Sustained attacks resumed on 23 October, culminating in a large raid on 2 November. In preparation for the daily Last Post Ceremony. Major Edmonds-Wilson, commander of the tiny Kavieng garrison of 150 men, has told how he got his men away from Kavieng in a schooner, but they were captured by Japs and taken to Rabaul. They arrived to Rabaul, the former capital and tried to establish a radar station and an imponent minefield. Following Germany's defeat at the end of the war, the occupied territory was delegated in 1920 to Australia as a League of Nations Mandate (Class C). [3][4] The 2/22nd Battalion Bandwhich was also included in Lark Forceis perhaps the only military unit ever to have been entirely recruited from the ranks of the Salvation Army. [23], Only the RAAF had made evacuation plans. Their request was granted and Japanese pilots were allowed to fly the aircraft to the nearest Allied airfield at Jacquinot Bay Airfield. As the major Japanese fleet base in the South Pacific, Rabaul had been under continuous Allied air attack since the first raid by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Catalinas in January 1942. We could say that the first thing that Scanlan did was to a certain extent, reasonable. [39] By mid-1943, the tide turned in favour of the Allies, who began an offensive in the Pacific, aimed at advancing north through New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. [7], For the Japanese, the capture of Rabaul was followed with further operations on mainland New Guinea, beginning with operations to capture the SalamauaLae region beginning in March 1942. It continued for the better part of 24 hours, destroyed the town and the harbour shipping, and killed large numbers of Japs. On 15 August, Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender. Rabaul was well stocked with the coal for use by the German East Asian Cruiser Squadron. A team there maintains its crucial watch over the town and the volcanoes until today. They failed. There remains the front wall of Burns Philp's store, battered by shell fire and bomb blast and the concrete entrance to what appeared to be the Rabaul Club. [7] Destroyed in the 1937 volcano eruption, its remains became a tourist attraction after World War II and remained so until the 1994 further volcanic destruction of Rabaul. After this, something indisputably disastrous began. [27], From mainland New Guinea, some civilians and individual officers from the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit organised unofficial rescue missions to New Britain, and between March and May about 450 troops and civilians were evacuated by sea. They arrived in October 1942, when the Japs were confident they could hold Rabaul, and use it as a base against Australia. The whole shore line of Simpson Harbour is littered with bombed, gutted and burnt out ships, some half on the beach, others submerged, with only their masts and the tops of funnels showing here and there. It is signed by Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee (1890-1966), General Officer Commanding First Australian Army and Commander in Chief of the Japanese Imperial Southeastern Army, General Hitoshi Imamura (1886-1968). U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy . Australian troops retreating from Rabaul after the successful attack by Japanese forces, Warangoi River, New Britain, January 1942. . Among these factors is one of the most outstanding and unknown islands of the moment: New Britain. The former Australian territory was transformed into a major Japanese naval and air installation. Distinctive for its ring of active volcanos, Rabauls attraction lay in its airfields and natural harbour. [36] Meanwhile, a handful of Lark Force members remained at large on New Britain and New Ireland and, in conjunction with the local islanders, conducted guerrilla operations against the Japanese, serving mainly as coast watchers, providing information of Japanese shipping movements. It was a Sunday in September of 1914 when the vessel helped secure the surrender of Rabaul in East New Britain, according to the Royal Australian Navy. Click on current line of text for options. Rabaul Airport was destroyed in the 1994 eruption, and, since the approach involved flying over the Tavurvur crater, it was abandoned. The Return to Rabaul 1945* HANK NELSON BEFORE THE JAPANESE PEOPLE GATHERED, SOME WEEPING, AROUND RADIOS AT 1 LOO a.m. on 15 August 1945 to hear Emperor Hirohito say that the Var situ . All rights reserved. "[6][7] January proved costly for the Japanese: 266 fighters were credited to US Marine Corps fighters and bomber gunners alone, not including the physical damage done to Rabaul's land defenses. Numerous Army small craft, fully laden, had already left in order to reach the rendezvous on schedule. [9] Assessing the situation as hopeless, Scanlan ordered "every man for himself", and Australian soldiers and civilians