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 Australian Army June 29, 1945 |
Location Lat 3° 37' 10" S Long 143° 36' 44" E Mount Shiburangu is the highest peak in the Prince Alexander Range inland from the north coast of New Guinea. To the east is "Big Road" and beyond Mount Tazaki and Mount Kwakabo. From the peak, a wide portion of the north coast is visible from Aitape and southward to the Sepik River. Prewar and during the Pacific War located in the Territory of New Guinea. Today located in East Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Wartime History During the middle of 1945, the Japanese Army established defensive positions on Mount Shiburangu including bunkers. This feature was to the west of "Big Road" the north south road to Wewak and was an Australian Army objective to gain use of the road to move south to link up with the Australian inland force. In early June 1945 the Australian Army reached the vicinity and began patrolling in the vicinity of Mount Tazaki and Mount Shiburangu. Patrols kept pressure on the Japanese and air strikes and artillery were directed on each feature. On June 14, 1945 Australian Army, 2/4th Battalion attacked and occupied a strongly held position. That same morning, 2/8th Infantry Battalion, Company C attacked Hill 2 an important feature roughly 1,000 yards north of Mount Shiburangu. Heavy fighting continued all morning before the position was captured. On June 26, 1945 in the early morning, 36 Beauforts bombed Mount Shiburangu. On June 27, 1945 at 7:00am Beauforts again bombed the feature followed by a 30 minute artillery bombardment of 5,000 shells fired by 48 guns. Next, 2/8th Infantry Battalion, Company C began climbing until they encountered heavy gunfire from Japanese bunkers atop the feature that pinned down the entire company. A platoon was ordered to flank the position to the right and scale a 700 yards up the side of the mountain. Meanwhile, the the rest of the company laid down covering fire. Undetected, the platoon reached the top and surprised the Japanese with gunfire and grenades as the rest of the company advanced. By 12:30pm the Australian occupied the peak and the remaining Japanese withdrew to another lower hill dubbed "The Blot". References Australian Army Campaign Wewak Contribute
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