Combat· World War II
Cape Gloucester (Operation BACKHANDER)
Cape Gloucester sat at the western end of New Britain and held two Japanese airfields.
Taking them would give the Allies air bases and help seal off Rabaul to the east. The 1st Marine Division made the main landing here. The Marines came ashore and pushed quickly inland to seize the airfields, but the real enemy turned out to be the land itself. Endless rain turned the ground to deep mud, swamps blocked movement, and falling trees, undermined by shelling and storms, killed and injured men. Beyond the airfields, the Marines fought a series of sharp actions to take the high ground, clearing bunkers at places like Suicide Creek, Aogiri Ridge, and Hill 660. The Japanese mostly chose to withdraw east toward Rabaul. Within a few weeks the Marines held the cape and its vital airstrips.
Podcast episodes on World War II
Record no. 570