the spur for an

attack from the east along the track from Katika to Sat-

telberg, but at this point, Captain B. G. Cribb, the com-

mander of D Company, 2/13th Infantry Battalion, came

on the radio and announced that he was in contact with

the Japanese to the west, and was going to attack from

that direction. A furious fight ensured. The Japanese

held their fire until the Australians were almost on top

of them. Realising that the position was stronger than he

had thought, Cribb withdrew after suffering eight dead

and twenty wounded.[67][68] Windeyer ordered the 2/17th

to bypass the position and proceed to its objective, the

high ground south of the Song River. The 2/15th was or-

dered to attack Katika Spur.[66] The attack was deliveredat 15:15 after a preliminary bombardment by 3 inch mor-

tars, but the Japanese defenders had withdrawn, leaving

behind eight dead.[68] By nightfall, most of the brigade

was on their objectives.[66]

The seventh wave, made up of USS LST-67 , LST-452

and LST-454,[36] arrived at Scarlet Beach at midnight.

As with the previous wave, each carried an Australian

labour force which unloaded the LST under the direction

of the Shore Battalion. The extracted at 03:00 in order to

be well clear before dawn.[62] During the first day, Aus-

tralian casualties were 20 killed, 65 wounded and 9 miss-

ing, all of whom were eventually found to be either deador wounded.[69] The VII Amphibious Force reported that

three men had been wounded.[62]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnance_ML_3_inch_mortarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnance_ML_3_inch_mortarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors_40_mm_gunhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wards_Airfieldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wards_Airfieldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-24_Liberatorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruiserhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_P-38_Lightninghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Reid_(DD-369)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tami_Islandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/3rd_Pioneer_Battalion_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/3rd_Pioneer_Battalion_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sonoma_(AT-12)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_tughttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/2nd_Machine_Gun_Battalion_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/48th_Battalion_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/23rd_Battalion_(Australia)


7/13

7

5 Reinforcement

Blamey relinquished command of New Guinea Force on

22 September, handing over to Lieutenant General Sir

Iven Mackay.[70] As one of his final actions before return-

ing to LHQ in Brisbane, Blamey instructed Herring to

arrange for the reinforcement of Finschhafen with an ex-

tra brigade and 9th Division Headquarters.[71] That day,

though, MacArthur, who also returned to Brisbane on

24 September,[72] had issued an instruction that oper-

ations at Finschhafen were “to be so conducted as to

avoid commitment of amphibious means beyond those

allotted”.[73] Barbey therefore declined to arrange for

the reinforcement of Finschhafen.[72] Mackay took up

the matter with Carpender, who likewise demurred.[74]

MacArthur feared that committing additional resources

would divert resources and result in losses that would de-

lay upcoming operations, relinquishing the initiative to

the Japanese. Ironically, the delay in reinforcing Fin-schhafen would cause just that.[75]

The rough terrain in the area necessitated these human supply

chains to get ammunition and food to the forward troops

Windeyer sent a signal on 27 September asking for an-

other infantry battalion and a squadron of tanks, [76] and

Carpender agreed to ship the additional battalion.[12] The

following day Herring flew to Milne Bay to confer with

Barbey about this.[77] On takeoff from Dobodura, the B-

25 Mitchell he was travelling in crashed. A flying frag-

ment killed his chief of staff, Brigadier R. B. Sutherland,

instantly. Everyone else on board escaped shaken but

unscathed. The meeting was cancelled.[78] Willoughby

still clung to his original estimate of 350 Japanese in the

Finschhafen area, but MacArthur authorised the extra

battalion.[79] It was arranged that the first LST depart-

ing Lae on the night of 28/29 September would stop at

G Beach and collect the 2/43rd Infantry Battalion and a

platoon of the 2/13th Field Company, a total of 838 men.

They were taken to Buna where they transferred to the de-

stroyer transports USS Brooks , Gilmer and Humphreys .

