Landing on emirau

Strategy

In February 1943, General Douglas MacArthur presented the Elkton Plan to the Rabaul Japanese Base with the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In this “maneuvering scheme”, the penultimate stage was the capture of the city of Kavieng - an important observation post for aircraft flying between the islands of Truk and Rabaul. The allied occupation of Kavieng could cut this supply route and isolate Rabaul ^[1] . The victory in the battle for the islands of the Admiralty was the impetus for the Joint Committee to recognize the acceleration of operations in the Pacific Ocean. They asked the views of the theater commanders. On March 5, 1944, having at his disposal detailed information about the deployment of Japanese troops and their actions, obtained by intercepting cryptographic materials of the Japanese during the battles for Sio , MacArthur recommended abandoning the attack on the Hanseatic Bay and prefer to move along the coast of New Guinea towards Holland ^[2] . However, since ground-based aviation could not participate in this, it proposed using aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy under the command of Admiral Chester Nimitz , who were to take control of Manus Island and Kavieng and provide air cover as long as the ground aviation will not get closer. Admiral Nimitz, after a meeting in Washington, refused to accept this offer and send aircraft carriers to the southwestern sector of the Pacific theater of operations, fearing that this would violate further plans for waging war in the Pacific. The US Joint War Plans Committee discussed these alternatives and recommended that the Joint Chiefs of Staff get to Holland by April 15th and not to attack Kavieng ^[3] .

Chief of Staff MacArthur Lieutenant General Richard Sutherland , representing MacArthur in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he strongly opposed the abandonment of Kavieng, who he hoped to take on April 1 without any delay to the detriment of other operations. Disputes over how dangerous the Japanese base in Kavienga flared up. Nimitz believed that as a result of the battle at Eniwetok Atoll the Truk islands would be in danger of constant attacks, and flights to Rabaul would become impossible. On March 12, MacArthur and Nimitz received orders to abolish the operation "Voram" to capture Kavieng, as well as orders "to complete the isolation of the Rabaul-Kavieng zone with minimal use of force" ^[4] . According to the command of the South Pacific region, Admiral William Halsey, "the geography of the area itself asked to find another way" ^[5] . Having received an order from MacArthur to curtail plans to capture Kavieng and pay attention to Emirau , Halsey ordered Vice Admiral Theodore Wilkinson , commander of the 3rd amphibious group, to occupy Emmira on March 20 ^[6] .

Geographical position

Emirau - an island in the Bismarck archipelago, located in the southeastern part of the islands of St. Matthias , 40 km from the island of Mussau and 140 km from Kavieng. The length of the island is 13 km, width - 3.2 km, hilly terrain, dense vegetation. In the depths of the island is a plateau with an area of ​​36 hectares. Tropical climate, high humidity and high rainfall. On the northwest coast is a harbor in the Gulf of Hamburg. At the time of the war, about 300 local residents lived on the island ^[7] , however, according to intelligence, the Japanese did not occupy the island. Emirau was chosen as the ideal location for the air base and torpedo boat base. On March 16, photo reconnaissance confirmed that there were no enemy targets on the island, the presence of the Japanese was not confirmed by anything ^[8] .

Wilkinson, on Guadalcanal , received a message from Halsey on March 15th. At this point, the ships were loading and preparing for the invasion of Kavieng, scheduled for March 18. The operation was led by Major General of the US Army Roy Geiger , commander of the 1st Amphibious Corps , which included the 40th Infantry Division and the 3rd division of the ILC , reinforced by the 4th regiment . For landing on the Emirates, the Americans allocated the 4th Regiment of the Marines, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alan Shapley ; Company C of the 3rd Amphibious Tractor Battalion ; Company A (medium) of the 3rd Tank Battalion equipped with Sherman tanks ; a company of sappers of the 2nd battalion of the 19th regiment of the Marine Corps ; departments of communications, supplies and motor vehicles; anti-aircraft artillery of the 14th defense battalion ^[9] . The 4th Marine Regiment took part in battles for the first time since its defeat in the battle for Correchidor : it was recreated on February 1, 1944 on the basis of four battalions of the KMP Raiders . Commodore Lawrence Reifsnider was appointed to command the entire operation. Brigadier General Alfred Noble , deputy commander of the 3rd division of the ILC , led the expeditionary force; he, as he wished to head the garrison of the island, was given a small escort from the 1st amphibious corps and the 3rd division of the ILC. Air support was provided by forces under the command of Colonel William McKitrick , but only a small part of those that were preparing for the invasion of Kavieng ^[10] .

Emirates were not expected to meet resistance, but the American troops were provided with powerful naval and air support. The cover forces under the command of Vice Admiral Robert Griffin included the battleships New Mexico , Mississippi , Idaho and Tennessee , escort aircraft carriers Manila Bay and "Natoma Bay" and 15 destroyers. These troops were about to shell Kavieng and its environs. In total, 1079 shells with a caliber of 14 inches and 12281 shells with a caliber of 5 inches were fired ^[11] . Unfortunately, Japanese Vice-Admiral Ryukiti Tamura realized that the expected Allied invasion was inevitable, and ordered the death of all captured Europeans in Kavienga. Of these, at least 25 died during the massacre, and six performers appeared in court in 1947 for their crimes. Tamura was hanged at Stanley Prison March 16, 1948 ^[12] .

