"Battle of Buna-Gona " Topic

"In the South Pacific the Japanese wanted to establish a perimeter which the Allies would not be able to penetrate, this perimeter would also allow the Japanese to interdict the lines of communications between the United States and Australia, thus isolating Australia. In order to accomplish this, the Japanese planned to capture Port Moresby, New Guinea and to use the facilities there for ground based air support against the Americans and Australians. The Japanese also planned to construct a sea plane facility at Tulagi, and to construct an airfield on Guadalcanal. The Japanese intentions were to Take Port Moresby and Tulagi in order to secure air mastery of the Coral Sea and its shores. It was allied resistance to this that resulted in the Battle of the Coral Sea 4-8 May 1942.[1]

The Allies were successful at the Battle of the Coral Sea in that, although the Japanese were successful in taking Tulagi on 3 May 1942 they were prevented from landing at Port Moresby. Though the Japanese landing at Port Moresby was thwarted, they still intended to take it. The entire purpose of the attempted landing at Port Moresby was to provide the Japanese with facilities to protect additional movements into Southern New Guinea and to launch raids on Australia to weaken the Allies ability to move troops.[2] The Japanese developed a plan to land an invasion force at Buna-Gona, on the North shore of New Guinea, attack across the Owen-Stanley Mountains using the Kokoda Trail, and take Port Moresby from the North. This operation would be supported logistically from Buna-Gona with resources sent from Rabaul.[3]

Allied airfields at Buna would be critical to Allied operations in the southwest Pacific. From Buna, it was only 340 air miles to Rabaul, the key to Truk, the premier strategic point in the Pacific. The use of Buna-Gona as a staging area for a campaign of western thrusts along the coast of New Guinea would endanger Japanese control of the Philippines and the Netherlands East Indies.[4] MacArthur intended to establish an airfield at Buna and begin a series of leapfrogging advances along the coast of New Guinea. The campaign would culminate at the northwestern tip of New Guinea, only a few hundred miles from the Philippines. MacArthur ignored warnings from naval intelligence that the Japanese were also planning to take Buna as a base for an overland assault on Port Moresb…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Pretty good article. Thanks.

Glad you enjoyed it my friend!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand