Shattered Bobdubi

Following the Allied victory at Buna, Australian infantry pushed northwest toward the next enemy coastal base in a war of small-unit actions across the jungle tracks and kunai-grass heights of the interior. As a pincer with a US landing near …

1943-06-30

M11

Following the Allied victory at Buna, Australian infantry pushed northwest toward the next enemy coastal base in a war of small-unit actions across the jungle tracks and kunai-grass heights of the interior. As a pincer with a US landing near Salamaua, the hastily trained 58th/59th Battalion saw first action against the ridgeline positions of the Japanese 115th Regiment. Lt. F.J. Roche (a resident of Rabaul), fearing booby traps on the main track to his platoon’s objective of Orodubi village, instead approached through kunai. The platoon soon drew close-range fire and after a 20-minute exchange of shots and grenades fell back with just 10 men unscathed.

Bobdubi Ridge, New Guinea

The Battle of Bobdubi was a series of actions fought in the Salamaua area of the Territory of New Guinea between Australian and Japanese forces which took place from 22 April to 19 August 1943, during World War II. Part of the Allied advance on Salamaua, the battle was fought in conjunction with several other actions in the region as the Allies attempted to draw Japanese attention away from Lae, where they launched seaborne landings in mid-September 1943 in conjunction with airborne landings around Nadzab. The initial phase of the fighting around Bobdubi was characterized mainly by small unit harassment and reconnaissance operations, while the second phase saw the capture of a number of Japanese defensive positions in locations dubbed "Old Vickers", "Timbered Knoll" and the "Coconuts".

Wikipedia: Battle of Bobdubi

Japanese

Australia