Battle of Oivi–Gorari

Battle of Oivi–Gorari
Part of the Second World War, Pacific War
Australian wounded return to a dressing station around Oivi, November 1942
Date 4–11 November 1942 Location Territory of Papua 8°55′23″S 147°52′21″E / 8.9230947°S 147.8726133°E / -8.9230947; 147.8726133 Result Japanese withdrawal
Belligerents
Australia	Japan
Commanders and leaders
George Vasey John Lloyd Kenneth Eather	Tomitaro Horii
Units involved
7th Division 16th Brigade 25th Brigade	South Seas Detachment 41st Infantry Regiment 144th Infantry Regiment
Strength
3,700	2,800
Casualties and losses
121 killed and 225 wounded	430 killed and around 400 wounded

7th Division

South Seas Detachment

The Battle of Oivi–Gorari (4–11 November 1942) was the final major battle of the Kokoda Track campaign before the Battle of Buna–Gona. Following the capture of Kokoda by Australian forces on 2 November, the Allies began flying in fresh supplies of ammunition and food to ease the supply problems that had slowed their advance north after the climactic battle around Ioribaiwa, coupled with reverses elsewhere, had stopped the Japanese advance on Port Moresby.

On 4 November, the Australians resumed their advance, pushing towards Oivi along the Kokoda–Sanananda Track. Around the high ground at Oivi, the lead Australian element, the 16th Brigade, came up against well entrenched Japanese defenders from the South Seas Detachment who were intent on stalling the Australian advance towards the sea. Over the course of several days, determined resistance held off a number of frontal assaults, forcing the commander of the 7th Division, Major General George Vasey, to attempt a flanking move to the south. A second brigade, the 25th Brigade, subsequently bypassed Oivi via a parallel track before turning north and attacking the depth position around Gorari. Heavy hand-to-hand fighting resulted in heavy casualties on both sides before the Japanese withdrew east and crossed the flood-swollen Kumusi River, where many drowned and a large quantity of artillery had to be abandoned.

On 21 July 1942, Japanese forces landed on the northern Papuan coast around Buna and Gona, as part of a plan to capture the strategically important town of Port Moresby via an overland advance along the Kokoda Track following the failure of a seaborne assault during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May. Throughout July, August and September 1942, the Australians had fought a series of delaying actions along the Kokoda Track, as the Japanese had advanced steadily south towards Port Moresby. In early September, however, following a climactic battle around Ioribaiwa, coupled with reverses around Milne Bay and Guadalcanal, the Japanese had reached the limits of their supply line, and had begun to fall back north over the mountains of the Owen Stanley Range.

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