Three weeks ago, we delved for the first time into the American plans for their future offensives,
as the Army and Navy factions clashed for control of the operations that were going
to unfold in the Pacific. But thanks to the efforts of General Marshall, by early July,
the matter of command had been resolved and a compromise between General MacArthur
and Admiral King had been reached. Now, we turn to cover the plans of the Japanese
commanders for the region of New Guinea, as well as MacArthur’s response and the
aid that the British were planning to give to the Americans in the Pacific.
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As we have previously seen, in mid-May, the Japanese Empire had established the 17th
Army under the command of General Hyakutake, tasked with the execution of Operation FS,
which involved the capture of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa to cut off the line of
supply between Australia and the US. Although the 17th Army was rather small, Hyakutake could count
with the full support of Admiral Yamamoto’s Combined Fleet, including the 4th Fleet of
Admiral Inoue, the Kido Butai of Admiral Nagumo and the 2nd Fleet of Admiral Kondo. Originally,
it was intended that right after the capture of Port Moresby and Midway, the South Seas Detachment
would launch the invasion of New Caledonia, followed by the invasions of Fiji and Samoa,
to be carried out by the Kawaguchi Detachment and the Higashi Detachment respectively. Yet after the
Battle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese also had to draw plans for a second sea-route invasion of Port
Moresby under the Aoba Detachment, to be launched concurrently with General Horii’s invasion of New
Caledonia. In early June, however, the disaster at Midway would promptly bring a sudden end to
Hyakutake’s plans. Across the month of June, his troops continued to prepare for the operation
even though it had been postponed, but on July 11, the Japanese commanders decided to finally cancel
Operation FS to the surprise of Hyakutake’s staff, appointing the 17th Army to instead
prepare for a difficult overland drive across the Owen Stanley Range towards Port Moresby,
since an amphibious invasion was no longer an option after the huge losses suffered at Midway.
In that regard, Admiral Yamamoto and the other IJN leading commanders had determined that the
defeat at Midway made future operations in the Pacific untenable, but that some
military operations in the South Pacific with the aid of the IJA would still be feasible.
This is because they estimated that the US would make counterattacks in 1943 at earliest,
giving them time to recuperate a little bit from Midway with the rebuilding of their carrier force.
In the meantime, many admirals and generals believed that they should now aim their offensives
westwards against the weakened British Empire, which at the time was suffering many setbacks in
the North African campaign. Both the Italians and the Germans requested that the Japanese
Empire should coordinate with them to stop American and British reinforcements moving
towards Egypt through the Indian Ocean, to increase the blockade of East Africa
and to assist in the invasion of the Soviet Union with the capture of Vladivostok. Yet Japan didn’t
want any trouble with the Soviet Union, with which it had a non-aggression pact signed after
their troops were soundly beaten at Khalkhin Gol; and also, after their defeat at Midway,
they didn’t have enough naval resources to conduct such a blockade of the Indian Ocean. Moreover,
the Japanese were still focused on the destruction of marine transports between Australia and the US,
so they would only get to send a total of two submarines towards the Indian Ocean
to disrupt the enemy’s logistics in the following months. This essentially tossed aside any possible
collaboration with the Axis and thus left the Japanese to fend for themselves in the Pacific.
It’s also important to say that back on April 10, with the fall of Bataan,
Java and Singapore brought into fruition, the Southwest Area Fleet had been established under
the command of Admiral Takahashi, tasked with the occupation and defense of the recently-conquered
territories in the Philippines, French Indochina, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.
It consisted of the 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet of Admiral Ozawa, which guarded Malaya and
Indochina; the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet that defended the Dutch East Indies,
which had been reorganized from the 3rd Fleet and was under the direct command of Takahashi;
and the 3rd Southern Expeditionary Fleet of Vice-Admiral Sugiyama Rokuzo,
which organized the defense of the Philippines. Yet after the Battle of Midway, the great losses
suffered in terms of aircraft carriers, planes, and highly trained carrier staff
forced Admiral Yamamoto to also reorganize the Combined Fleet on July 14, reestablishing
the 3rd Fleet as an aircraft carrier task force modeled after similar units in the United States.
