Operation RY
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Operation RY was the
Imperial Japanese The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...
plan to invade and occupy
Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...
and
Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...
islands in the south Pacific during the Pacific conflict of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The operation was originally set to be executed in May 1942 immediately following
Operation MO or the Port Moresby Operation was a Japanese plan to take control of the Australian Territory of New Guinea during World War II as well as other locations in the South Pacific. The goal was to isolate Australia and New Zealand from the Allie ...
and before Operation MI, which resulted in the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...
. The primary reason for the operation was to exploit the islands' supplies of
phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...
. After a postponement due to interference by enemy forces, the operation was completed in August 1942.


Background

Nauru and Ocean Islands were isolated but rich with phosphate deposits; the deposits were identified around 1900. Nauru was under
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n mandate control, and Ocean Island (or Banaba) was headquarters of the British Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. In both places, the Melbourne-based British Phosphate Commissioners (BPC) had been running the phosphate mining since 1919, under the Nauru Island Agreement. The phosphate deposits were mined for making fertilisers, ammunition and explosives. During the Second World War, the German
auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
s and sank five merchant ships and bombarded the island in early December 1940, causing damage to the phosphate mining and disrupting the Allied production of phosphate. Following the raids, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board requested that the
British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...
redeploy Australian naval units to meet the threat posed by raiders. The armed merchant cruiser arrived off Ocean Island on 4 January 1941, and Australian and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
warships maintained a continual presence off the islands during the subsequent months. A naval company and two field guns were deployed to each island. The attacks also led to the introduction of convoys between Australia and New Zealand. In late February 1942, as a Japanese invasion of Nauru and Ocean Island was feared, the
Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...
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 ...
departed the
New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...
to evacuate both places. The ship arrived on 23 February and completed the evacuation without serious incident. Although
Operation MO or the Port Moresby Operation was a Japanese plan to take control of the Australian Territory of New Guinea during World War II as well as other locations in the South Pacific. The goal was to isolate Australia and New Zealand from the Allie ...
was cancelled on 8 May 1942 immediately following the
Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...
, the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
forces departed
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 ...
and Bougainville on 11 May to execute the ''RY'' operation.


First invasion attempt

On 11 May 1942, the Imperial Japanese invasion force departed Rabaul, under the command of
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 ...
Shima Kiyohide and consisting of the cruiser , the minelayers (flagship) and and the destroyers and , covered by the 5th Cruiser Division, under the command of Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi, consisting of the heavy cruisers and with the Destroyer Division 30 destroyers , , and . The invasion troops from the 6th Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) and Kashima SNLF were carried by the transports ''Kinryū Maru'' and ''Takahata Maru''. While steaming through driving rain off New Ireland and west of
Buka Island Buka Island is the second-largest island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is in Buka Rural LLG of North Bougainville District, with the Autonomous Region's and district's capital city of Buka, Bougai ...
, ''Okinoshima'', which had been damaged by airplanes from ''Yorktown'' during the invasion of Tulagi on 4 May 1942, was torpedoed at 04:52 by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
(Commander Oliver G. Kirk) and severely damaged. The invasion force's escorts closed ''S-42'' and
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
d the area until 1130, causing damage. The submarine left the area to return to base at
Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. Rear Admiral Shima transferred his flag to ''Yūzuki'' southwest of
Buka Island Buka Island is the second-largest island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is in Buka Rural LLG of North Bougainville District, with the Autonomous Region's and district's capital city of Buka, Bougai ...
, Bougainville. At 06:40, ''Okinoshima'' capsized under tow by ''Mochizuki'' in St. George's Channel at . While returning to Rabaul after being dispatched to assist repair work on ''Okinoshima'', the repair ship was torpedoed off Cape St George, New Ireland, by . She sank at 1440 at . In spite of the loss of ''Okinoshima'', the rest of the Japanese forces continued with the operation. As these forces were ''en route'', however, a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft from
Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1896 t ...
sighted the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
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 and heading towards Nauru. The two US carriers, acting on intelligence obtained from intercepted Japanese communications, had been sent to the area as a feint to try to stop the Japanese operation. The feint was successful. Fearing the threat posed by the US carriers to the ''RY'' forces, which did not have air cover, the Japanese cancelled the operation on 15 May, and the naval forces returned to Rabaul.


Second, successful attempt

A second invasion force departed Truk on 26 August 1942, consisting of the cruiser , the destroyers , ''Yūzuki'', ''Ariake'', and , and the transport ''Hakozaki Maru''. The landing forces landed on Nauru on 29 August and Ocean Island on 30 August unopposed.


Occupation

Japanese forces occupied the two islands until the end of the war, but became increasingly isolated as the war progressed. During the Japanese occupation of Nauru, American aircraft repeatedly bombed the island's facilities.


References


Books

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Web

* (translation of excerpts from the ''
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'') * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ry, Operation Pacific Ocean theater of World War II 1942 in Japan 1942 in Nauru Pacific War World War II operations and battles of the Pacific theatre Military operations of World War II Wars involving Nauru