The next night they made a run to Scarlet Beach. Thetroops were landed and 134 wounded were taken back,

but surf conditions prevented the most seriously wounded

from being evacuated.[36][80][81]

While the 20th Infantry Brigade was engaged at Fin-

schhafen, the 22nd Infantry Battalion, a Militia infantry

battalion from Victoria, advanced along the coast from

the Hopoi Mission Station towards Finschhafen. This

advance, “constituting a minor epic in New Guineaoperations”,[82] traversed increasing difficult terrain.

Supply using vehicles was impossible; the 22nd Infantry

Battalion was supplied by boats of the 532nd Engineer

Boat and Shore Regiment. Stores were dropped off at

advanced beaches and then carried from there by native

porters.[82] The 22nd Infantry Battalion fought a number

of skirmishes against the Japanese 2nd Battalion, 80th In-

fantry Regiment, which was under orders to withdraw.[83]

The 22nd Infantry Battalion therefore discovered a series

of well-prepared and strong positions which were either

unmanned or soon abandoned.[82][84] Along the way two

Type 41 75 mm Mountain Guns that had been disabled

were found, along with the bodies of the six natives whohad hauled the guns, who had been bound and shot.[85]

It reached Dreger Harbour on 1 October, where it made

contact with the 20th Infantry Brigade.[86]

6 Advance on Finschhafen

Map of the 20th Infantry Brigade’s advance on Finschhafen,

September 1943

On 23 September, Windeyer ordered an advance on Fin-

schhafen. Lieutenant Colonel Colin Grace’s 2/15th In-

fantry Battalion reached the Bumi River at 12:40. It was

15 to 20 yards (14 to 18 m) wide and appeared fordable,

but the banks contained barbed wire and strongly forti-

fied Japanese positions.[87][88] While Yamada was with-drawing towards Sattelberg, the Japanese marines of the

85th Garrison Unit remained in place. Yamada had no

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_41_75_mm_Mountain_Gunhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopoi_Mission_Stationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Battalion_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/43rd_Battalion_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-25_Mitchellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-25_Mitchellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobodurahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iven_Mackay


8/13

8 6 ADVANCE ON FINSCHHAFEN

authority over the marines, and its commander, Cap-

tain Tsuzuki, saw no reason to conform to Yamada’s

actions. He intended to hold Finschhafen for as long

as possible.[89][63] Grace ordered Major Ron Suthers to

outflank the Japanese position by moving through the

foothills of the Kreutberg Range, as previously instructed

by Windeyer. While not high, these were very steep andcovered in thick vegetation.[87][88]

Suthers halted on the ridge for the night but resumed

his advance in the morning, reaching the Bumi at 10:00.

They again found the north bank defended but the south

occupied, so attempted to find a crossing 150 yards (140

m) upstream. A Japanese sniper with a light machine gun

killed B Company’s commander, Captain E. Christie, and

Lieutenant N. Harphain. Suthers then ordered Snell to

make an assault crossing with D Company. This was done

at 13:30, with the company crossing in waist-deep water.

Only one man was killed in the crossing. During the af-

ternoon, the 2/13th Infantry Battalion crossed the river tothe bridgehead secured by B and D Companies.[87][88]

A large Japanese air raid at 12:30 by 20 fighters and 12

bombers struck the Australian positions around Launch

Jetty and the Finschhafen airstrip. About 60 bombs were

dropped. There were heavy casualties. The 2/3rd Field

Company lost 14 killed and 19 wounded; the 2/12th Field

Regiment lost 2 killed and 16 wounded, and the air liai-

son party’s headquarters was hit, knocking out its radio

set and killing Captain Ferrel, its commander.[90][91][92]

Another 8 men were killed and 40 wounded in air raids on

25 September.[92] During the night of 25/26 September,

Japanese barges and a submarine were spotted offshore.Windeyer had to bring a company of the 2/17th Infantry