The assault forces were divided into two echelons. Marines from two assault battalions: 1st and 2nd battalions The 4th Marine Regiment arrived in nine medium landing ships, while the rest of the troops landed on the large landing ships Epping Forest , “ Gunston Hall ” and “Lindenwald” , as well as the armed transport "Collay" . On one of the large landing ships there were 66 LVT for moving along the uneven surface of the island, on the other - three LCT (tank landing craft), two of which were loaded with tanks, and on the third - three LCTs with radar installations and anti-aircraft guns ^[8] .

On March 20, at 6:05, an attack group arrived at the landing zone. LVT were launched, and the assault units climbed into floating tractors, reaching them on medium landing ships with the support of the Colway, and the F4U Corsair aircraft from the 218th fighter squadron were in made a flight to check the island for the presence of enemy troops. According to the plan, the troops began to land. Soon the vessels of the 3rd reserve battalion arrived, and the sailors landed on land. The only problem that the Americans faced was the LCT, which had to be pulled with the help of ropes, since one of the large landing ships had an unloading mechanism ^[13] . While another detachment was planning to occupy the island of Elomusao and occupy the beach, floating tractors and a destroyer opened fire due to suspicious actions: one soldier was wounded by a fragment. Fortunately, no one else was injured, and local residents reported that the Japanese left the island two months ago, leaving a small detachment in Mussau ^[14] . At 11:00, the supply of supplies began with medium-sized landing ships, and then from the Colway. 3727 soldiers and 844 tons of cargo were already on the island by late night, when the ships left ^[13] . Within a month, 18 thousand people landed on the island, 44 thousand tons of cargo were delivered ^[6] .

Intelligence reported that there was fuel and food from Japanese troops on Mussau, and there was also a radio station on a neighboring island. On March 23, destroyers fired on these areas, and on March 27, the destroyer intercepted canoes with the Japanese 64 km south of Mussau. They opened fire on the ship, but the destroyer destroyed the boat: its entire crew was killed. This was the only battle during the operation in the area of ​​the islands of St. Matthias ^[13] .

Civil Engineers of the U.S. Navy from the 18th building regiment, began to build a base. The regiment included the 27th, 61st and 63rd construction battalions, the 17th separate battalion, which arrived from March 25 to 30, and the 77th construction battalion, which arrived on April 14. The 27th construction battalion erected a torpedo boat base, a dry dock for the LCT and the road. The 61st construction battalion built houses for soldiers, an ammunition depot, an airstrip and buildings based on boats, as well as a sawmill. The 63rd construction battalion assisted in the construction of sawmills, roads, camps, harbor buildings, warehouses and fuel storage facilities. The 77th building battalion was responsible for the construction of taxiways and repair shops, and the 88th worked on lanes, roads, a radar station and a dam in the eastern part of the island ^[15] .

Two aerodromes were built: Inshore and North Cape. Their runway for bombers had a length of 2100 m and a width of 91 m. The first airfield could take 210 fighters or light bombers, the second - up to 84 heavy bombers. Both were equipped with all towers, searchlights and pharmacies. At the aerodromes there were three fuel storage tanks with a volume of 1,400 tons and 19 fuel storage tanks with a capacity of 140 tons with all the possibilities of refueling. The reserves were 5500 tons. Three hospitals were erected: a naval hospital for 100 beds, a field hospital of the 24th army for 160 beds, and a 7th hospital for 150 beds. In the Gulf of Hamburg, it was possible to receive up to five capital ships. There were eight cranes in the port, lifting the cargo to 1200 m³, covering an area of ​​37 thousand m². The port could take up to 910 m³ of cargo (800 tons) per day. All buildings were connected by roads with a length of 64 km, resistant to any weather. By August, all work was completed, the 502nd technical group of construction battalions took responsibility for the verification. In December, they left the island ^[15] .

On April 11, 1944, the 4th Regiment of the United States Marine Corps left the garrison; it was replaced by the 147th Infantry Regiment . The commander of the garrison was Major General James Moore , who previously commanded the 1st wing of the ILC ^[16] . Later, the 147th regiment was replaced in June by the 369th Infantry Regiment ^[17] . In August, General MacArthur announced that the responsibility for maintaining the base would then need to be shifted to the Australian armed forces ^[18] . 8th Infantry Battalion The Australian army took over the island’s garrison on September 30 ^[19] , where they were met by representatives of the administrative group of Australian New Guinea who have been on the island since May ^[20] . 12th KMP air group made its flights from Emirau until December, until it was relocated to Leyte , and the Royal Air Force squadrons of New Zealand occupied the base ^[21] . On March 20, 1945, General MacArthur ordered the garrison to be reduced to one company of the 8th battalion, and in June 1945 he left the island ^[22] . In the same month, the 502nd technical group went to Manus Island ^[23] . The Royal New Zealand Air Force kept an reconnaissance bomber squadron on the island until July 1945 and a fighter squadron until August 1945, until all troops left the island. ^[24]