16-382 Garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

Location: Buna, Papua New Guinea

Date taken: 1943

Photographer: George Strock


Soldiers attending prayer service after capturing Buna Village during the fight against Japanese troops for control of the island.

Breakthrough at Buna Village

On 5 December, Urbana Force pressed an attack on Buna village from the south with four companies. P-40 Kittyhawks supported by attacking the station, to disrupt any attempt to reinforce the village. The attacks by the flank companies faltered while the centre advanced with limited success. However, on the centre right, Staff Sergeant Herman Bottcher, a platoon commander in H Company, 126th Infantry, leading 18 men, was able to drive to the sea. Bottcher and his troops fought off attacks for seven days during which he was wounded twice before he was relieved. Australian war correspondent George Johnston wrote in Time magazine on 20 September 1943: "By a conservative count ... Bottcher and his twelve men ... killed more than 120 Japs."


Sanananda Front, December 1942.
Bottcher had finally turned the tide of the battle at Buna. His platoon's efforts cut off the Japanese in Buna Village from resupply and reinforcements, being already isolated on the western flank. It provided the impetus for the ultimate capture of the village. Bottcher was awarded a battlefield commission to the rank of captain and the first of two Distinguished Service Cross Medals. A plaque was later placed at the entrance to Buna Village in memory of his actions that day.

On this same day, Bren carriers were to spearhead an unsuccessful attack on the Warren Force front. Subsequent actions on the Urbana front were to consolidate the gain made by Bottcher. For the next week, activity on both flanks at Buna was mainly restricted to infiltration and harassing artillery fire. On 11 December, the III/127th, having arrived at Dobodura two days earlier, took over forward positions occupied by II/126th. In the morning of the 14th, after concentrated mortar fire, the III/127th advanced on the village but the defenders had already fled. The only positions to the west of Entrance Creek that remained were at the Coconut Grove. This was cleared by the II/128th, with attacks on the 16th and 17th

Information

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[Paul S.]

Australian War Memorial The Battle of Buna.

[henry r]

It is fascinating how both the Australian and american accounts down play the importance of the achievements of the other countries forces.

[CINDERS]

I am just glad the U.S came to help us because things were grim for Australia at that point of the war as with our troops the AIF in Africa, Britain abandoning our forces at Singapore (Read ~ The Great Betrayal By David Day and you will see why I said that) and the 39th Militia had done a sterling effort at halting the Japanese in New Guinea the first time they had been defeated in jungle warfare but it surely was not going to be the last.

[Flying10uk]

Britain abandoning our forces at Singapore (Read ~ The Great Betrayal By David Day and you will see why I said that) and the 39th Militia had done a sterling effort at halting the Japanesein New Guinea the first time they had been defeated in jungle warfare but it surely was not going to be the last.

I don't think that Britain abandoned it's forces of British and Commonwealth troops at Singapore but there may have been serious question marks about how well they were deployed/commanded?

[CINDERS]

Yes they say Gordon Bennett should have been court martialed but the deal was struck between England & Australia well before the Japanese started their global campaign and when they did the rest is history. See pics from my collection.

[Flying10uk]

I think that you have to be very careful about who you proportion blame to, in 2016, for the fall of Singapore to Japanese forces during WW2, Cinders. My personal view is that it is not fair to lay the blame at one group of people or a single person but a significant proportion of the blame probably lies with the senior British commanders in Singapore at the time. With the amount of personnel and equipment on and around Singapore at the time one would have thought that more of a fight would have been put up than what actually happened.

[CINDERS]

My point is not to blame anyone but the agreement was reached in 1939 this is fact which is my point if you make a promise you keep it then again I am but a small speck in history my opinion matters zilch in this day & age.
I realize hindsight is a wonderful thing and Bennett had his reasons could they have held out, were the losses unacceptable, could a guerrilla campaign be had who knows its history. No one will deny that Australia had answered the call of the Empire in previous engagements that Britain she was involved in and asked for help.

We lost that battle but the allies won the war in the end so that is all that matters. But I feel sorry for the dominion troops that had to suffer in those god awful camps and died also the others that drowned when the ships taking them to Japan for slave labour were torpedoed.

[Mark in Rochester]

Australian War Memorial The Battle of Buna.

Australians of the 2/12th Battalion move past a group of Americans on the Sanananda track, who had been in action a little earlier.