Battle of Lababia Ridge

Part of World War II, Pacific War

Date	20–23 June 1943
Location	Territory of New Guinea 07°13′00″S 147°01′00″E / 7.21667°S 147.01667°E / -7.21667; 147.01667Coordinates: 07°13′00″S 147°01′00″E / 7.21667°S 147.01667°E / -7.21667; 147.01667
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

Australia

Japan

Commanders and leaders

Frederick Wood
Walter Dexter

Katsutoshi Araki

Units involved

2/6th Infantry Battalion

66th Infantry Regiment

Strength

80–150

1,500

Casualties and losses

11 killed, 12 wounded

41 killed, 131 wounded

The Battle of Lababia Ridge was fought from 20–23 June 1943 in the Territory of New Guinea during World War II. Part of the Salamaua–Lae campaign, the battle involved Australian and Japanese troops who clashed on the ridge, which was about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Salamaua, near Mubo, over the course of several days. 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 fighting around Lababia Ridge took place at the same time as the Battle of Mubo, after two battalions of Japanese infantry launched a counter-attack on a depleted Australian company. The Australians, supported by Royal Australian Air Force fighter-bombers, managed to hold off the initial Japanese attacks before being reinforced by another depleted company. Fighting continued over the course of three days before the Japanese withdrew.

In March 1943, Australian troops from the 2/7th Infantry Battalion had pushed forward from Wau, which had been secured in late January and set up a defensive position on Lababia Ridge a 3,000-foot (910 m) feature about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Salamaua, near Mubo, which was situated around the Bitoi and Buyawim Rivers that was, according to historian John Miller, strategically important as it provided clear observation of "Nassau Bay to the southeast, Bitoi Ridge to the north, and the Komiatum Track which served as the line of communications from Salamaua to the Japanese facing the Australians".

After several failed attacks on the Pimple in early May during the fighting around Mubo, Captain Leslie Tatterson's company, consisting of just 65 men, had withdrawn from the Pimple towards Lababia Ridge, establishing a position was forward of the main Australian base camp on the western end of the ridge. On 9 May, they came under heavy attack as the Japanese launched a concerted counter-attack over the course of several days. It was eventually turned back, with heavy Japanese casualties.

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