DK - World War II Map by Map

JAPANESE SETBACKS 125

Guadalcanal

Woodlark

Island

Tulagi

San Cristobal

Rennell

Santa Isabel

Choiseul

Louisiade

Archipelago

Trobriand

Islands

New^ Bri

tain

Bo

ug

ai

nv

ill

e

Isl

and

Admiralty^ Island

s

Ne

w

Ir

e

la

dn

So

lo

m

on

(^) I
sl
a
n
d
s
N
ew
(^) G
eorgia
P A C
I F I C^ O C E
A N
Darwin
Cairns
Mossman
Port
Moresby
Lae
Wau
Hollandia
Manokwari
Fakfak
Amboina
Rabaul
Lorengau
Talasea
Kieta
Kerema
Horn Island
Townsville
Kalo
Buna
Yodda
Kokoda
Pongani
Morobe
Gona
Tufi
Fasari
Solomon
Sea
Gulf of
Papua
Milne
Bay
A r a f u r a S e a
N
ET
H
E
R
L
A
N
D
S
N
EW
(^) G
U
IN
E
A
NO
RT
H

• E
  A
  ST

NE

W

GU

IN

EA

Bis

ma

rc

Se k

a

C

o

r

a

l^

S e

a

Ceram

A

U

S

T

R

A L

I A

Gulf of

Carpentaria

Tim

or^

S

ea

P A P U A

Malai

ta

Invasion

fleet

Task

Force 17

Striking

Force

From Truk Lagoon

Fr

om

(^) P
al
au
Nov 8 US troops
are airlifted into
Fasari to join
the battle.
May 8 The
Japanese aircraft
carrier Shōkaku
is attacked and
disabled.
May 3 The Japanese
capture Tulagi, where they
build a seaplane base.
May 7 The destroyer
USS Sims is sunk, and
the oil tanker USS
Neosho damaged.
May 7 The Japanese
aircraft carrier Shōhō
is bombed and sunk.
May 6 The Japanese
bomb Port Moresby in
preparation for its assault.
Dec 9 Australian
troops recapture
Gona.
Jan 23 The
Japanese attack
Rabaul and
establish their
main regional base.
Mar 8
Japanese troops
land at Lae.
Jul 21 The Japanese land
at Buna and head inland
toward Port Moresby.
May 3 The Japanese reach
Guadalcanal and begin to
construct a large airfield.
May 8 The carrier USS
Lexington is crippled and
then scuttled.
Aug 25–Sep 7 The
Allies establish an air
base at Milne Bay and
defeat an attacking
Japanese force.
BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA, DAY 2 MAY 8, 1942
The two naval forces clashed again on May 8 in what
was the first true carrier battle in history: the entire
battle was fought by aircraft against ships—no surface
ship ever caught sight of an opposing vessel. The battle
was a draw—the Japanese lost more aircraft, the US
more ships—but the Japanese called off their naval
assault on Port Moresby and were now on the
defensive for the first time in the war.
4
TARGETING PORT MORESBY
APRIL–MAY 1942
Japan’s leaders planned to capture Port Moresby,
New Guinea, in order to gain control over Allied
supply lines and a base for further assaults on Australia.
They devised a multi-pronged attack: two task forces
were sent to establish forward bases on Tulagi Island
in the Solomons and on the Louisiade Archipelago;
an invasion fleet, protected by a light aircraft carrier,
was to land troops near Port Moresby; and a Striking
Force, centered on the two large carriers Shōkaku
and Zuikaku, was deployed to intercept any Allied
attacks on the invasion fleet.
INITIAL JAPANESE ATTACKS (^2)
JANUARY–JUNE 1942
In January 1942, Japanese forces overran the
Australian garrison at Rabaul, where they set up
a major base. From here, they advanced through
the Solomon Islands, reaching Guadalcanal by May.
Japanese units also assaulted New Guinea, landing
on the eastern side in March and the western side in
April. In Australia, Darwin was bombed in February;
more than 100 air raids against northern and western
Australia followed. Japanese submarines also attacked
Sydney Harbor in May and June 1942, and disrupted
merchant shipping in the Tasman Sea.
1 BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA, DAY 1 MAY 7, 1942
The main Japanese invasion fleet set off from Rabaul
on May 4, bound for Port Moresby. The Allies had
intelligence about the mission; US and Australian
carriers and cruisers (Task Force 17) were sent to
seek out the invasion fleet and Striking Force. The
fleets clashed on May 7; the Japanese lost one carrier
and the US lost one ship, with another damaged.
3
▽ Invasion of Rabaul, January 1942
Japanese forces enter Rabaul carrying the flag of the
Imperial Japanese Army. Rabaul would become the
most important base in Japan’s southern perimeter.
Japanese advances
Japanese bases established
Invasion fleet
Striking Force
Air attack
Carrier sunk
Japanese forward bases
Preparatory raids on Port Moresby
JAPAN US
Task Force 17
Air attack
Ship sunk
Invasion fleet
Striking Force
Air attack
Carrier crippled
JAPAN US
Task Force 17
Air attack
Carrier
crippled
US_124-125_Japanese_Setbacks.indd 125 19/03/19 7:27 PM