Battle of Empress Augusta Bay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II

Image:ColumbiaBougainville.jpg
A Japanese aircraft crashes (upper center) into the ocean near the U.S. cruiser Columbia on November 1, 1943, during air attacks on Allied ships off Bougainville, Solomon Islands, a few hours before the Battle of Empress August Bay.

Date	1 – 2 November 1943
Location	Bougainville, New Guinea
Result	Allied victory

Combatants

United States; New Zealand; Australia

Empire of Japan

Commanders

Aaron S. Merrill (sea); Allen H. Turnage (land)

Sentaro Omori (sea); Harukichi Hyakutake (land)

Strength

20,000 infantry;
4 cruisers,
8 destroyers

40,000 infantry;
4 cruisers,
6 destroyers

Casualties

1 destroyer heavily damaged,
19 killed (naval battle)<ref>Morison, Breaking the Bismarcks, p. 322.</ref>

1 light cruiser,
1 destroyer sunk,
2 destroyers heavily damaged,
421-581 killed (naval battle)<ref>Dull, Imperial Japanese Navy, p. 302; Hara, Japanese Destroyer Captain, p. 242; Morison, Breaking the Bismarcks, p. 322; Hackett, Kingsepp, and Nevitt, Combinedfleet.com. Sources differ on Japanese personnel losses in naval battle. Breakdown of naval casualties by ship and source: Sendai- 412 (Dull), 185 (Hackett and Kingsepp), 320 (Morison), and 335 (Hara); Hatsukaze- 9 (Dull) and 240 (Nevitt, Morison, and Hara); Shiratsuyu- 4 (Nevitt) and 5 (Hara); Samidare- 1 (Hara).</ref>

Solomon Islands campaign
1st Tulagi – Guadalcanal – Blackett Strait – Cartwheel – Death of Yamamoto – New Georgia – Kula Gulf – Kolombangara – Vella Gulf – Horaniu – Vella Lavella – Naval Vella Lavella – Treasury Is. – Choiseul – Empress Augusta Bay – Cape St. George – Green Is. – 2nd Rabaul – Bougainville

The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on November 1-2, 1943 — also known as the Battle of Gazelle Bay, Operation Cherry Blossom, and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle of Bougainville Bay Shore (ブーゲンビル島沖海戦) — was a land and naval battle fought on and near the island of Bougainville. It was the first action in the Bougainville campaign of World War II and may also be seen as part of the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns. The battle was significant as part of a broader Allied strategy — known as Operation Cartwheel — aimed at isolating and surrounding the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The intention was to establish a beachhead on Bougainville, within which an airfield would be built.

Allied diversionary operations commenced on the night of 27–28 October, when the US Marine Corps 2nd Parachute Battalion made an amphibious landing on Choiseul and the New Zealand Army's 8th Brigade, together with US Navy Seabees made an unopposed landing on the Treasury Islands.

On 1 November 1943 the US 3rd Marine Division landed at Empress Augusta Bay. The bay had been chosen because it was at the outer limit of Allied fighter plane range, and because the numerically-superior Japanese 17th Army was concentrated at other, more strategic sites in the north and the south. The Marines were backed by a force of four light cruisers and eight destroyers: Montpelier, Cleveland, Columbia, and Denver, Charles Ausburne, Dyson, Stanly, Claxton, Spence, Thatcher, Converse, and Foote, commanded by Rear Admiral Aaron S. "Tip" Merrill.

1 Naval battle
2 Land operations
3 References

[edit] Naval battle

The Japanese responded with air attacks from Rabaul and by dispatching a powerful naval force from Rabaul commanded by Admiral Sentaro Omori: heavy cruisers Myōkō and Haguro, light cruisers Agano and Sendai, and destroyers Shigure, Samidare, Shiratsuyu, Naganami, Hatsukaze, and Wakatsuki.

The Americans evacuated most of their landing craft and troop transports and lay in wait. They made radar contact at 02:30 on 2 November 1943 and Merrill dispatched his destroyers forward for a torpedo attack, after which his cruisers would open fire from a safe distance. The destroyers were seen by the Japanese, who dodged the torpedoes, but their evasive manoeuvres threw them out of formation.

At around 02:50 the American cruisers opened fire, quickly disabling Sendai. The destroyer Samidare launched a torpedo attack but in doing so collided with Shiratsuyu. Myōkō collided with the destroyer Hatsukaze, slicing off her bows. The Japanese deficiency in radar meant that they a great deal of difficulty finding the American cruisers, but at 03:13 they made contact and opened fire.

Merrill turned away under cover of smoke, and Omori, believing that he had sunk a heavy cruiser, considered that he had done enough and turned away to the east. The damaged Sendai and Hatsukaze were found and sunk by gunfire.

During the following days both cruisers Birmingham and Denver were damaged by Japanese air attacks and forced to withdraw south for repairs.

[edit] Land operations

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

Image:Commons-logo.svg

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Battle of Empress Augusta Bay

[edit] References

[edit] Books

Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
Hall, Cary Hardison (1987). The war cruises of the USS Columbia, 1942 to 1945: Personal recollections, with some augmentations by shipmates. War Memories Pub. Co. ASIN B00071N658.
Hara, Tameichi (1961). Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27894-1.
Kilpatrick, C. W. (1987). Naval Night Battles of the Solomons. Exposition Press. ISBN 0-682-40333-4.
Lacroix, Eric, Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
Jones, Ken (1997). Destroyer Squadron 23: Combat Exploits of Arleigh Burke's Gallant Force. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-412-1.
McGee, William L. (2002). “Bougainville Campaign”, The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville--Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII). BMC Publications. ISBN 0-9701678-7-3.
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. ISBN 0-7858-1307-1.
Potter, E. B. (2005). Admiral Arleigh Burke. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-692-5.
Roscoe, Theodore (1953). United States Destroyer Operations in World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-726-7.