Shot For Shot

Once the airfields had been captured by the Americans, the battle for Biak became a slow, grinding affair. The terrain kept most engagements to a small scale. Squads and platoons fighting over small patches of land which meant nothing at …

1944-07-08

P15

Once the airfields had been captured by the Americans, the battle for Biak became a slow, grinding affair. The terrain kept most engagements to a small scale. Squads and platoons fighting over small patches of land which meant nothing at all to some and everything to the men there.

Biak, New Guinea

The Battle of Biak was part of the Western New Guinea campaign of World War II, fought between the United States Army and the Japanese Army from 27 May to 17 August 1944. Taking place on the island of Biak, in Geelvink Bay, in present-day Indonesia, it was part of General Douglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Command's offensive drive to clear New Guinea in preparation for an invasion of the Philippines. It was the first major effort by the Japanese to allow uncontested landings for the purpose of creating a kill zone inland. The main Allied objective was to capture the island so that they could construct airfields there. The battle resulted in the capture of the island by Allied forces, which were then used to support operations elsewhere in the Pacific.

Wikipedia: Battle of Biak

Japanese

American