Battle of Vella Lavella (land) 1943
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 6 October 1943 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1943 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Solomon Islands | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Oceania | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -7.7333, 156.6330 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Vella Lavella was fought from 15 August – 6 October 1943 between the Empire of Japan and the Allied forces from New Zealand and the United States at the end of the New Georgia campaign. Vella Lavella, an island located in the Solomon Islands, had been occupied by Japanese forces early during the war in the Pacific. Following the Battle of Munda Point, the Allies recaptured the island in late 1943, following a decision to bypass a large concentration of Japanese troops on the island of Kolombangara.
After a landing at Barakoma on 15 August, US troops advanced along the coasts, pushing the Japanese north. In September, New Zealand troops took over from the Americans, and they continued to advance across the island, hemming the small Japanese garrison along the north coast. On 6 October, the Japanese began an evacuation operation to withdraw the remaining troops, during which the Naval Battle of Vella Lavella was fought. Following the capture of the island, the Allies developed it into an important airbase which was used in the reduction of the main Japanese base at Rabaul.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Vella Lavella (land) (revision 1370592333), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Browse more: battles in Solomon Islands · Oceania · World War II era battles