Landing at Nassau Bay

Part of World War II, Pacific War

Allied landing craft at Nassau Bay, August 1943

Date	30 June – 6 July 1943
Location	Nassau Bay area, Morobe Province, Territory of New Guinea
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

United States

Australia

Empire of Japan

Commanders and leaders

Stanley Savige

Archibald R. MacKechnie

Hatazō Adachi

Hidemitsu Nakano

Tsunendo Takamura

Units involved

1/162nd Infantry Regiment
2/6th Infantry Battalion
Papuan Infantry Battalion
2nd Engineer Special Brigade

III/102nd Battalion
III/66th Infantry Regiment

Strength

~1,400

~ 600

Casualties and losses

23 killed, 27 wounded

~ 76 killed

The Landing at Nassau Bay was an amphibious landing by Allied forces at Nassau Bay during the New Guinea campaign of World War II that took place between 30 June and 6 July 1943. The operation was undertaken so that Allies could secure a beachhead to establish a supply point to shorten their supply lines for the proposed attack on Salamaua as part of the Salamaua–Lae campaign and resulted in a battalion-sized force of US infantry and supporting elements being landed largely unopposed on the south-eastern flank of the battle zone.

Due to bad weather, the landing force suffered heavy equipment losses with most of the US landing craft being wrecked in heavy seas. Nevertheless, the US troops were able to secure a lodgement from where they subsequently broke out, advancing north as part of a flanking drive on Salamaua, which was launched in conjunction with attacks by Australian forces further west. Australian forces also provided support during the landing, marking the landing beaches, and providing diversionary attacks against nearby Japanese forces. The landing was subsequently exploited with two more US infantry battalions being landed throughout early July, along with Australian and US artillery batteries, which were used to help reduce the Japanese positions around the Salamaua battle zone in the following months as the Allies sought to draw Japanese reinforcements away from Lae.

In late June and early July, Allied forces were advancing towards Salamaua, having secured the airfield at Wau earlier in the year. Up to that point, the Australian forces that were fighting around Mubo and Bobdubi had been resupplied by air and Allied planners determined the need to relieve some of the logistics burden on their aircraft by seizing Nassau Bay, which was about 15 miles (24 km) south of the Allies' ultimate objective. The plan was made following a recommendation from Commander Morton C. Mumma to the Allied South West Pacific Area GHQ that a beachhead at Nassau Bay would greatly shorten the supply line for Australian and American troops fighting in the Salamaua region. Colonel Archibald R. MacKechnie, commander of the 162nd Infantry Regiment, later flew to the Bulolo Valley for a conference with the Australian commanders – Major General Frank Berryman, Lieutenant Colonel John Wilton and Brigadier Murray Moten – to discuss the proposed landings.

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