Today
The western half of the island of New Guinea, western most province
of Indonesia, known as Irian Jaya. The eastern half is Papua New Guinea.
History
On 5 March, Imperial General
Headquarters by Navy Directive No.62 ordered Commander-in-Chief,
Combined Fleet, upon completion of the Java operation, to annihilate
the remaining enemy force in the Dutch New Guinea and to occupy
strategic points of that territory. The objectives of the occupation
were to survey the country for possible sites for air bases,
anchorages
and oilfields, as well to secure a good communication and supply
line with British New Guinea. The Japanese claimed zero casualites
in their occupation of the area.
The
area was the site of several daring island hopping amphibious
landings by Americans, but the history of operations in this
region are less known than more "famous" battles
in Papua New Guinea. Many of the Japanese
troops in this area were isolated until the end of the war,
to starve or otherwise bypassed by Allied island hopping
and attacked from the air.
|
Hollandia (Jayapura) Area |
Jayapura (Hollandia) |
Airfield complex and Allied landing, modern capital
of Irian Jaya |
Humbolt Bay |
Harbor to the east of Hollandia, American landing April 22, 1944 |
Tanahmerah Bay |
Harbor to the east of Hollandia, American landing April 22, 1944 |
Sentani |
Airfield near Hollandia, and Lake Sentani |
Cyclops |
Airfield and Cyclops Mountain |
|
Aerodrome near
Hollandia |
|
(Irian Jaya) New Guinea Mainland, North Coast |
|
Town on the north coast |
|
Japanese airfield SW of Sarmi |
|
Site of several Japanese
airfields |
|
Inland lake along the Mamberamo River |
|
Site of unapposed us landing,
SE of Maffin Bay |
|
Coastal town across from
Wakde Island |
|
Japanese airfield |
|
Located on the northern New Guinea coast, south of Biak |
|
Recently discovered
RAAF MIA |
|
Small Island
off the western tip of the island |
|
US Army
landed unapposed on July 31, 1944. American airfield |
|
US Army
landed unapposed on July 31, 1944 American airfield. |
|
Allied airfields
and docks |
|
Japanese airfields
of Ransiki, Moemi and Waren |
|
Japanese airfield SW of Sarmi |
|
Mountain range in central Irian
Jaya |
|
''Shangri-La'' a hidden
valley in the center of the island |
|
(Irian Jaya) New Guinea Mainland, Southern Coast |
|
Japanese airfield |
|
Allied airfield near the southern
tip of New Guinea |
|
Japanese
aerodrome. |
|
Located on the southern coast, near Utarom. |
|
Japanese supply area |
|
Japanese occupied area |
|
Japanese airfield |
|
Japanese airfield |
|
Japanese airfield |
| |
Halmahera Island Group |
|
Two Allied built airfield developed into a major base |
|
Heavily fortified island at the
end of Dutch New Guinea. |
|
Seat of Dutch government
in this region prior to WWII |
|
Small island off Halmahera |
|
Japanese wartime airfield |
| |
Schouten Island Group |
|
Island where heavy fighting for
the aerodrome took place. |
|
Site of Allied airfield, just off
Biak Island. |
|
American paratroopers retook this
island from the Japanese |
|
Short but bitter fighting on this tiny
island cost 150 US casulties |
|
Report of several sunken Japanese
aircraft |
|
Japanese occupied island |
|
American PT Boat base |
|
Island group to the SE of
Biak |
Wreckage of U.S. World War II plane discovered in Papua
JAKARTA (Antara): Residents of the remote jungles in Indonesia's
eastern-most province of Papua claim to have found the wreckage
of a U.S. plane believed to have been shot down by Japanese forces
during World War II. The aircraft was found hidden in the undergrowth
in the village of Kombieti, which borders with Papua New Guinea,
Lukas Merunda, one of the local residents, said on Friday. Merunda
said the body of the aircraft was still intact, with its wings
hanging on the wreckage. The wreckage of another World War II
plane was also discovered recently by Indonesian marine scientists
on an underwater expedition off the Papua coast. Reference: Reported
in Jakarta Post March 19, 2005.