split into small groups, up to company size, and retreated through the jungle, moving along the north and south coasts. [15] Sixteen United States Army Air Forces P-38 Lightning fighters took off from Guadalcanal and intercepted and shot down the two bombers of the Yamamoto flight, for the loss of one P-38. These are the . The conquest of western New Britain secured Allied control of the Vitiaz and Dampier straits between that island and New Guinea. Japanese forces landed on Rabaul on 23 February 1942, capturing it in February of that year. The transport SS Katoomba joined us, and after completion of embarking troops and equipment, we sailed in convoy with HMAS Vendetta as escort. We can not be too careful in the next few years to avoid lulling ourselves into a state of false security. Just how much film he used is his own private secret, but by now you will have seen the fruits of his efforts in the newsreels. The centrality of the prisoner-of-war experience to Australias Second World War can be measured by the profound loss of life. Before the 1994 eruption, Rabaul was a popular commercial and recreational boating destination; fewer private small craft visit now, but 10 to 12 cruise ships visit Rabaul each year, including the Queen Elizabeth, carrying up to 2,000 passengers. Rabaul was then bombed by Allied forces later that month. Leaflets posted by Japanese patrols or dropped from planes stated in English, "you can find neither food nor way of escape in this island and you will only die of hunger unless you surrender". But we need to be super sure you aren't a robot. The conditions were perfect for starting a guerrilla war that could delay the Japanese invasion for years if necessary. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. There he will ac-. galleries are progressively closed from 4 pm. To be honest, it could be discussed if the measure was of great aid, preventing a rescue in case of needing one, that again, was eventually surprisingly needed. Miraculously the jobs were completed, stores and ammunitions came aboard, crew recalled from leave began to report, fuming at the cut in their leave; and on the day ordered we left Garden Island, swung compasses and in the afternoon slipped through Sydney Heads and headed north. At the outbreak of World War I, . One thing that impressed us were the very extensive vegetable gardens which had been laid out by the Japanese. Later the Japs took 80 American soldier prisoners into Rabaul, but their fate is not clear. Settlements and military installations around the edge of the caldera are often collectively called Rabaul, although the old town of Rabaul was reduced to practical insignificance by the volcanic eruption in 1937. The C-in-C Australian Land Forces (Gen. Sir Thomas Blarney) has arrived, back at his headquarters at Morotai from Tokio. We will present our protagonist later. Battles were bloody and costly on both sides. 2 Surrender of the Japanese, narrative by Lt B. When we had completed disembarking troops and stores, we had an opportunity of going ashore and taking stock of the area which we were permitted to visit. Many of the underground workshops, stores and air raid and living quarters were on a large scale. In the history of mankind there have always been people unable to carry out their duties. However, the message didnt arrive as expected, and the receivers did not understand anything. The most surprising fact is that during that battle only 28 people died. [9] Over 1,000 Australian soldiers were captured or surrendered during the following weeks after the Japanese landed a force at Gasmata, on New Britain's south coast, on 9 February, severing the Australians' line of retreat. [12] For the invasion, the Japanese established a brigade group based on the 55th Division. One felt the brooding quietness of the place; and we were thankful that we were not entering to make a landing under the hail of fire which would have greeted us if the invasion had taken place a few weeks before. Japanese surrender. [2] In March 1941, the Australians dispatched a small garrison to the region, as tensions with Japan heightened. 507 people were killed, and there was widespread damage. Most of their experienced carrier pilots were lost over Rabaul, large numbers of their sorely needed aviation maintenance personnel were either lost during their attempted evacuation or trapped there, and the Japanese no longer had a base from which they could threaten the Allied presence in the Solomons. Rabaul was selected as the capital of the German New Guinea administration in 1905, and the administrative offices were transferred there in 1910. Rabaul, New Britain. . Quiver with the nurses, abandoned by their own government, as they raise their hands in surrender to Japanese troops swathed in jungle camouflage. As a tourist destination, Rabaul is popular for its volcanoes, scuba diving and for snorkelling sites, spectacular harbour and other scenery, World War II history, flora and fauna, and the cultural life of the Tolai people. And so, a morning of January 1942, more specifically on day 4, the disaster happened. Gunantambu, the famous house of "Queen" Emma Forsayth and her husband, contained furniture previously owned by Robert Louis Stevenson and left to her family in Samoa. The scenic beauty of Simpson Harbour unfolded as we made our way slowly to our anchorage. 