The Landing on Emirau was the last of the series of operations that made up
Operation Cartwheel
Operation Cartwheel (1943 – 1944) was a major military operation undertaken by the Allies in the Pacific theatre of World War II. The ultimate goal of Cartwheel was to neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation was di ...
,
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
's strategy for the encirclement of the major
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
base at
Rabaul
Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...
. A force of nearly 4,000
United States Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
landed on the island of
Emirau
Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . Emira is part of what on many maps are charted as the St Matthias Islands, also known as the Mussau Islands, a small group to the northwest of the main islan ...
on 20 March 1944. The island was not occupied by the Japanese and there was no fighting. It was developed into an airbase which formed the final link in the chain of bases surrounding Rabaul. The isolation of Rabaul permitted MacArthur to turn his attention westward and commence his drive along the north coast of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
toward the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
Background
Strategy
In February 1943, General MacArthur had presented the US
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...
with his Elkton Plan for an advance on the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul. In this "scheme of manoeuvre" the penultimate stage was the capture of
Kavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248.
Kavi ...
, an important staging post for aircraft moving from
Truk to Rabaul. The Allied occupation of Kavieng would cut this route and isolate Rabaul. The Allied victory in the
Admiralty Islands campaign
The Admiralty Islands campaign (Operation Brewer) was a series of battles in the New Guinea campaign of World War II in which the United States Army's 1st Cavalry Division took the Japanese-held Admiralty Islands.
Acting on reports from air ...
in March 1944 prompted the
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...
to consider accelerating the tempo of operations in the Pacific. They solicited opinions on the matter from the theatre commanders. On 5 March 1944, armed with detailed information about Japanese deployments and intentions as a result of the capture of Japanese cryptographic materials in the
Battle of Sio
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
, MacArthur recommended omitting the proposed attack on
Hansa Bay
Hansa Bay is a bay located on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, in Madang Province, between Madang and Wewak, northeast of Bogia, Papua New Guinea, Bogia.
World War II history
During the New Guinea campaign, Hansa Bay was a major Japanese Com ...
in favor of moving further up the coast of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
to
Hollandia. As this would be out of range of his land-based aircraft, he proposed that
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
s of
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Chester W. Nimitz
Chester William Nimitz (; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, ...
'
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...
, which were to cover the
Manus and Kavieng operations could provide air cover until land-based aircraft could be established ashore. Admiral Nimitz, in
Washington DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
for consultation, objected to this proposal to retain forces in the
South West Pacific theatre after the capture of Kavieng, as it would disrupt his plans for upcoming operations in the
Pacific Ocean theatre. The Joint War Plans Committee discussed these alternatives, and recommended to the Joint Chiefs that Hollandia be seized on 15 April, but that the Kavieng operation be canceled.
MacArthur's Chief of Staff,
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Richard K. Sutherland
Lieutenant General Richard Kerens Sutherland (27 November 1893 – 25 June 1966) was a United States Army officer during World War II. He served as General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff in the South West Pacific Area during the ...
, representing his commander before the Joint Chiefs, strenuously objected to the omission of Kavieng, which he believed could be captured on 1 April without delaying other operations. There was debate over how much of a threat the Japanese base at Kavieng was. Nimitz felt that as a result of the
Battle of Eniwetok, Truk itself would soon be under constant attack and the flow of aircraft to Rabaul would be cut off. On 12 March, orders went out to MacArthur and Nimitz canceling Operation
FOREARM aviengand ordering them to "complete the isolation of the Rabaul-Kavieng area with the minimum commitment of forces". In the opinion of the commander of the
South Pacific Area
The South Pacific Area (SOPAC) was a multinational U.S.-led military command active during World War II. It was a part of the U.S. Pacific Ocean Areas under Admiral Chester Nimitz.
The delineation and establishment of the Pacific Ocean Areas wa ...
, Admiral
William Halsey, Jr., "the geography of the area begged for another bypass". On receipt of orders from MacArthur revoking plans for Kavieng and ordering him to occupy
Emirau
Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . Emira is part of what on many maps are charted as the St Matthias Islands, also known as the Mussau Islands, a small group to the northwest of the main islan ...
, Halsey ordered the commander of the
III Amphibious Force,
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Theodore S. Wilkinson, to occupy Emirau on 20 March.
[Miller, ''CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul'', p. 380]
Geography

Emirau (or Emira) is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago in the south eastern portion of the
St. Matthias Islands, located from
Mussau Island
Mussau Island is the largest island of St Matthias Islands, Papua New Guinea,Müller, Chris J. "Butterflies of Mussau Island (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera)." ''A Rapid Biodiversity Survey of Papua New Guinea’s Manus and Mussau Islands'' (2015): 21 ...
