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On June 30, 1943, General MacArthur began Operation Cartwheel. This was the beginning of the "island hopping" campaign. An excerpt from the article:
"Beginning in the summer of 1943 during World War II (1939-1945), U.S. forces in the Pacific launched Operation Cartwheel, a series of amphibious assaults aimed at encircling the major Japanese base at Rabaul, on the island of New Britain in the southwest Pacific. General Douglas MacArthur led the Allied advance through New Guinea, while Admiral William “Bull” Halsey led a simultaneous northward advance in the Solomon Islands. The two-pronged campaign was able to neutralize Rabaul by March 1944, effectively cutting it off from the rest of Japan’s island positions in the Pacific."
"Beginning in the summer of 1943 during World War II (1939-1945), U.S. forces in the Pacific launched Operation Cartwheel, a series of amphibious assaults aimed at encircling the major Japanese base at Rabaul, on the island of New Britain in the southwest Pacific. General Douglas MacArthur led the Allied advance through New Guinea, while Admiral William “Bull” Halsey led a simultaneous northward advance in the Solomon Islands. The two-pronged campaign was able to neutralize Rabaul by March 1944, effectively cutting it off from the rest of Japan’s island positions in the Pacific."
Battle of New Britain (Rabaul)
Posted from history.com
WWII World War Two
World History
American History
Military History
Combat
Posted 3 y ago
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That land action was totally supporting the first American strategic objective of protecting Australia and her shipping lanes. The US Navy beat the Japanese Navy strategically in the Coral Sea which is above Australia. Rabaul is North of the Coral Sea.
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SSG Edward Tilton
It gave the Japanese something else to worry about. Without Rabaul their presence in the Dutch Colonies was endangered
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MAJ Ken Landgren
SSG Edward Tilton - They were destined to lose in that region as the US Navy and her air power locked down the Coral Sea and the Japanese soldiers in that region lost their logistical support. The Japanese sent a small fleet of supply ships and troop carriers without any Japanese Naval support and was quickly sunk by the fighters sent from our air craft carriers.
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