Battle of Bobdubi

Battle of Bobdui

Australians from the 2/3rd Independent Company around Timbered Knoll, 29 July 1943

Date	22 April 1943 – 19 August 1943
Location	Territory of New Guinea 05°30′S 141°00′E / 5.500°S 141.000°E / -5.500; 141.000Coordinates: 05°30′S 141°00′E / 5.500°S 141.000°E / -5.500; 141.000
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

Australia

Japan

Commanders and leaders

Stanley Savige
Murray Moten

Units involved

The Battle of Bobdubi was a series of actions fought in the Salamaua area of the Territory of New Guinea between Australian and Japanese forces which took place from 22 April to 19 August 1943, during World War II. Part of the Allied advance on Salamaua, the battle was fought in conjunction with several other actions in the region as the Allies attempted to draw Japanese attention away from Lae, where they launched seaborne landings in mid-September 1943 in conjunction with airborne landings around Nadzab. The initial phase of the fighting around Bobdubi was characterised mainly by small unit harassment and reconnaissance operations, while the second phase saw the capture of a number of Japanese defensive positions in locations dubbed "Old Vickers", "Timbered Knoll" and the "Coconuts".

In late January 1943, during the Battle of Wau a Japanese attempt to capture the vital airfield around Wau had been repelled. In the process, the last Japanese attempt to capture Port Moresby was turned back. In the aftermath, the Australian force – consisting mainly of the 17th Brigade under the command of Brigadier Murray Moten – had advanced into the area surrounding Wau and towards Mubo. As elements of the 17th Brigade were engaged in fighting around Mubo, the 2/3rd Independent Company moved around the Japanese flanks to Missim, from where they began a guerilla campaign and reconnaissance operations along the Komiatum Track to harass the Japanese, in support of Major General Stanley Savige's 3rd Division's campaign around Salamaua. At this time, Japanese troops from the 80th Infantry Regiment, which formed part of Lieutenant General Hidemitsu Nakano's 51st Division, were positioned around Bobdubi Ridge, which dominated the Missim area, situated to the north of Komiatum. Elements of the 66th and 115th Infantry Regiments were also in the area over the course of the fighting.

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