, the other principal island in the St. Matthias group, and from Kavieng. Emirau is about long and wide, hilly, and heavily wooded. Inland is a plateau. The climate is tropical, with high humidity and heavy rainfall. There is a small harbor, Hamburg Bay, on the north west coast. About 300 natives lived on the island; but all available intelligence indicated that the Japanese had not occupied the islands in any appreciable strength. Emirau was considered suitable for development as an airbase and base for
PT boat
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hampe ...
s. A photo reconnaissance mission on 16 March revealed no indication whatsoever of enemy activity or installations.
[Shaw and Kane, ''Isolation of Rabaul'', p. 521]
Preparations

Halsey's message reached Wilkinson on
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
on 15 March, by which time ships were already loading for the Kavieng operation, which had originally been scheduled for 18 March. This operation was to have been carried out by
Major General Roy S. Geiger's
I Amphibious Corps
III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and d ...
, with the
40th Infantry Division and
3rd Marine Division
The 3rd Marine Division is a division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry division ...
, reinforced by the
4th Marines. For Emirau,
Lieutenant Colonel Alan Shapley's 4th Marines would be sufficient, reinforced by Company C,
3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion; Company A (Medium),
3rd Tank Battalion, equipped with
M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman, officially medium tank, M4, was the medium tank most widely used by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. I ...
tanks; a company of
pioneers from the
2nd Battalion, 19th Marines; signals, ordnance and motor transport detachments; and a composite anti-aircraft battery of the
14th Defense Battalion. This would be the first operation for the 4th Marines, which had been reformed on 1 February 1944 from four battalions of
Marine Raiders
The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry warfare.
Despite the original intent for Raiders to serve ...
, the original 4th Marines having been destroyed in the
Battle of Corregidor
The Battle of Corregidor (; ), fought on 5–6 May 1942, was the culmination of the Empire of Japan, Japanese Philippines campaign (1941–1942), campaign for the conquest of the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II.
The Bat ...
.
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (India), in India
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
Lawrence F. Reifsnider was appointed to command the amphibious operation.
Brigadier General Alfred H. Noble, the Assistant Division Commander of the 3d Marine Division would command the expeditionary troops. Noble, who was also slated to become island commander, was given a small staff created from I Amphibious Corps and 3rd Marine Division personnel. An air command was organized for Emirau under
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
William L. McKittrick from the larger one intended for the Kavieng operation.
[Shaw and Kane, ''Isolation of Rabaul'', p. 519]
No opposition was expected on Emirau, but strong naval and air support was provided. A covering force under Rear Admiral Robert M. Griffin, consisting of the
battleship
A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
s , , and , accompanied by the
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...
s and , and 15
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s, carried out part of the original Kavieng plan—the bombardment of Kavieng and the surrounding area. In all, some 1,079 rounds of 14-inch and 12,281 rounds of 5-inch ammunition were fired. The bombardment gave Rear Admiral Ryukichi Tamura the impression that the expected invasion by Allied forces was imminent and he gave the order to kill all the European prisoners in Kavieng. At least 25 of them were executed in the Kavieng Wharf Massacre, which later led to six of the perpetrators being sentenced for war crimes in 1947. Sentenced to death by hanging, Tamura was executed at
Stanley Prison on 16 March 1948.
Operations

The assault force left in two echelons. The Marines of the two assault battalions, the
1st
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
and
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Minute and second of arc, ...
Battalions, 4th Marines, traveled on nine high speed transports (APDs) while the remainder of the force were on the
dock landing ship
A dock landing ship (also called landing ship, dock or LSD) is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Some ships with well decks, such as the Soviet Ivan Rogov class, also hav ...
s (LSDs) , and , and the
attack transport
Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the Merchant navy, merchant fleet &ndash ...
(APA) . One LSD carried the 66
LVTs for crossing Emirau's fringing reef, one carried three
LCTs, two of them loaded with tanks, and the third carried three LCTs with
radar
Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
sets and anti-aircraft guns.
The attack group arrived in the transport area at 06:05 on 20 March. The LVTs were launched, and the assault troops transferred to the amphibious tractors using the APDs' boats, supplemented by those from ''Callaway '' while
Vought F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Vought, Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production con ...
s of
VMF-218 flew overhead to make a last-minute check of the island for any signs of the Japanese. The assault waves touched down on schedule. The reserve 3rd Battalion's boats grounded on the reef soon afterwards, and its marines waded ashore through knee deep water. The only problem encountered was with launching the LCTs carrying the tanks. The LSD's flooding mechanism failed and the LCTs had to be dragged out by a fleet tug.
