Battle of Rabaul (1942) 1942
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1942 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Papua New Guinea | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Oceania | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | South-East Asian theater of World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -4.1981, 152.1681 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Rabaul, also known by the Japanese as Operation R, an instigating action of the New Guinea campaign, was fought on the island of New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, from 23 January into February 1942. It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II, with the Japanese invasion force quickly overwhelming the small Australian garrison, the majority of which was either killed or captured. Hostilities on the neighbouring island of New Ireland are usually considered to be part of the same battle. Rabaul was significant because of its proximity to the Japanese territory of the Caroline Islands, site of a major Imperial Japanese Navy base on Truk.
Following the capture of the port of Rabaul, Japanese forces turned it into a major base and proceeded to land on mainland New Guinea, advancing toward Port Moresby. Heavy fighting followed along the Kokoda Track, and around Milne Bay, before the Japanese were eventually pushed back towards Buna–Gona by early 1943.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Rabaul (1942) (revision 1375277876), 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
- Operation Cartwheel 1943 · 1 km
- Battle of Karavia Bay 1944 · 11 km
- Siege of Toma 1914 · 21 km
- Battle of Bita Paka 1914 · 27 km
- Battle of Blackett Strait 1943 · 98 km
- Battle of Wide Bay–Open Bay 1944 · 99 km
Other battles of the South-East Asian theater of World War II
All 3 battles of the South-East Asian theater of World War II →
Browse more: battles in Papua New Guinea · Oceania · World War II era battles