Operation Persecution

Operation Persecution plan

date	April 22, 1944 to May 4, 1944
place	Aitape
output	American victory

Parties to the conflict
United States United States Australia Australia	Japan Japan
Commander
High Command: Douglas MacArthur , command troops landing: Jens A. Doe , command Alamo Force : Walter Krueger ,	Adachi Hatazō
losses
19 dead, 40 wounded	525 dead, 25 prisoners

Overview - Pacific War

The Landing at Aitape was a subsidiary of the South West Pacific Area Headquarters under General Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific theater during World War II . It aimed to capture the strategically important airfield at Tadji near the Japanese-occupied Aitape in Dutch New Guinea .

prehistory

Aitape was a small village on the Australian administered north coast of New Guinea at that time . The eight to twelve kilometer wide coastal strip is bordered in the south by the Toricelli Mountains . The entire area is swampy and is crossed by many smaller rivers. There are four smaller islands off the coast. The Japanese took the area in December 1942. At Tadji, a few kilometers southeast of Aitape, they began to build two runways to station fighter planes and bombers . The construction of a third runway had to be canceled because there were problems with the drainage .

At the beginning of March 1944, the American secret service determined that the 18th Army of the Japanese was planning to move large troops from East New Guinea to Hollandia . The Humboldt Bay near Hollandia had been expanded by the Japanese into a large transshipment point for supplies . General MacArthur and his planning staff therefore decided to take the area before Hollandia would be converted into a fortress (→ Operation Reckless ). In order to prevent the Japanese troops in the east from advancing further to Hollandia and to prevent the troops withdrawing from Hollandia from retreating to Wewak , it was also decided to take the airfield near Tadji. Above all against the background that the carrier-based American fighter planes of the Task Force 58 intended for the mission would only be available for two days and thus an airfield would be available for the land-based stationing of our own fighter planes to support the operation in the Hollandia area. In addition, only minor gatherings of Japanese troops and defenses were recognized by reconnaissance at Tadji. Australian units of the RAAF (No. 62 Works Wing) should be able to quickly set up the airfield for their own needs within two days after the capture.

The planned Japanese troop transfers and supplies for Hollandia finally began in March 1944 and the American planning staff initially set the landings at Hollandia and Aitape for April 15. After a few postponements, the final date was April 22, 1944. The intended landing site was a beach a few kilometers east near Korako , code name “Blue Beach”.

To support the landing at Aitape, escort aircraft carriers were deployed under the command of Rear Admiral Ralph E. Davison (Task Force 78). The coastal bombing was carried out by Task Force 77, Eastern Assault Group, under Admiral Daniel E. Barbey . The ground troops were under the command of General Walter Krueger ( Alamo Force ). The landing force was the 163rd US Infantry Regiment of the 41st Infantry Division , commanded by Brigadier General Jens A. Doe .

The capture of the Tadji airfield

Tadji / Aitape operation between April 23 and May 4, 1944

Landing of the first wave at Wapil

At 5:00 a.m. on April 22, the landing party reached the coast off Aitape. The embarkation of the landing units on the landing craft began as planned, and the first wave came ashore at 6:45 a.m. However, the landing did not take place on "Blue Beach" as planned, but around 1.1 kilometers east of Karako near Wapil . Orientation was difficult due to the strong morning fog and the Japanese coastal fortifications burning under heavy smoke from artillery fire. But it turned out that this stretch of coast was even better suited for a landing than “Blue Beach”. Since most of the Japanese occupiers had withdrawn after the American naval artillery had moved inland, the landing forces did not encounter any significant resistance. At around 8:00 a.m. the bridgehead had grown to a width of around 2.3 km and a depth of around 500 m inland. Some Japanese prisoners were taken and the landing forces waited for General Doe's order to advance towards Tadji.

After the second wave landed at 10:30 a.m., the advance on Tadji began at 11:00 a.m. Although the advance was slower than planned, the airfield was captured and secured at 12:45 p.m. There was no resistance from the Japanese side. The Americans took up positions at the airfield and around 5 km east of Wapil at the mouth of the Nigia. When night fell, the expansion of the airfield could begin. By that time, three Americans had been killed and thirteen wounded.

Expansion of the airfield

On the morning of April 23rd, No. 62 Works Wing of the Royal Australian Air Force on "Blue Beach". After reaching the Tadji airfield, they began to expand it around 1 p.m. The work lasted all day and continued under floodlights the following night . Due to the unexpectedly poor soil conditions, the work could not be completed on the first day as expected. The Australians reported preliminary completion on April 24th at 9:00 a.m. 25 RAAF Curtiss P-40s landed on the airfield at 4:30 p.m. Just like the Japanese before them, the Australian pioneers also had difficulties installing proper drainage for the airfield. The entire field was only covered with steel mats from April 28th and from then on it could be used continuously.

Edge protection

In order to secure the bridgehead, preparations began on the night of April 22nd to 23rd. On the morning of April 23, at 8:00 am, units marched westward along inland paths to the Raihu River, some 10 km past Blue Beach. Towards evening they reached the mouth of the river with little Japanese resistance, which cost them a wounded and a missing person. Another battalion caught up with them the next morning.

American patrol at Aitape on May 2, 1944

At 11:00 a.m. on April 24th, Aitape was occupied. Japanese soldiers were not seen. The Americans bivouacked on the west bank of the Raihu and stayed there for the next few days. Patrols combed the smaller coastal villages to stop the Japanese fleeing west. But it wasn't until April 28 that they discovered the only signs of organized resistance. In Kamti, one of the smaller villages, around 200 Japanese suddenly surrounded the patrol there. The Japanese attempted to wipe out the patrol by the following day by means of a few quickly presented attacks, but the strong defense of the Americans cost them 90 deaths. After Kamti was taken under American artillery fire, the patrol was able to withdraw under their protection. They had lost three soldiers and two were wounded. When combing the village the next day, the Americans met no resistance.

In the east, American units advanced to the mouth of the Driniumor , about 19 km behind "Blue Beach". The two islands off the coast, Tumleo and Seleo , had already been taken on the day of landing against little Japanese resistance. Individual patrols advanced up to 72 km along the Toricelli Mountains towards Wewak in early May .

Reorganization and contact with the enemy

After more troops had arrived at Aitape, the high command reorganized the persecution units from the beginning of May 1944 in order to prepare for the Wakde-Sarmi operation . New patrol boundaries and defense sectors were established, a western, center and eastern sector to which individual units were assigned.

The eastern sector was defended by the US 127th Infantry. On May 7th, after a patrol had crossed the Dandriwad, the first contact was made with dispersed units of the 18th Army, which, however, offered strong, organized resistance, so that the patrol had to retreat across the river. The next day they were joined by a platoon with a light machine gun and the patrol continued to advance east. They could make out large gatherings of Japanese soldiers. The Americans also suffered an attack on their flank. Only an air strike by eight P-40s along the roads east of Babiang around noon on May 10th brought some reassurance to the situation.

The 18th Army under Lieutenant General Adachi Hatazō then gathered their forces east of the American sector border, which led to the battle of the Driniumor from July 10, 1944 .

literature

John N. Bradley: The Second World War: Asia and the Pacific . West Point Military History - Square One Publishers 2002, ISBN 978-0-7570-0162-8 .

Web links

Commons : Operation Persecution - album with pictures, videos and audio files