Portal:Oceania/Selected article/March, 2009
The Battle of Wau, 29–31 January 1943, was a battle in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Forces of the Empire of Japan sailed from Rabaul and crossed the Solomon Sea and, despite Allied air attacks, successfully reached Lae, where they disembarked. Japanese troops then advanced overland on Wau, an Australian base that potentially threatened the Japanese positions at Salamaua and Lae.
A race developed between the Japanese moving overland, hampered by the terrain, and the Australians, moving by air, hampered by the weather. By the time the Japanese reached the Wau area after a trek over the mountains, the Australian defenders had been greatly reinforced by air. In the battle that followed, despite achieving tactical surprise by approaching from an unexpected direction, the Japanese attackers were unable to capture Wau.
The Japanese prepared to make another attempt to capture Wau in June. This time, the plan was to approach from the north, using a road to be built from Markham Point to the Snake River Valley. Road construction was carried out at great hardship to the troops involved, but the road was still incomplete when the Allied landings at Nadzab and Lae caused work to be suspended.