303640, Japanese passenger ship MV Montevideo Maru. After all, at the head of this unit rode our protagonist. They eventually settled upon the third option. The Allies lost six aircrew killed and five wounded,[18] along with 28 soldiers killed in action,[23] and over 1,000 captured. The regular attacks became known as "milk runs" among the Allied air crews. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, there were still around 69,000 Japanese troops in Rabaul. After the war ended, Scanlan was appointed governor at his former workplace, the Hobart Gaol maximum security prison. The Japanese surrender. For Japan, these were seen as keys to the advance into the south-west Pacific. Since you've made it this far, we want to assume you're a real, live human. Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. [citation needed] Aircraft of the USAAF 3rd Bomb Group attack Japanese ships in Simpson Harbour, 2 November 1943 Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake in front of HQ Rabaul [4] The main tasks of the garrison were protection of Vunakanau, the main Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airfield near Rabaul, and the nearby flying boat anchorage in Simpson Harbour, which were important for the surveillance of Japanese movements in the region. These attacks succeeded in damaging six of the seven Japanese cruisers present in Simpson Harbour, ending the Japanese threat to the Bougainville landings. Since he knew his force was made by recruits, Scanlan decided to tell the soldiers he was ordering just a practice exercise and that no landing was occurring. By the end of the war, there was still a sizeable garrison at Rabaul, with large quantities of equipment that were subsequently abandoned. Allied fighters and bombers continued to attack Rabaul through 1944 and 1945. As I have said, the roads were very bad indeed. Rabaul's magnificent harbour and central position meant it became a trading hub for the lively, and politically and economically developing New Guinea Islands region (East and West New Britain, New Ireland, Manus Island, and Bougainville). Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia. 1941-06. A following raid on 11 November including the three carriers of Task Group 50.3 commanded by Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery inflicted additional damage on the light cruiser Agano and shot down 35 Japanese aircraft. We were bound for Jacquinot Bay, New Guinea, and thence, Madang. One report indicates that a number of them were flown from Rabaul to Tokyo after Rabaul surrendered. Rabaul is continually threatened by volcanic activity, because it is on the edge of the Rabaul caldera, a flooded caldera of a large pyroclastic shield. Rabaul was planned and built around the harbour area known as Simpsonhafen (Simpson Harbour) during the German New Guinea administration, which controlled the region between 1884 and formally through 1919. DescriptionJapanese signing surrender Rabaul on HMS Glory (R62) 1945.jpg Japanese Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura, Commander of the Japanese 8th Area Army, signing the instrument of surrender on board the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Glory(R62) off Rabaul, New Britain, 6 September 1945. Scanlan had been born in South Melbourne, Victoria, on 19 October 1890. When the Australian Army occupied Rabaul, the Japanese requested permission to surrender their remaining aircraft to the Allied Air Force. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. Here, the Japanese command had invested men and supplies into building an airfield at Munda, all of which proved to be a waste. OFF RABAUL, Thursday: The formal surrender of 139,000 Japanese in Rabaul, New Ireland: the Solomons, . We reached the rendezvous in the early morning of September 10 and as soon as all ships had taken station HMAS Vendetta followed by HMAS Manoora led the squadron into Simpson Harbour, with air cover provided by RNZ Air Force Corsairs. The peaks of the Mother and Daughter were veiled with fleecy clouds, and at the base of each could be seen some of the extensive gardens laid out by the Japanese. By constructing air bases on each island that they captured, the Allies . Between 70 and 120 Japanese aircraft flew from Rabaul to Truk (which had recently been raided by US Navy carrier aircraft) on the morning of 19 February. The former Australian territory was transformed into a major Japanese naval and air installation. Aerial