Led by Admiral Nagumo, it was based around the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, supported by the
light carriers Ryujo and Zuiho and with the addition of the recently-constructed Hiyo-class
carriers, Junyo and Hiyo. It was also reinforced with 2 battleships , 1 light cruiser and 7
destroyers and it borrowed 5 heavy cruisers and 8 destroyers from the 2nd Fleet, leaving Admiral
Kondo’s formation as a small vanguard force . Furthermore, the 4th Fleet of Admiral Inoue, which
defended the recently-conquered territories in the New Guinea region, was reduced to guarding the
inner core territories of the Central Pacific at the Caroline, Marshall, Mariana and Palau Islands.
In its place, the 8th Fleet was formed under the command of Vice-Admiral Mikawa Gunichi,
tasked with the defense of the South Pacific. It consisted of a strong fleet
formed around four heavy cruisers , three light cruisers , a submarine squadron and
a variety of destroyers . By the end of July, Mikawa would lead his newly-established fleet
towards Truk and from there to Rabaul, where he established his headquarters. In the meantime,
the leading commanders of the IJA also began to reorganize their forces, preparing for a
general offensive against Chongqing and sending most of their tank and medium artillery units
back to Manchuria. There, the Kwantung Army was reorganized with the activation of two new levels
of command , as well as the formation of the 71st Division and of the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions,
inspired by the German units that were being so successful in Europe. Many soldiers were also
diverted for the defense of the homeland, such as the 4th Division serving in the Philippines,
because after the Doolittle Raid and the defeat at Midway, the Japanese needed to reinforce their
home islands as much as possible. As for the Chongqing Operation, which basically consisted
of a multi-front breakthrough towards Sichuan from northern Shanxi, central Hubei and southern Hunan,
its implementation was scheduled for September, yet the defeat at Midway and the future events in
New Guinea and Guadalcanal would eventually force the Japanese to ultimately postpone the operation.
Turning back to New Guinea, Hyakutake and his staff were still conducting their research
for the feasibility of an overland attack on Port Moresby, being particularly interested on whether
or not the Kokoda Track could be traversed. As the Owen Stanley Range was narrowest to the southwest
of Kokoda, if the range could be traversed then Port Moresby would be ready for the taking.
Luckily for them, Japanese research into local accounts and testimonies would be very successful,
discovering the existence of three roads from the coast to Kokoda.
From these three, the road from Buna to Kokoda appeared as the best one,
since Japanese aerial reconnaissance had identified that it could accommodate motor
vehicles, which essentially rendered an overland offensive as entirely possible. In that regard,
the 17th Army was planning to occupy an area along the banks of the Mambare River in cooperation with
navy units, from where a bridgehead reconnaissance force would be sent to determine if this route was
acceptable for the attack on Port Moresby and to lay the initial groundwork for such an operation.
For this task, General Horii and his South Seas Detachment were again selected to
conduct the Port Moresby offensive, since the Aoba Detachment was still assembling far away at Davao.
This was a difficult choice for Hyakutake, as Horii was unenthusiastic about the overland
offensive, stating that it would be extremely difficult and with a high risk of failure. Yet
the transfer of the Aoba Detachment from Davao to Rabaul was considered extremely
difficult due to possible enemy air attacks, so the South Seas Detachment would have to do.
This operation was also something that General MacArthur was expecting, as he believed that
the Japanese intended to employ the Kokoda Track either to directly assault Port Moresby
or to establish a supply base for a possible amphibious invasion of the Louisiade Archipelago.
To forestall such a move, on June 21 he had decided with General Blamey to form the Maroubra
Force , consisting of the Papuan Infantry Battalion and the 39th Australian Battalion,
to defend the Kokoda Track from any incoming enemy attacks and to prevent the Japanese
from penetrating the Owen Stanley Range. Some 280 native troops of the Papuan Battalion were already
north of the range, and they were directed by MacArthur to move forward overland and occupy a
number of key points between Kokoda and Buna while the 39th would strengthen the southern terminus of
the Kokoda Track. As part of Operation Providence, upon getting to Buna, the Papuan troops would also
receive personnel, material and supplies for the construction of an airdrome in the area.
During this overland advance, the Allied commanders would recognize that their information
on the geography and topography of the region was inadequate, so they would also order the start of
a research operation. In that regard, the Allied Geographical Section was established on July 19 to
assemble and evaluate all geographic information in the region; and the Allied Intelligence Bureau
was also formed in July, tasked with collecting intelligence through clandestine operations
behind enemy lines, to secure cooperation and aid from the natives and also to conduct sabotage
operations over the enemy. Both of these agencies would play a very important role in the future.
