Operation Postern

AUSTRALIAN MILITARY

The Salamaua–Lae campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian and United States forces sought to capture two major Japanese bases, one in the town of Lae, and another one at Salamaua. The campaign to take the Salamaua and Lae area began after the successful defence of Wau in late January, which was followed up by an Australian advance towards Mubo as the Japanese troops that had attacked Wau withdrew to positions around Mubo. A series of actions followed over the course of several months as the Australian 3rd Division advanced north-east towards Salamaua. After an amphibious landing at Nassau Bay, the Australians were reinforced by a US regimental combat team, which subsequently advanced north up the coast.

As the Allies kept up the pressure on the Japanese around Salamaua, in early September they launched an airborne assault on Nadzab, and a seaborne landing near Lae, subsequently taking the town with simultaneous drives from the east and north-west. As the situation around Lae grew more desperate, the Salamaua garrison withdrew, and it was captured on 11 September 1943, while Lae fell shortly afterwards on 16 September, bringing the campaign to an end.

Japanese troops seized and brutally occupied New Guineas capital, Lae, for 18 months until 16 September 1943. That day Australian soldiers retook the town against fierce resistance. Defeated, and after suffering huge losses, 8000 Japanese soldiers fled across the formidable 4000-metre mountains behind the town ; 2000 died on the nightmare trek. Operation Postern, the recapture of Lae from the Japanese, was a turning point in the Pacific War of 19411945. Until then, the Japanese believed they could retain the New Guinea mainland, yet after Postern they retreated continually, making possible the success of all subsequent Allied campaigns in the South-West Pacific theatre. The Allied victory came at a high price over 2000 casualties within a fortnight. Japanese losses were almost four times that many. How many Papua New Guinean village people died during the fighting is unknown, but very many did. Previous military histories have marginalised the Papua New Guineans, rarely referring to the horrific impact of the war on their villages. Typically, the campaign histories depict the Pacific War as a two-sided contest between the Allies and the Japanese. Dr Howie-Willis breaks new ground, amply demonstrating how the village communities on whose lands the campaign was fought were always an essential third party to the conflict. Eight decades later, Operation Postern retells and reinterprets the crucial battle that was codenamed Operation Postern.

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