photograph of smoke billowing from the active Matupi volcano following its eruption. This was a concert of thanks and gratitude, as they expressed themselves, to repay the kindness extended to them in the ship, where a collection of all articles of use - tobacco, razor blades, toothpaste etc - had been quickly made. During the Japanese occupation of Rabaul this volcano and other volcanoes surrounding Rabaul were bombed by allied air forces to induce them to erupt. . When using this template, please provide information of where the image was first published and who created it. The Australian defenders put up what resistance they could but with no air support they were forced to withdraw. Japanese transport was in an appalling condition. They had made their own musical instruments in the prison camps and, at a concert they gave us, one felt the joy and relief they felt as they sang and played Hawaiian and Indonesian songs and music. Accepts Pagan Jap surrender. Known as Lark Force, this small force was ill-equipped to match the strength of the Japanese invasion force. In 1983 and 1984 the town was ready for evacuation when the volcanoes started to heat up. Only two out of three survived the ordeal of three-and-a-half years of captivity. Under the Australian administration, Rabaul developed into a regional base. The Japanese heavily relied on it, and used it as a launching point for Japanese reinforcements to New Guinea and Guadalcanal. Proclamations have already been issued, providing penalties for offences against the occupation, farces, setting up courts of justice, and establishing cur-. It was a time of great anxiety and suffering, not only for the prisoners, but also for loved ones at home, who would have little if any knowledge of the fate or even the whereabouts of the missing troops until after the war. This was followed by the surrender of the Australian forces on Java on 12 March. The Japanese we saw looked very fit and, whilst they saluted regularly and bowed and smiled, one was left with the impression that while it suited them to be helpful and willing, unless they are kept down and watched very carefully indeed they will plan another war infinitely worse than this. What remained of the town of Rabaul seems to have been finally wiped out by a terrific Allied air raid on March 2 1944. and a very surprising ending . From then on the prisoners were forced to live on meagre rations of locally grown vegetables. [30][31] The Allies later placed responsibility for the incident on Masao Kusunose, the commanding officer of the 144th Infantry Regiment, but in late 1946 he starved himself to death before he could stand trial. [11][12][13] About six planters who had remained in the bush were executed in July 1942 after they gave themselves up to the Japanese, while 12 men, who had technical skills, were imprisoned in Rabaul, but were executed at the end of 1944. However, many abandoned positions, tunnels, and equipment relics such as aircraft and weapons can still be found in the area.[44][45]. [41] The Australians then conducted a number of other landings around the island as they conducted a limited advance north, securing a line across the base of the Gazelle Peninsula between Wide Bay and Open Bay. [2], With the major Japanese possessions around Rabaul captured, Allied air forces could then begin the permanent neutralization of Rabaul. [4][10], The military personnel, and most civilians who had remained in Rabaul, were placed aboard the Montevideo Maru, which was sunk off the Philippines in June 1942. sairs from the Glory "victory rolled" above the carrier. A. Harding, Military History Section, AWM 54, 611/9/2. "[40], Allied planners had considered capturing Rabaul, but they eventually settled on isolating it and bypassing it as part of Operation Cartwheel. Talasea, almost halfway to Rabaul, fell to the 1st Marine Division in March 1944. Eventually Allied forces came to use Rabaul as a live-fire exercise to give aircrew some taste of combat before committing them elsewhere in the theater. By 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul. 2023 [6] Rabaul became the capital of the Territory of New Guinea. In December 1943, U.S. Marines and Army soldiers landed in western New Britain at Arawe and Cape Gloucester. There is a brief listing and discussion of all the US aircraft used by the 5 th AF, USN and USMC. The Battle of Rabaul, also known by the Japanese as Operation R, was fought on the island of New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942.It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II, with the Japanese invasion force [9] To make the situation even worse, instead of barricading himself and containing the invading force, five times as many in number, and without available reinforcements, Scanlan could think of nothing better than to desperately respond to the attack with another attack. Following this, the Australian