"The Battle of Wau (28-30 January 1943)" Topic

"The battle of Wau (28-30 January 1943) saw the defeat of the last Japanese attempt to advance towards Port Moresby

In March 1942 the Japanese occupied Lae and Salamaua, on the shores of the Huon Gulf, at the eastern end of the long coast of the Territory of New Guinea. In response the Australians moved two companies of commandoes to the small town of Wau. Wau is located in the upper reaches of the Bulola Valley. The river flows north-west from Wau and into the Markham River, which then flows east into the Huon Gulf. Wau also had a difficult but usable airfield, which made it a potentially valuable base for any Allied counterattack into the Markham Valley. From the Japanese point of view its main advantage was that it sat on a trail that ran from Salamaua on the north coast over to the south coast of Papua. Wau was only thirty miles south of Salamaua, although this route cut across a mountain range and was unknown to the Australians.

The airfield was 3,600 feet long and dropped by 300 feet (or 10%). As a result it could only be used in one direction, landing uphill and taking off downhill, regardless of the wind direction. It was also often covered with cloud and unusable…"
Full article here
link

Are there any book about this battle you recomended?

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Amicalement
Armand

Not much, mate, beyond the official history. There's also an Army History Unit book, Wau 1942-1943. Australian Army Campaigns Series No 6, but I don't know how well written it is.

There's quite a bit on the air transport operations, too, written for/by the USAAF/USAF, but the ones I read basically ignored the ground war.

Cheers.

Dal.

Many thanks for your guidance my friend.
Sad there is not much.

Amicalement
Armand

Here's a snippet from here

link

"…With Wau in hand, the Japanese could lunge forward again toward Moresby protected by an aerial umbrella. Isolated and weakly defended, the Australian airstrip at Wau seemed ripe for Eighteenth Army's picking.

In January 1943 [IJA]Eighth Area Army ordered reinforcements to Lae. Forewarned of the impending convoy by decrypted Japanese naval messages, MacArthur's air chief, Lt. Gen. George C. Kenney, commander of Allied Air Forces and U.S. Fifth Air Force, sent repeated air attacks against the enemy ships. Allied pilots sank two troop transports, damaged another, and killed 600 Japanese soldiers. Only one-third of the intended Japanese reinforcements reached Lae, and these survivors salvaged only half of their equipment. Without reinforcements, the desperate attack on Wau failed. The defeated Japanese remnants fell back into the jungle, slowly giving ground toward Lae.

Repulsed at Wau and pressed by the Australians, Japanese forces on New Guinea urgently needed reinforcements. On 19 February 1943, U.S. Navy cryptanalysts handed MacArthur solid intelligence that the enemy was planning another major transport to Lae in early March. Kenney threw every available aircraft into a three-day struggle from 2 to 5 March, known as the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Eight transports and four destroyers were lost in all. Of the 51st Division's 6,912 troops, about 3,900 survived, but only 1,000 soaked, oil-stained, and dispirited officers and men reached Lae. Kenney's destruction of the 51st Division condemned the Japanese to the strategic defensive on New Guinea.
"

Also, try here
link

As you say…not much to work from.

Australia 1943: The Liberation of New Guinea by Peter J. Dean

Cambridge University Press (2013), Hardcover, 337 pages

I have just finished reading Wau by Phillip Bradley, the Australian Army Campaign Series book – Bradley has also written The Battle of Wau Cambridge University Press Melbourne 2008 link
– and I think it is quite good.

It is good to read something beyond the Kokoda Campaign and I think it has a bit to offer for gamers.

At 216 pages it has a reasonable amount of detail and a good combination of images and maps. What I particularly liked was a number of B/W images from the period with a recent colour photo taken by the author from the same angle or as near as. It has a number of colour pictures by Jeff Isaacs which are a little naive in style as well as pages of the weapons used during the fighting.

The book offers some good details of the Australians fighting and comments from veterans but very little perspectives from the Japanese side which I think would have been a great benefit. The book is certainly not all positive about the Australians as it was very critical of the abilities of LTCOL Norman Fleay and another officer who 'sent his men forward but stayed at the rear' who remained nameless. It certainly paints a good picture of the fighting in terrible conditions.

I think it is a good addition to Australians in the Guinea campaigns and I think it is excellently priced at around $20 USD (Australian) locally. I am not sure I would be prepared to pay more than $30 USD for it though.

From a wargamers perspective I think it is good as it looks to be predominantly an infantry fight with some artillery support. The colour pictures give some excellent idea of what the terrain looked like which will help with scenario design and terrain building ideas. The fact that the author has taken so many photographs shows he has walked the terrain himself which I admire too.

Check this site for some ordering options. link

This book by Bradley looks interesting too. link

Hope this helps.

Cheers