Battalion back to protect the brigade area.[93]

Meanwhile, D Company of the 2/17th Infantry Battalion

had moved along the track to Sattelberg with the intent

of capturing that position. It reported that it was unoccu-

pied, but in fact had captured Jivevenang instead. When

the mistake was realised and it attempted to take Sattel-

berg, it was found to be strongly defended. D Company

therefore withdrew to Jivevenang.[90] Unfortunately, the

news of the capture of Sattelberg was passed all the way

up the line to GHQ in Brisbane.[94]

The advance on Finschhafen continued on 26 Septem-

ber. Since the Salankaua Plantation was still reported to

be heavily defended, Windeyer attempted to force the de-

fenders to withdraw. He started with attacks on two hills

to the south west of the plantation. B and D Companies

of the 2/15th Infantry Battalion attacked what came to be

called Snell’s Hill. It was captured in hand-to-hand com-

bat using bayonets. The Australians captured three 13

mm heavy machine guns and seven light machine guns,

and buried 52 Japanese defenders. The other feature,

which came to be called Starvation Hill, was taken by

C Company. However, their capture did not prompt the

Japanese to leave the Salankaua Plantation.[95]

Windeyer realised that he needed to capture Kakakog

A 25-pounder of the 2/12th Australian Field Regiment shells the

Kakakog area from the airstrip

Ridge. Torrential rain was falling, making it difficult

to resupply the forward positions, particularly Starva-

tion Hill.[96] On 1 October eight Douglas A-20 Havoc

bombers of the US 89th Bombardment Squadron at-

tacked the Japanese positions in the Salankaua Plantation

and Kakakog Ridge area at 10:35, followed by ten Vultee

Vengeance dive bombers of No. 24 Squadron RAAF.

This was followed by twenty 25-pounders of the 2/12th

Field Regiment firing 30 rounds per gun.[97][98]

The attack was delivered but the assault companies were

soon pinned down. “When a situation seemed desperate”,

historian David Dexter noted, “the Australian Army ap-

peared to havethe knack of producing a leader of the nec-

essary character”.[99] Sergeant G. R. Crawford led 11 and

12 Platoons of the 2/13th Infantry Battalion in a bayonet

charge on the Japanese positions covering Ilebbe Creek.

Private A. J. Rofle, firing a bren gun from the hip, si-

lenced one of the Japanese posts causing the most trouble.

He went on to silence another, but was wounded trying

to take out a third. Crawford’s furious assault swept all

before it. One post remained on Crawford’s left, which

was attacked with 2-inch mortars and attacked by 8 Pla-

toon. The Japanese abandoned the post and withdrew

into the Salankaua Plantation.[100] Rolfe and Crawford

were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.[101][102]The 2/13th Infantry Battalion lost 10 killed and 70; be-

tween 80 and 100 Japanese marines died.[103]

The arrival of the 2/43rd Infantry Battalion meant that

the 2/17th Infantry Battalion could be reassembled for

the advance on Finschhafen, thus enabling the entire 20th

Infantry Brigade to concentrate on that objective. On 2

October the 2/17th Infantry Battalion crossed the Bumi

without opposition, and found the Salankaua Plantation

unoccupied. In mopping up the area, it captured two

Japanese stragglers and killed three. By evening the

Finschhafen was in Australian hands.[103] Between 22

September and 2 October, the 20th Infantry Brigade hadtaken its objectives. It had lost 73 dead, 276 wounded and

9 missing, all of whom were later accounted for as dead

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Conduct_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-inch_mortarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bren_gunhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._24_Squadron_RAAFhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vultee_Vengeancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vultee_Vengeancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/89th_Bombardment_Squadronhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A-20_Havochttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/12th_Field_Regiment_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/12th_Field_Regiment_(Australia)


9/13

9

or wounded. The 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Reg-

iment had 8 dead and 42 wounded.[104] Two Americans

were also killed in the Air Liaison Party.[105]

