Battle of Noemfoor


The Battle of Noemfoor was part of the New Guinea campaign of World War II. It took place on the island of Noemfoor, in Dutch New Guinea, between 2 July and 31 August 1944. During the battle, Allied forces landed on the island to capture Japanese bases as part of their advance through the Pacific towards the Philippines. The initial landing was largely unopposed as the Japanese defenders withdrew inland as the US troops came ashore. Sporadic fighting took place over the course of two months as the Allies secured the three airfields on the island and pushed the surviving Japanese troops to the eastern coast. The island was later used by the Allies to support operations around Sansapor and on Morotai.

Background

Geography and strategic situation

Noemfoor is an elliptical, almost circular shape. It is approximately in diameter and encircled by coral reefs. The landscape is dominated by limestone and coral terraces, topped by a tall hill, which is covered by tropical rainforest, like much of the interior. Noemfoor lies just north of Cenderawasih Bay, between the island of Biak and the east coast of the Doberai Peninsula, on mainland New Guinea.
The island was occupied by Japanese forces in December 1943. The indigenous civilian population numbered about 5,000 people, most of whom lived a subsistence lifestyle in coastal villages. There were also 1,100 laborers on the island: a 600-strong Formosan auxiliary labor unit and 500 Indonesian civilian forced laborers. According to the official U.S. Army history, over 3,000 Indonesian men, women, and children were shipped to Noemfoor by the Japanese military. Most came from Soerabaja and other large cities on Java. These Javanese civilians were forced to construct roads and airfields, mostly by hand. Little food, clothing, shelter or medical attention were provided. Many attempted to steal Japanese supplies, and were executed. Others died from starvation and preventable disease. Survivors also alleged that sick Javanese were buried alive.
The Formosan labor troops had originally numbered about 900 men. They had also worked on airfield and road construction, on ½ the ration of rice issued to regular Japanese troops. When they became ill from exhaustion, hunger, or tropical diseases, they were put in a convalescent camp. In the words of the U.S. official history: "There, their rations were again cut in half, and the shelter and blankets provided covered but a fraction of the inmates. Medical care was given only to the worse cases, and then was inadequate."
Throughout 1943–1944, the Japanese built three airfields on the island, turning it into a significant air base. The three fields were: Kornasoren Airfield/Yebrurro Airfield, located toward the northern end of the island; Kamiri Airfield, on the northwestern edge of the island; and Namber Airfield, on the west coast of the island. Of these, Kornasoren was unfinished at the time of the battle. Noemfoor was also used as a staging area for Japanese troops moving to reinforce Biak, which was invaded by the Allies in May 1944 as part of their westward advance along the northern New Guinea coast. Japanese barges could travel from Manokwari to Noemfoor—about —during one night.

Allied plans

By 20 June, Japanese forces on Biak had been largely defeated and construction work began on the Mokmer airfield, which was operational two days later. Bombing of the Noemfoor by the United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force began as early as April 1944.
In describing his preparations for the Western New Guinea campaign, General Douglas MacArthur wrote in his memoirs that: "he Hollandia Invasion initiated a marked change in the tempo of my advance westward. Subsequent assaults against Wakde, Biak, Noemfoor, and Sansapor were mounted in quick succession, and, in contrast to previous campaigns, I planned no attempt to complete all phases of one operation before moving on to the next objective."
At the time of the battle, the area's strategic importance lay it is proximity along planned Allied avenues of advance through the southwest Pacific and western New Guinea toward the Philippines. Specifically, Noemfoor was selected for invasion for four reasons:
At the end of June, RAAF HQ reported that although the Namber and Kamiri airfields were serviceable, they were barely being used and "a possibly generous" estimate suggested that only 19 Japanese bombers and 37 fighters remained in New Guinea.

Opposing forces

MacArthur selected the 158th Regimental Combat Team, primarily consisting of units from the Arizona National Guard, United States Army—commanded by Major General Edwin D. Patrick—to assault the island in Operation Cyclone, from 2 July. The 158th formed part of General Walter Krueger's Sixth Army. At the time, the 158th was engaged in fighting around Wakde. To free them up for the operation, in mid-June, Kruger decided to replace 158th at Wakde with the US 6th Infantry Division.
In mid-June, No. 10 Operational Group RAAF, under Air Commodore Frederick Scherger, was designated the controlling Allied air force unit for Operation Cyclone. The USAAF units attached to 10 OG for the invasion comprised: the 58th and 348th Fighter Groups and the 307th, 309th and 417th Bombardment Groups. Total personnel assigned to the task force numbered 10,000, including those from air units; the majority of these personnel, some 5,500, were service personnel. Around 3,000 of these were assigned to undertake airfield construction tasks following the capture of the island. The ground invasion force – composed primarily of the 158th RCT – was primarily American and was known as Cyclone Task Force. It was augmented by the Australia No. 62 Wing RAAF and a 39-strong contingent of Dutch civil administration personnel that was included to re-establish Dutch civil administration. This force was later reinforced by 10 local police officers after the landing.
Facing them were approximately 2,000 Japanese troops, mostly from the 219th Infantry Regiment as well as some from the 222nd Infantry Regiment, who had been in transit to Biak. The garrison was commanded by Colonel Suesada Shimizu, who was also the commander of the 219th Infantry Regiment. Shimizu had arrived on the island on 8 June and had organized his defending troops into fourteen strongpoints; ultimately these were too widely dispersed to enable a coherent defense. Other units assigned to the Japanese garrison included the 8th Independent Battalion, several airfield construction units, a motor transport company, an antiaircraft unit and elements of an airfield company and airfield battalion. At the beginning of July 1944, various kinds of Japanese aircraft were at the Noemfoor airfields. It appears that elements of 61° Hiko Sentai in particular, flying Mitsubishi Ki-21 bombers, were based at Kamiri.