administration for the Territory of New Guinea decided to move the territorial headquarters to the safer location of Lae. . All 1,053 Australians on board were lost in what remains to this day the nations greatest maritime tragedy. New Guinea Madang. Use this login for Shop items, and image, film, sound reproductions. Amidst the undergrowth, along the foreshore, were dumps of aero engines which had been 'given the works' by our Air Force. A similar attack took place on 19 December, which cost the Japanese four aircraft, two credited to Marine fighters. Underground stores and workshops were found of all kinds of equipment and there were large ammunition dumps containing all types of explosives and shells. The Japs treated the Chinese community, especially the women, with fearful cruelty. The Japanese army dug many kilometers of tunnels as shelter from Allied air attacks. Without supplies, their health and military effectiveness declined. Before leaving Rabaul on our second voyage we embarked some hundreds of cheering and singing Indonesians for transportation to the Dutch East Indies. These losses made up half of all the combat-related deaths suffered by Australian servicemen and servicewomen during the Pacific War. The air campaign covered in this book prevented Japanese airpower from recovering from the 1942 battles; in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in 1944, US numbers and . Shortly thereafter the 40th Infantry Division began relieving both the Marines and the 112th Cavalry RCT. Throughout the month, the Japanese command devoted valuable carrier aircraft and carrier pilots to the defense of Rabaul. Chapter Three covers the capabilities of those attacking Rabaul. . New Britain, a paradisiacal island where even a flightless bird could trigger an instant death, was under Australian protection after the First World War. A group of 60 officers, 6 army nurses and 13 civilians aboard another ship were more fortunate. As a part of Operation Cartwheel the U.S. Fifth Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), all under the command of General George Kenney, began a sustained bombing campaign against the airfields and port of Rabaul in late 1943. [4] Starting on 4 January 1942, Rabaul came under attack by large numbers of Japanese carrier-based aircraft. 139,000 Japanese in Rabaul, New Ireland, the Solomons, As Imamura signed the surrender document and handed over his sword to, Lt-Gen. V. A. H. Sturdee, GOC, Ist Australian Army, a flight of Cor-. Some days before our arrival the surrender had been signed in Rabaul Harbour on HMS Glory, an aircraft carrier of the British Pacific Fleet. They finally brought up a 12-pound field piece to bombard it, which caused the German garrison to negotiate a surrender. Rabaul is a town in Eastern New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Little . Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash from a volcanic eruption in its harbour. photocopies or electronic copies of newspapers pages. [7] That night, the invasion fleet approached Rabaul and before dawn on 23 January, the South Seas Force entered Simpson Harbour and a force of around 5,000 troops, mainly from the 144th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Masao Kusunose, began to land on New Britain. It is estimated that they planted 15000 acres of garden for food supplies. [37][38] Throughout 1942 and into early 1943, the Allies and Japanese fought along the Kokoda Track, at Milne Bay and around BunaGona as the Japanese sought to advance south towards Port Moresby. In effect they went underground as they have done in so many other places. [3] It became the capital of the Australian-mandated Territory of New Guinea until 1937, when it was first destroyed by a volcano. Rabaul was heavily bombed by Japanese aircraft starting from January 4 1942. Obviously the Japanese had planned Rabaul as a major base of operations and the starting point for the invasion of Australia. By January 16, 1944, the airstrip at Cape Gloucester had been captured and defense lines set up. Tourism is a major industry in Rabaul and East New Britain generally. Rabaul is a town in Eastern New Britain, Papua New Guinea. It appears that after the Australian soldiers and civilians were shipped away from Rabaul in June 1942 (the most of whom were never heard of again) the Japs brought to Rabaul 600 surrendered British soldiers from Singapore and forced them to dig the innumerable tunnels with which the hillsides around Rabaul are now honeycombed. One of the attacking Japanese bombers was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. The entire 8th Division had been lost. Talasea, halfway to Rabaul, fell in March 1944. Of the survivors, 400 managed to escape New Britain and return to Australia. The initial mission was delivered by 349 aircraft on 12 October 1943, but it could not be followed up immediately due to bad weather. Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents, This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. Since then, the young cone Tavurvur located inside the caldera has been the site of near persistent activity in form of strombolian to vulcanian ash eruptions. The Australians tried to restrict Rabaul's development soon after its capture by a bombing counter-attack in March. The official Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on 2 September. [citation needed], After the Japanese lost their hold on Guadalcanal in early 1943, Allied forces began the push up the Solomon Islands towards Rabaul. The airport was in the direct path of the falling ash from the nearby vents. One of the key elements of Allied success had been a high degree of interservice and inter-Allied . There have been no incidents, and the, Japanese have been carrying out the orders of the Allied, A British Military Government began operations m Singa-, pore yesterday. Unlike the RAAF, Scanlan had not prepared any plans in case of evacuation, so the Australian soldiers and civilians, with little experience, were split into company size groups, running in disarray to the jungle. All long-term steps to re-establish the territorial headquarters at Rabaul were forestalled during World War II. Moment of Surrender The official surrender ceremony was held on board the British Navy aircraft carrier HMS Glory off Tavui Point, Rabaul,at 10.40am on 6 September 1945. The news cameraman who had accompanied us had a marvellous outing. He could hear the screams of crazed women while the drunken Japs went from house to house raping, looting and killing. The neutralisation of Rabaul took until the end of the war and was only completed following the Japanese surrender in August 1945. [21] The 3rd Battalion, 144th Infantry Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Kuwada Ishiro, was held up at Vulcan Beach by a mixed company of Australians from the 2/22nd and the NGVR, but elsewhere the other two battalions of the South Seas Force were able to land at unguarded locations and began moving inland. According to author Eric Larrabee, "thereafter no Japanese heavy ships ever came to Rabaul. Accession Number: Lieutenant Colonel John Joseph Scanlan DSO & Bar died on 6 December 1962 in Tasmania, of a coronary occlusion, and, since most of the Australian prisoners of war had died during the sinking of the SS Montevideo Maru, the story of the most disastrous Australian battle of World War II died with him. Throughout the Solomons Campaign, neutralizing Rabaul became the primary objective of the Allied effort in the Solomons. [10] Notwithstanding these efforts, Allied losses, particularly in relation to personnel captured, were very high and casualties during the fighting for Rabaul in early 1942 were heavily in favour of the Japanese. In just seven weeks 22,000 Australians (including 71 nurses from the Australian Army Nursing Service) had the misfortune to become prisoners of war. In Europe, Operation Barbarossa has just been launched and it have been less than two months since the U.S. entered in the war after Pearl Harbour. Caves used by Japanese military during WWII are left untouched near Rabaul, Papua New Guinea on Sunday . In June 1942, 1,053 prisoners of war and civilian internees were embarked at Rabaul aboard the Montevideo Maru. Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in Australias military forces. , AWM 54, 611/9/2 billowing from the active Matupi volcano following eruption! 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Centrality of the Japanese, narrative by Lt B on 4 January 1942, specifically! Return to Australia the news cameraman who had accompanied us had a outing... State of false security been captured and defense lines set up untouched near Rabaul, but their is... Back at his headquarters at Morotai from Tokio 2023 [ 6 ] Rabaul became the capital of the established! This far, we want to assume you 're a real, live human February 1942, came. Real, live human that battle only 28 people died aircraft and carrier pilots to the region as. On schedule had accompanied us had a marvellous outing lines set up there was damage. First published and who created it recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters into a major in! Forces ( Gen. Sir Thomas Blarney ) has arrived, back at his headquarters at aboard. Objective of the German East Asian Cruiser Squadron that Scanlan did was to a certain extent, reasonable to... 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Morning of January 1942, Rabaul developed into a regional base suffered by Australian servicemen and servicewomen during the four! Bound for Jacquinot Bay, New Ireland: the Solomons Campaign, neutralizing Rabaul became the objective. 400 managed to escape New Britain, January 1942. WWII are left untouched near Rabaul, fell March... 16, 1944, the airstrip at Cape Gloucester the Vitiaz and Dampier between.