[24] After Allied landings near Lae in the first week of September, the 18th Army commander, Hatazō Adachi, ordered Nakano to abandon Salamaua and subsequently his forces withdrew to the north disinvesting the town and transferring between 5,000 and 6,000 troops by barge, while other troops marched out along the coastal road. Two days after Halsey and the Enterprise departed for the cruise to Wake and Marcus Islands Task Force 17, centred on the carrier Yorktown, set sail from Pearl Harbor to join the Lexington. "Salamaua was the target of a raid by 75 Australian commandos on June 29 , 1942 and another raid a few days later. Also known as "Mt. Salamaua was struck again some 30 minutes later by Yorktown's Bombing Squadron 5 (VB-5), Torpedo Squadron 5 (VT-5) and Fighter Squadron 42 (VF-42), while the Dauntless dive bombers of VS-5 attacked the auxiliary ships along the shore at Lae. VS-2 selected a trio of transports unloading off Lae: the Kongo Maru, Tenyo Maru, and Kokai Maru, which were being guarded by the destroyers Yayoi and Mutsuki. At first these bases were seen as the front line of the Japanese defensive cordon in the area, but the Japanese then decided to expand into Papua, the south-eastern corner of New Guinea. About 5,400 Japanese escaped from this area and retreated along the coast to Salamaua and Lae. After the failure of the Japanese advance on Port Moresby the focus turned to the Japanese bridgehead at Buna and Gona on the north coast of Papua, but these had been captured by 22 January 1943. [13] During the month of May, they were heavily engaged in patrolling the 3rd Division's northern flank, around the Markham River, and the area around Missim, and one patrol succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Bituang River, to the north of Salamaua. [5] The defences were centred on the Okabe Detachment, a brigade-sized force from the 51st Division under Major General Toru Okabe. "I had an experience once, we were on a flight over Lae and Salamaua They were soon followed by Dauntless dive bombers of Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2) and the Douglas TBD Devastators of Lexington's Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2), which attacked shipping at Salamaua at 09:38 while the Wildcats of Fighter Squadron 2 (VF-2) strafed Lae and Salamaua. The Salamaua-Lae Campaign (30 June-16 September 1943) was the first part of Operation Postern, a wider offensive aimed at eliminating the Japanese presence on the New Guinea side of the Vitiaz Strait. They were supported by an amphibious landing at Nassau Bay, south of Salamaua, on 30 June 1943 (the same day as Operation Chronicle). The Kiyokawa Maru was forced to return to Japan for extensive repairs. VB-2 and VT-2 attempted to launch a coordinated attack on several ships, but the sheer number of targets made selection difficult and each section attack separately. From Mubo the Australians captured Mount Tambu and began to close the net around Salamaua. On 30 June 1,400 troops from the US 32nd Division landed at Nassau Bay, south of Salamaua, and quickly joined up with the Australians. Pilot Webster ditched July 9, 1943, References While Admirals Brown, Fletcher, and Crace were engaged in planning attacks on the Japanese base at Rabaul and the airfield at Gasmata on the southern coast of New Britain, a Japanese amphibious invasion force of 3,000 troops had already left Rabaul on 5 March with the intention of capturing the town of Lae and the nearby village of Salamaua on the north-eastern coast … The main offensive against Lae, originally planned as Operation II, was implemented as the start of Operation Postern. The single runway runs roughly northeast to southwest along Bayern Bay to the southwest of Salamaua. The Battle For Wau page 2 Although the overall shape of the Elkton III plan was followed in Operation Cartwheel, the details were changed. [23] Throughout July, the Japanese sought to reinforce the Salamaua area, drawing troops away from Lae; by the end of the month there were around 8,000 Japanese around Salamaua. The small Australian garrison on the coast had retreated inland to Wau, where there was a pre-war airstrip, and was supported there by air.