Battle of Lone Tree Hill 1944

About the battle

The Battle of Lone Tree Hill, is the name given to a major battle in 1944 in Dutch New Guinea, between United States and Japanese forces. Fought over the period 17 May – 2 September 1944, the battle formed part of the Western New Guinea campaign.

The battle, with the associated attacks on Sawar Airfield 10 miles (16 km) to the north and Wakde, an island just off shore of Toem 8 miles (13 km) to the south, took place after the opening phase of the campaign, which saw landings at Hollandia and the Aitape in late April.

Following the loss of Hollandia, to the east, in April 1944, the 26 miles (42 km) of coastline and surrounding area of Toem-Wakde-Sarmi was an isolated coastal salient for the Japanese. Nevertheless, elements of the Japanese 223rd and 224th Infantry Regiments, commanded by Lieutenant General Hachiro Tagami, were concentrated at Lone Tree Hill, overlooking Maffin Bay, and were blocking any further advance toward Sarmi, by the 158th Regimental Combat Team of the U.S. Army. The Japanese were in well-prepared positions, which included fortified caves. Meanwhile, the main body of the Japanese 223rd Infantry Regiment had outflanked the U.S. units, and a battalion of the Japanese 224th Infantry Regiment, was retreating from Hollandia, towards the Toem-Wakde-Sarmi area.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Lone Tree Hill (revision 1379327968), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Nearby battles

• Battle of Wakde 1944 · 85 km
• Battle of Hollandia 1944 · 257 km
• Battle of Biak 1944 · 316 km

Browse more: battles at sea · Asia · World War II era battles

Further reading

• Wikipedia: Battle of Lone Tree Hill
• Wikidata Q4871587