7 Aftermath

MacArthur’s decision to move swiftly against Fin-

schhafen, coupled with Blamey’s to envelop the Japanese

defences by landing at Scarlet Beach, and Yamada’s to

avoid a decisive engagement that might result in the loss

of all or part of his force, gave Windeyer the time and

space he needed to take Finschhafen.[6] Blamey’s objec-

tive was therefore in Allied hands; but it was of limited

use without Sattelberg. The Allied intelligence failure

and subsequent dithering meant that the Japanese rein-

forced their position faster, and the were able to size the

initiative.[106]

The Japanese launched a counter-attack on the Allied

lodgement around Scarlet Beach. A three-pronged ac-

tion, the counter-attack saw a diversionary attack to the

north, while the Sugino Craft Raiding Unit attacked

from the sea, and two infantry regiments assaulted the

centre aiming towards the beach and the Heldsbach

plantation.[107][108] It had been intended that once the

beachhead was overwhelmed, that the 79th and 80th In-

fantry Regiments would link up and then clear the Fin-

schhafen and Langemark Bay areas; but the assault was

poorly co-ordinated and failed to achieve sufficient weight

to overcome the Australians, while also suffering from

a lack of artillery. The seaborne assault was interdictedby US Navy PT boats, which inflicted heavy casualties,

and was destroyed by Allied machine gunners on the

beach.[109] In the centre, though, the Japanese were able

to break through to Siki Cove, and in the process isolated

several Australian units, including those fighting on the

western flank around Jivevenang, forcing the Australians

to resort to air drops to keep their forces supplied.[110][111]

While the Japanese briefly managed to force the Aus-

tralians to contract their forces around the beachhead, and

Japanese aircraft were able to attack the Allied ground

troops around the area over three successive nights be-

tween 19 and 21 October, the attack eventually ranout of momentum on 24 October at which point the

Japanese commander, Yamada, ordered his forces to con-

centrate around the high ground at Sattelberg, where they

planned to make further attacks.[112][113] Meanwhile, the

Australians prepared for an assault against the Japanese

strong hold that had been established around the aban-

doned Lutheran mission atop the Sattelberg heights be-

fore advancing towards the Wareo plateau to cut off key

Japanese lines of communication.[114]

8 Notes

[1] Dexter 1961, pp. 8–9.

[2] Dexter 1961, p. 444.

[3] Tanaka 1980, p. 64.

[4] Tanaka 1980, p. 65.

[5] Willoughby 1966, p. 229.

[6] Coates 1999, p. 95.

[7] Johnston 2005, p. iv.

[8] Coates 1999, pp. 98–99.

[9] Allied Geographical Section, South West Pacific Area

1942, p. 6.

[10] Allied Geographical Section, South West Pacific Area

1942, pp. 11f-11h.

[11] Coates 1999, pp. 130–131.

[12] Dexter 1961, p. 483.

[13] Coates 1999, pp. 133–134.

[14] Coates 1999, p. 130.

[15] Dexter 1961, p. 446.

[16] Thomson 2000, p. 166.

[17] Coates 1999, p. 129.

[18] Dexter 1961, p. 447.

[19] Dexter 1961, pp. 444–446.

[20] Coates 1999, pp. 76–77.

[21] Casey 1959, p. 91.

[22] “The Landing at Scarlet Beach”. The Sydney Morning

Herald . 3 October 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 6 January 2011.

[23] Barbey 1969, pp. 88–89.

[24] Dexter 1961, p. 452.

[25] Morison 1950, p. 261.

[26] Barbey 1969, p. 357.

[27] Barbey 1969, p. 91.

[28] Barbey 1945, p. II-31.

[29] Coates 1999, p. 277.

[30] Dexter 1961, p. 449.

[31] Mallett 2007, pp. 232–233.

[32] Coates 1999, pp. 78–79.

[33] Dexter 1961, p. 450.

