Samuel Milner
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF MILITARY HISTORY
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1957
President, Williams College
|
Continental Army Command
|
Yale University
|
Army War College
|
Princeton University
|
Command and General Staff College
|
University of Missouri
|
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
|
University of Chicago
|
United States Military Academy
|
Harvard University
|
Chief Historian | Kent Roberts Greenfield |
Chief, War Histories Division | Col. Ridgway P. Smith, Jr. |
Chief, Editorial and Publication Division | Col. William H. Francis |
Chief, Editorial Branch | Joseph R. Friedman |
Chief, Cartographic Branch | Maj. James P. Holly |
Chief, Photographic Branch | Margaret E. Tackley |
Foreword | vii | ||
The Author | viii | ||
Preface | ix | ||
Chapter | Page | ||
I. | The Japanese Threaten Australia | 1 | |
The Danger | 1 | ||
The Plan To Isolate Australia | 11 | ||
II. | Preparing the Defense | 14 | |
The High Command Acts | 14 | ||
The Interim Period | 18 | ||
The Defensive Problem | 23 | ||
The Sufficiency of the Means | 27 | ||
III. | The Thwarted Landing | 33 | |
Frustration at Jomard Passage | 33 | ||
Securing the Approaches | 40 | ||
IV. | Providence Forestalled | 45 | |
Moving to the Offensive | 45 | ||
The SWPA Prepares | 48 | ||
The PROVIDENCE Operation | 51 | ||
The Japanese Get There First | 53 | ||
V. | Kokoda Thrust | 56 | |
Planning the Overland Attack | 56 | ||
The Japanese Strike Inland | 61 | ||
The Main Force Arrives | 66 | ||
VI. | The Japanese Offensive Collapses | 72 | |
The SWPA: Early August | 72 | ||
The Defense Falls Into Place | 74 | ||
The Battle of Milne Bay | 77 | ||
The Road to Ioribaiwa | 88 | ||
The Australians Take the Offensive | 100 | ||
VII. | The Advance on the Beachhead | 101 | |
The Approach to the Target | 102 | ||
Completing the Deployment | 115 | ||
Drawing the Noose Tight | 119 | ||
VIII. | The Allies Close In | 125 | |
Mounting the Attack | 125 | ||
The 32d Division on the Eve of Combat | 132 | ||
The Enemy Position | 139 | ||
IX. | The Opening Blows in General Vasey's Area | 147 | |
The Attacks on Gona | 147 | ||
The 16th Brigade Moves on Sanananda | 151 | ||
The Americans Take Over | 155 | ||
X. | The First Two Weeks at Buna | 168 | |
General Harding Readjusts His Plans | 168 | ||
The Battle Opens | 174 | ||
The Attacks of 30 November | 189 | ||
XI. | I Corps Reaches the Front | 196 | |
The Situation: 30 November | 196 | ||
General Eichelberger Is Ordered Forward | 202 | ||
Buna Operations: 1 and 2 December | 206 | ||
General Harding's Relief | 208 | ||
XII. | The Fighting West of the Girua | 213 | |
Operations in the Gona Area | 213 | ||
The Sanananda Front | 219 | ||
The Japanese Reinforce the Beachhead | 231 | ||
XIII. | Buna: The Second Two Weeks | 234 | |
The Attack of 5 December | 234 | ||
Colonel Martin Softens Up the Enemy Line | 245 | ||
Urbana Force Makes Its First Gains | 248 | ||
The Scene Brightens | 254 | ||
XIV. | Warren Force Takes the Initiative | 260 | |
The Advance to Simemi Creek | 260 | ||
Crossing the Creek | 267 | ||
The Fight for the Old Strip | 272 | ||
XV. | Urbana Force Closes on the Mission | 282 | |
The Search for an Axis of Attack | 282 | ||
The Attack Moves North | 288 | ||
The Subsidiary Operations | 291 | ||
The Corridor to the Coast | 293 | ||
XVI. | The Fall of Buna | 304 | |
The Advance to Giropa Point | 304 | ||
The Capture of Buna Mission | 309 | ||
The End at Buna | 319 | ||
Buna's Cost | 323 | ||
The Situation to the Westward | 324 | ||
XVII. | Clearing the Track Junction | 328 | |
General Herring Calls a Conference | 328 | ||
The Preliminary Operations | 335 | ||
Tokyo Decides To Withdraw | 346 | ||
The Clean-up South of Musket | 348 | ||
XVIII. | The Final Offensive | 350 | |
The Three-Way Push | 350 | ||
Finishing the Job | 358 | ||
The Victory at Sanananda | 364 | ||
The 41st Division Takes Over | 368 | ||
XIX. | The Victory | 369 | |
The Campaign in Review | 369 | ||
What the Campaign Taught | 376 | ||
Conclusion | 377 | ||
Bibliographical Note | 379 | ||
Glossary | 386 | ||
Basic Military Map Symbols | 391 | ||
Index | 395 |
The illustrations on pages 19 and 85 are Australian War Memorial photographs; those on pages 295 and 326 are Life photographs taken by Strock. All other illustrations are from the files of the Department of Defense.