- Battle of the Treasury Islands
-
Battle of the Treasury Islands Part of the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War Date 27 October[1]–12 November 1943[2] Location Treasury Islands in the Solomon Islands Result Allied strategic victory[3] Belligerents 
New Zealand
United States
Empire of JapanCommanders and leaders Robert A. Row
George FortStrength 6,574 men[nb 1]
6 destroyers[1]
32 aircraft[1]231+ men[nb 2]
49 planes[5]Casualties and losses 226 casualties[nb 3] 231 casualties[nb 4] 1st Tulagi – Guadalcanal – Blackett Strait – Cartwheel – I-Go – Vengeance – New Georgia – Kula Gulf – Kolombangara – Vella Gulf – Horaniu – Vella Lavella – Naval Vella Lavella – Treasury Is. – Choiseul – Bougainville – Rabaul air raids – Cape St. George – Green Is. – Karavia BayThe Battle of the Treasury Islands was a Second World War battle that took place between 27 October[1] and 12 November 1943[2] on the Treasury Islands group; part of the Solomon Islands[6] as part of the Pacific Theatre. The Allied invasion, of the Japanese held, island group intended to secure Mono and Stirling Islands so that a radar station could be constructed on the former and the latter be used as a staging area for an assault on Bougainville. The attack on the Treasury Islands would serve the long term allied strategy of isolating Bougainville and Rabaul and the elimination of the 24,000 strong garrison in the area.[7]
The invasion, to be conducted primarily by the New Zealand Army, supported by American forces, was codenamed Operation Goodtime.[3] The New Zealand 8th Infantry Brigade Group,[3] assigned to the United States' I Marine Amphibious Corps, launched the invasion of the Treasury Islands at 06:06 hours on 27 October.[1] 3,795 men landed in the assault wave with the remainder of the Allied force landing in four waves during the following 20 days.[4] The operation was the first amphibious assault launched by New Zealand troops since the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915.[8]
On 1 November the flag was raised over the ruins of Falamae, the islands' capital, and civil administration was restored. Eleven days later the islands were declared clear of Japanese forces; although Japanese holdouts were sighted in the jungles into January 1944.[2]
The operation, in conjunction with Operation Blissful, served to divert the attention of the Japanese Seventeenth Army from the next major Allied target in the Solomon Islands campaign.[3] The success of the operation also helped to improve the planning of subsequent landings in the Pacific.[2]
Notes
- Footnotes
- ^ 4,608 New Zealanders and 1,966 Americans[4]
- ^ Strength is based on the Japanese casualty figure however occasional Japanese holdouts were sighted within the island's jungles though to December and January leaving a definite figure unknown.[2]
- ^ New Zealand casualties: 40 killed and 145 wounded. United States casualties: 12 killed and 29 wounded.[2]
- ^ 205 Japanese soldiers were killed by 12 November, the figure rising to 223 by the end of the month. 8 Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner.[2]
- Citations
References
- Chant, Christopher (1986). The Encyclopedia of Code Names of World War II. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0710207182.
- Gillespie, Oliver A.; Kippenberger, Howard Karl (editor) (1952) (PDF). The Pacific. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945. Historical Publications Branch. http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Paci-_N79894.html.
External links
- Chapin, John C. (1997). "TOP OF THE LADDER: Marine Operations in the Northern Solomons". World War II Commemorative series. Marine Corps History and Museums Division. pp. 1. http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/extContent/usmc/pcn-190-003141-00/index.htm. Retrieved August 30, 2006.
- Hughes, Warwick; Ray Munro. "3rd NZ Division in the Pacific". Archived from the original on 2006-10-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20061015165006/http://au.geocities.com/third_div/index.html. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
- Miller, John, Jr. (1959). "CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul". United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific. Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Department of the Army. pp. 418. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Rabaul/index.html. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. ISBN 0785813071.
- Rentz, John M. (1946). "Bougainville and the Northern Solomons". USMC Historical Monograph. Historical Branch, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-NSols/index.html. Retrieved October 18, 2006.
- Shaw, Henry I.; Douglas T. Kane (1963). "Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul". History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/II/index.html. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
Categories:- Conflicts in 1943
- Battles of World War II involving Japan
- Battles and operations of World War II involving New Zealand
- Operation Cartwheel
- 1943 in Japan
- World War II battle stubs
- Japanese battle stubs
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