[34] Morison 1950, pp. 262–266.

[35] Morison 1950, p. 270.

[36] War Diary, VII Amphibious Force, September 1943

NARA RG38 Box 179

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFMorison1950https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFMorison1950https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFMallett2007https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFBarbey1945https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFBarbey1969https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFBarbey1969https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFMorison1950https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFBarbey1969http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/18045088https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCasey1959https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFThomson2000https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFAllied_Geographical_Section.2C_South_West_Pacific_Area1942https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFAllied_Geographical_Section.2C_South_West_Pacific_Area1942https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFAllied_Geographical_Section.2C_South_West_Pacific_Area1942https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFAllied_Geographical_Section.2C_South_West_Pacific_Area1942https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFJohnston2005https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWilloughby1966https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFTanaka1980https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFTanaka1980https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wareohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sattelberghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sattelberghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/79th_Infantry_Regiment_(Imperial_Japanese_Army)


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10 8 NOTES

[37] Dexter 1961, p. 455.

[38] Barbey 1969, p. 92.

[39] Morison 1950, p. 269.

[40] Dexter 1961, p. 453.

[41] Windeyer 1943, p. 5.

[42] Coates 1999, p. 76.

[43] Casey 1959, p. 123.

[44] Coates 1999, p. 70.

[45] Coates 1999, pp. 70–71.

[46] “War Diary, 2/15th Infantry Battalion”. September 1943.

AWM52 8/3/15/25. Retrieved 14 February 2016.

[47] Coates 1999, p. 72.

[48] Dexter 1961, p. 454.

[49] Dexter 1961, p. 458.

[50] Coates 1999, pp. 72–73.

[51] “John Morrel Band Recommendation: United States Navy

Cross”. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 5 February

2016.

[52] Windeyer 1943, p. 3.

[53] Coates 1999, pp. 73–75.

[54] Casey 1959, p. 122.

[55] “George Medal Presented to Courageous Papuan”. TheArgus (National Library of Australia). 12 September

1944. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2016.

[56] Dexter 1961, p. 464.

[57] Dexter 1961, p. 456.

[58] Dexter 1961, p. 457.

[59] Casey 1959, p. 124.

[60] Windeyer 1943, p. 6.

[61] Coates 1999, p. 75.

[62] Casey 1959, p. 125.

[63] Tanaka 1980, p. 179.

[64] Watson 1950, pp. 187–188.

[65] Mallett 2007, p. 237.

[66] Windeyer 1943, pp. 6–7.

[67] Dexter 1961, pp. 460–463.

[68] Coates 1999, pp. 84–88.

[69] Windeyer 1943, p. 8.

[70] Dexter 1961, p. 401.

[71] Coates 1999, p. 138.

[72] Dexter 1961, p. 481.

[73] Dexter 1961, p. 480.

[74] Dexter 1961, p. 482.

[75] Coates 1999, pp. 139–140.

[76] Dexter 1961, p. 479.

[77] Dexter 1961, p. 487.

[78] Sayers 1980, pp. 274–277.

[79] Dexter 1961, p. 488.

[80] Dexter 1961, pp. 488–490.

[81] Keogh 1965, pp. 323–324.

[82] Casey 1959, p. 126.

[83] Dexter 1961, p. 478.

[84] Dexter 1961, p. 484.

[85] Dexter 1961, p. 474.

[86] Dexter 1961, p. 498.

[87] Dexter 1961, pp. 467–470.

[88] Coates 1999, pp. 101–103.

[89] Coates 1999, pp. 99–100.

[90] Windeyer 1943, p. 10.

[91] Watson 1950, p. 188.

[92] Dexter 1961, pp. 470–471.

[93] Dexter 1961, p. 473.

[94] Coates 1999, p. 103.

[95] Coates 1999, pp. 108–111.

[96] Windeyer 1943, pp. 12–13.