While the detachment sent to occupy Elomusao Island was approaching the beach, some supposed opposition caused the amphibious tractors and then a destroyer to open fire, and a man was wounded by a shell fragment. However, the natives informed the marines that the Japanese had left Emirau two months before and only a small detachment remained on
Mussau Island
Mussau Island is the largest island of St Matthias Islands, Papua New Guinea,Müller, Chris J. "Butterflies of Mussau Island (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera)." ''A Rapid Biodiversity Survey of Papua New Guinea’s Manus and Mussau Islands'' (2015): 21 ...
. Supplies began landing at around 11:00, first from the APDs and then from ''Callaway''. Some 3,727 troops and 844 tons of cargo were ashore by nightfall when the ships sailed.
[Shaw and Kane, ''Isolation of Rabaul'', p. 522] Within a month, some 18,000 men and 44,000 tons of supplies had been landed.
Intelligence reports indicated that there were Japanese fuel and ration dumps on Mussau, and a radio station on a nearby island, so on 23 March these areas were shelled by destroyers. On 27 March, a destroyer intercepted a large canoe carrying Japanese troops about south of Mussau. The Japanese soldiers replied with their rifles and machine guns, and the destroyer returned fire, destroying the canoe and killing the occupants. Thus ended the only fighting in the St. Matthias Group.
Base development
Construction activities were taken in hand by the US Navy
Seabee
United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Dependi ...
s of the 18th Construction Regiment, which consisted of the 27th, 61st and 63rd Construction Battalions and the 17th Special Battalion, which arrived between 25 and 30 March, and the 77th Construction Battalion which arrived on 14 April. The 27th built a PT boat base, an LCT floating
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
and
slipway
A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...
, and roads. The 61st constructed housing, ammunition storage facilities, a runway, and some of the buildings at the PT boat base. It also handled
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
operations. The 63rd assisted at the sawmill and worked on the roads, camps, harbor facilities,
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
s,
magazines
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
and
avgas
Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the United Kingdom, UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in moto ...
dumps. The 77th built
taxiway
A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...
s, hardstands, aviation workshops and the avgas tank farm. The 88th worked on runways, roads, radar stations and a causeway at the eastern end of the island.
[''Building the Navy's bases'', pp. 303–304]
Two airfields were constructed, Inshore and North Cape. These were heavy bomber strips, long and wide. The former had parking for 210 fighters or light bombers; the latter for 84 heavy bombers. Both were fully equipped with towers, lighting, and a dispensary. The aviation tank farm consisted of three storage tanks and nineteen storage tanks, together with the appropriate filling and distribution points. A reserve of was stored in drums. Three hospitals were established, a 100-bed naval base hospital, the 160-bed 24th Army Field Hospital, and the 150-bed Acorn 7 Hospital. The anchorage at Hamburg Bay could accommodate up to five capital ships. Port facilities included eight cranes, of refrigerated space, and of covered storage. The port could handle of cargo per day. Connecting the various facilities was of coral-surfaced all-weather road. All this work was completed by August and Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 502 assumed responsibility for maintenance work. All the construction battalions departed by December.
Garrison
The 4th Marines were relieved as the garrison of Emirau by the
147th Infantry on 11 April 1944. The next day, Noble was replaced as island commander by a marine aviator, Major General
James T. Moore, the Commanding General of the
1st Marine Aircraft Wing
The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa Island, Okina ...
. In turn, the 147th Infantry was relieved as garrison by the
369th Infantry in June. In August, General MacArthur directed that responsibility for garrisoning Emirau would be transferred to the Australian Army. The Australian
8th Infantry Battalion arrived to take over the garrison role on Emirau on 30 September. They were met by a small
ANGAU detachment that had been on the island since May.
Marine Aircraft Group 12 operated from Emirau until December, when it moved to
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has been ...
; its place was taken by squadrons of the
RNZAF. On 20 March 1945, General MacArthur authorized a reduction in the garrison size to one company of the 8th Infantry Battalion. In June 1945, it too was withdrawn. CBMU 502 departed for Manus that month.
[U.S. Navy, ''Building the Navy's Bases'', p. 304] The RNZAF maintained a bomber-reconnaissance squadron at Emirau until July 1945, and a fighter squadron until August, when all forces were withdrawn from the island.
[Ross]
''Operations from Emirau''
Retrieved 18 January 2009
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Emirau
Conflicts in 1944
Battles of World War II involving Australia
1944 in Papua New Guinea
Territory of New Guinea
Battles and operations of World War II involving Papua New Guinea
Operation Cartwheel
Battles and conflicts without fatalities
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
United States Marine Corps in World War II
Battles of World War II involving the United States
March 1944 in Oceania