Invasion

From 04:30 on 2 July, warships from the U.S.-Australian Task Forces 74 and 75—under Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey—bombarded Japanese positions on Noemfoor. TF 74 was commanded for the first time by Commodore John Collins, making him the first graduate of the Royal Australian Naval College to command a naval squadron in action.
At 08:00, the 158th RCT was taken to the beach by TF 77, made up of LCMs and LCTs under Rear Admiral William Fechteler. The initial landings were near Kamiri airfield, on the northwest edge of the island. Although the island is surrounded by "an almost solid ring" of coral, newspapers reported "almost no loss" of troops before reaching the shore. Shimzu's force had largely retired inland before the US landing.
Although there were extensive Japanese defensive preparations in the Kamiri area, there was little resistance at Kamiri Airfield. In the words of the U.S. Navy official history: "Japanese encountered around the airfield were so stunned from the effects of the bombardment that all the fight was taken out of them." Kamiri was captured within hours of the landing. Reports indicated that approximately 45 Japanese soldiers were killed, and about 30 Japanese planes captured, although all of these were damaged as a result of the earlier bombardment and bombing.
The following day, as a precaution against Japanese resistance elsewhere, the 2,000 paratroopers of the U.S. 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment were dropped onto the island. The second base captured by US forces, Yebrurro airstrip, was secured by 4 July. That same day, the first elements of No. 10 Operational Group arrived on Noemfoor. There were no Japanese air attacks until the night of 4 July, when a light bomber dropped three bombs near Kamiri, without effect. A few days later, four single-engined fighters dropped about 40 incendiary bombs, causing some damage to Allied materiel.
On 5 July, there was an unsuccessful counter-attack by Japanese ground forces. That same day, a detachment of U.S. forces from Noemfoor also secured the smaller neighboring island of Manim. Namber Airfield came under Allied control, without resistance, on 6 July. The island was officially declared secure on 7 July. However, individual Japanese soldiers continued guerrilla activities, albeit largely limited to nightime raids.
Following this, as the Japanese withdraw further inland, the troops from the 503rd Parachute Infantry dispatched patrols to pursue them. Initially, a force of about 400–500 Japanese troops under Shimzu broke contact and gathered at Hill 670, several miles to the northeast of the airfield. The 1st Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment reestablished contact on 13 July and over the course of three days pushed towards the crest of the hill, which was found abandoned on 16 July. Shimzu's force managed to evade the US patrols until 23 July. About northwest of Inasi, troops from the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment clashed with the Japanese near the lagoon. For his actions during this engagement, Sergeant Ray E. Eubanks was later posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Contact between the two forces was lost from 25 July until 10 August, when a week long action took place around Hill 380. Despite US artillery and air strikes, the Japanese commander managed to slip through the US cordon with a small force and withdrew towards Pakriki, on the coast. Sporadic fighting continued throughout the rest of the month, but by 31 August all fighting had ceased.

Aftermath

Casualties

By 31 August, Cyclone Task Force had lost 66 killed or missing and 343 wounded. It had killed approximately 1,714 Japanese and taken 186 prisoners.
According to the U.S. Army official history, only 403 of the original 3,000 Javanese civilian laborers were alive by 31 August. About 10–15 were reported to have been killed accidentally by Allied forces. The rest had died from mistreatment before the invasion.
About 300 Formosan labor troops had died before the invasion. Others fought the Allies, allegedly as a result of Japanese coercion. Over 550 surrendered; more than half of these were suffering from starvation and tropical diseases. Less than 20 were reported killed by Allied action.
According to the U.S. Army historian, Allied personnel found evidence that human bodies, of Japanese, Formosan and Allied personnel, had been partly eaten by starving Japanese and Formosans.

Base development

Allied airfield repair and construction work by the RAAF and U.S. Army Engineers began on 2 July.
On the afternoon of 6 July, before the formal cessation of hostilities on the ground, an RAAF P-40 fighter squadron had landed at Kamiri, supporting operations on Noemfoor and becoming the first of many Allied air force units to be based there.
Namber Airfield was assessed as too rough and badly graded to be effectively used by Allied aircraft. It was abandoned in favor of expansion and improvements at Kornasoren. On 25 July, a USAAF P-38 Lighting fighter group was able to land there. By 2 September, two parallel runways had been completed; soon afterwards, B-24 Liberator heavy bombers began operating from Kornasoren Airfield, against Japanese petroleum facilities at Balikpapan, Borneo.
Allied aircraft based on Noemfoor played an important role in the battles of Sansapor and Morotai.