"Gamble at Los Negros: The Admiralty Islands Campaign" Topic

"Shortly after the United States and Imperial Japan assumed their roles as belligerents in World War II, the Japanese began a rapid conquest of the various Pacific islands held by the Allied powers. Among these were the Bismarcks, the Northern Solomons, and Papua New Guinea. In January 1942, Japanese forces overwhelmed and seized Rabaul, the capital township of the Territory of New Guinea, which thereafter provided Japan with a formidable base of operations for its air and naval facilities in the region. In addition to a sizeable garrison of approximately 100,000 Japanese soldiers, a ring of occupied islands around New Guinea provided for Rabaul's defense. The broad campaign undertaken by Allied forces to drive the Japanese out of the area and deprive them of their Rabaul base consisted of a number of operations in the surrounding island chains, which fell under the overall code name of Operation Cartwheel (1943–44).1

One of the key sub-operations of Cartwheel was Operation Brewer, which began in February 1944 and consisted of a series of amphibious actions that sought to capture the Admiralty Islands. Brewer's success proved instrumental in both further isolating Rabaul, as well as providing Allied forces with new operating bases in the region.2 The Admiralty Islands group consists of 160 small islands, the chief of which are Manus and Los Negros, located 200 miles northeast of mainland New Guinea and approximately 360 miles west of Rabaul. The primary prizes offered by the two islands were the Momote airfield and Seeadler Harbor, the latter of which was one of the largest in the region. Seeadler is formed by the ellipse of Manus and the adjoining shoreline of Los Negros. The harbor is one and a half miles wide and approximately 100 feet deep. Due to its depth and the protection afforded by its natural formation, it can accommodate a large fleet…"

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