But looking back to the Japanese, after receiving a great order from Colonel Tsuji on July 11,
the research operation was suddenly finalized even though enough information had not been
acquired yet and the South Seas Detachment was rapidly mobilized to carry out Operation RI,
the invasion of the Buna-Gona area in preparation for the overland drive against Port Moresby.
For this, the Yokoyama Advance Party would depart Rabaul on the night of July 20, escorted
by a small fleet under Rear-Admiral Matsuyama Mitsuharu. The convoy proceeded southwest along
the sea lane to the south of New Britain, only being harassed without any real damage by some
B-17 and B-26 bombers during the run across to New Guinea. Led by Colonel Yokoyama Yosuke of the 15th
Independent Engineer Regiment, the Advance Party landed at Gona during the afternoon of July 21,
while a company of SNLF marines debarked at Buna roughly at the same time. With the 25th
Air Flotilla’s planes giving them support from the air, the landings proceeded as expected and
without encountering any resistance, so Buna would be secure in Japanese hands by July 22. There,
the IJN units began the immediate construction of an enlarged airfield after securing the beachhead,
while the vanguard of the Yokoyama Advance Party began in earnest to move towards Kokoda .
To support this operation, the invaders also launched a series of air raids over Port Moresby
and sent some soldiers from Lae and Salamaua to attack the Australian strongpoints at Gabamatsung
and Mubo , intended as a feint to cover the Buna landings and to stop the increasing guerrilla
activities in these areas. At Gabamatsung , the Japanese attack was very successful, resulting in
the complete withdrawal south of the Mahakam River of the Australian forces; but at Mubo,
the invaders were faced with some 64 Australian commandos, which inflicted many casualties on the
Japanese before also retreating southwards. Meanwhile at Buna, the IJN units suffered a
heavy air attack on July 22, as the Americans sent over 100 bombers to disrupt the Japanese landings.
Reinforcements of the South Seas Detachment began to arrive in the following days, even despite
the intensification of the Allied air attacks, although this made the journey much more perilous.
Although it was a good start for the operation, Colonel Yokoyama would now have to fulfill the
true objective of the offensive with a difficult advance on the Kokoda Track.
Yet we’ll leave that for next week, and we’ll divert to the Indian Ocean, where the British
were preparing an operation of their own to support the American future offensives. After the
devastating Indian Ocean Raid, Admiral Somerville and his Eastern Fleet had relocated to East Africa
to support the British attack on Madagascar. One of the objectives of this invasion was to
deny the use of this island by the Japanese, as the Allies feared that the Japanese could take
over French Madagascar just as they had done with Indochina. This could have threatened the supply
route of the British forces fighting in North Africa, but as we have seen, the Japanese were
not interested in adopting a stronger stance on the Indian Ocean . Despite this, during the
execution of Operation Ironclad, three Japanese submarines would arrive in the area on May 29,
getting to enter into the Diego-Suarez harbour and firing two torpedoes against the Eastern Fleet
while being depth charged by the British vessels. This torpedo attack resulted in the sinking of
the tanker British Loyalty, as well as in the battleship Ramillies getting severely damaged.
With the successful conclusion of Ironclad though, Somerville would see many of his cruisers and
destroyers be redirected to other theaters of the war, with the remainder of his fleet
protecting the supply routes from the Cape to Aden and slowly starting to return to Ceylon. On top of
the fear of further surprise midget-submarine attacks on his harbours, Somerville was also
being pressured by the Americans to mount an operation in the Indian Ocean
with the aim to draw the attention of the Japanese away from the Solomon Islands, where Admirals King
and Nimitz were planning to launch their first offensive - Operation Watchtower. In the end,
Admiral King’s insistence prevailed, resulting in the decision to carry out Operation Stab.
By July 25, after assembling his Force A at Ceylon to support the operation, three dummy fleets set
sail from Vizagatapam, Madras and Trincomalee on August 1, heading in the direction of the
Andaman Islands as a feint to lure Japanese forces away from New Guinea. Somerville also sent a fake
plain-language SOS message reporting a collision and that the ship was unable to move, but after
a few hours, no Japanese vessels appeared and the British ships decided to return to port. Although
the Japanese hadn’t taken the bait, the Andaman Islands would then be reinforced with a seaplane
tender , and a bomber unit would also be sent to the area, so in hindsight, Operation Stab and the
British contribution to the future offensives could be considered a very minor success.
This is all for this week, but next episode we’ll continue with Colonel Yokoyama’s advance towards
Kokoda and we’ll also head back to Burma to cover Stilwell’s plans for the future. If you don’t want
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