[97] Odgers 1957, pp. 85–86.

[98] Dexter 1961, p. 492.

[99] Dexter 1961, p. 494.

[100] Dexter 1961, pp. 494–496.

[101] “Honours and Awards: Geoffrey Robertson Crawford”.

Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[102] “Honours and Awards: Alfred John Rolfe”. Australian

War Memorial. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[103] Dexter 1961, pp. 498–499.

[104] Dexter 1961, p. 500.

[105] Windeyer 1943, p. 15.

[106] Coates 1999, p. 148.

[107] Pratten 2014, pp. 267–268.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFPratten2014https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWindeyer1943https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1518265/https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1515941/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFOdgers1957https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWindeyer1943https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWatson1950https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWindeyer1943https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCasey1959https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFKeogh1965https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFSayers1980https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWindeyer1943https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWindeyer1943https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFMallett2007https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWatson1950https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFTanaka1980https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCasey1959https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWindeyer1943https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCasey1959https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Argus_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Argus_(Australia)http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11360627https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCasey1959https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWindeyer1943https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_War_Memorialhttps://www.awm.gov.au/images/collection/items/ACCNUM_LARGE/RCDIG1068966/RCDIG1068966--230-.JPGhttps://www.awm.gov.au/images/collection/items/ACCNUM_LARGE/RCDIG1068966/RCDIG1068966--230-.JPGhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFDexter1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1025675https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCasey1959https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFCoates1999https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Scarlet_Beach#CITEREFWindeyer1943h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11

[108] Tanaka 1980, p. 184.

[109] Pratten 2014, p. 268.

[110] Johnston 2005, p. 7.

[111] Maitland 1999, p. 81.

[112] Pratten 2014, p. 269.

[113] Tanaka 1980, p. 187.

[114] Pratten 2014, p. 271.

9 References

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Coordinates: 6°29′S 147°51′E / 6.483°S 147.850°E

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12 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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• File:Gunners_at_Finschhafen_057836.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Gunners_at_Finschhafen_057836.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: This image is available from the Collection Database of theAustralian War Memorial under the ID Number: 057836


Original artist: William Charles Sanders

• File:Human_supply_chain_058093.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Human_supply_chain_058093.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: This image is available from the Collection Database of the Australian War Memorialunder the ID Number: 058093



• File:Japanese_bunker_at_Finschhafen_058109.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Japanese_bunker_at_Finschhafen_058109.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: This image is available from the Collection Database of theAustralian War Memorial under the ID Number: 058109



• File:Scarlet_Beach_057448.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Scarlet_Beach_057448.JPG License:

Public domain Contributors: This image is available from the Collection Database of the Australian War Memorial under the ID Number:057448


Original artist: Probably William Charles Sanders

• File:The_Envelopment_of_the_Huon_Peninsula_1943-44.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/The_

Envelopment_of_the_Huon_Peninsula_1943-44.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Reports of General MacArthur: The CampaignsofMacArthur inthe Pacific, VolumeI, p. 126, http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/ch05.htm#b11 Original artist: U.S. Army

• File:US_and_Australian_soldiers_with_Japanese_prisoner_057472.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/US_and_Australian_soldiers_with_Japanese_prisoner_057472.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: This image isavailable from the Collection Database of the Australian War Memorial under the ID Number: 057472


Original artist: Probably William Charles Sanders

• File:Victor_Windeyer_016473.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Victor_Windeyer_016473.JPGLicense: Public domain Contributors: This image is available from the Collection Database of the Australian War Memorial under the IDNumber: 016473


Original artist: Norman Brown

• File:War_flag_of_the_Imperial_Japanese_Army.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/War_flag_of_the_Imperial_Japanese_Army.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, based on: Flags of the World - Japanese militaryflags, Japanese Rising Sun Flag and Drapeau-japonais-seconde-guerre-mondiale.jpg Original artist: Thommy

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Landing at Scarlet Beach