South West Pacific theatre of World War II

The South West Pacific Area, as defined by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff

Australian cruiser Canberra (center left) protects three Allied transport ships (background and center right) unloading troops and supplies at Tulagi

Japanese troops load onto a warship in preparation for a Tokyo Express run sometime in 1942

The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCoS) of World War II in the Pacific region.

The South West Pacific theatre included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (excluding Sumatra), Borneo, Australia, the Australian Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago), the western part of the Solomon Islands and some neighbouring territories. The theatre takes its name from the major title of the Allied command, which was known simply as the "South West Pacific Area", with the commanding officer: "Commander South West Pacific Area", the first being General Douglas MacArthur–appointed in March 1942.

On March 30, 1942, the Allied South West Pacific Area command (SWPA) was formed and U.S. General Douglas MacArthur was appointed Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area. The other theatre, known as the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, was commanded by Admiral Chester Nimitz.

In the theatre, Imperial Japanese forces fought primarily United States and Australian forces, with the heavy lifting predominantly from the Australians on the ground for the majority of the first two years, while the air forces were soon predominated by American forces and equipment. Logistics were mixed. Dutch, Filipino, British, Mexican and other Allied forces which had retreated to Australia or New Guinea also served in the theatre.

Most Japanese forces in the theatre were part of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group, which was formed on November 6, 1941, under General Hisaichi Terauchi (also known as Count Terauchi), who was ordered to attack and occupy Allied territories in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

Major campaigns in the theatre

• Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)
  • Battle of Bataan
  • Battle of Corregidor
• Dutch East Indies campaign, 1941–42
  • Battle of Badung Strait 19–20 February 1942
  • Battle of the Java Sea 27 February 1942
  • Battle of Sunda Strait 28 February – 1 March 1942
  • Second Battle of the Java Sea 1 March 1942
• Guadalcanal Campaign 1942–43
  • Battle of Savo Island 9 August 1942
  • Battle of the Eastern Solomons 24–25 August 1942
  • Battle of Cape Esperance 11–12 October 1942
  • Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands 26 October 1942
  • Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 12–15 November 1942
  • Battle of Tassafaronga 30 November 1942
• Solomon Islands campaign 1943–45
  • Battle of Kula Gulf 6 July 1943
  • Battle of Kolombangara 13 July 1943
  • Battle of Vella Gulf 6–7 August 1943
  • Naval Battle of Vella Lavella 6–7 October 1943
  • Battle of Empress Augusta Bay 2 November 1943
  • Battle of Cape St. George 25 November 1943
• New Guinea campaign, 1942–45
  • Battle of the Coral Sea 4–8 May 1942
  • Kokoda Track campaign 1942
  • Battle of Buna-Gona 1942
  • Battle of the Bismarck Sea 2 March 1943
  • Landing at Nassau Bay 1943
  • Salamaua-Lae campaign 1943
  • Huon Peninsula campaign 1943
  • New Britain campaign 26 December 1943
  • Admiralty Islands campaign 29 February 1944
  • Aitape-Wewak campaign 22 April 1944
  • Invasion of Hollandia 22 April 1944
  • Battle of Biak 27 May 1944
  • Battle of Noemfoor 2 July 1944
  • Battle of Morotai 15 September 1944
• Battle of Timor 1942–43
• Philippines campaign (1944–45)
  • Battle of Leyte Gulf 20 October 1944
• Borneo campaign (1945)

See also

• South West Pacific Area (command)
• American-British-Dutch-Australian Command

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Cressman, Robert J. (2000). The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-149-1. 
• Drea, Edward J. (1998). In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-1708-0. 
• Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1941-1945). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. 
• Eichelberger, Robert (1989 (reissue)). Our Jungle Road to Tokyo. New York: Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-132-6. 
• Griffith, Thomas E., Jr. (1998). MacArthur's Airman : General George C. Kenney and the War in the Southwest Pacific. Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.A.: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-0909-1. 
• Krueger, Walter (1979). From Down Under to Nippon: Story of the 6th Army in World War II. Zenger. ISBN 0-89201-046-0. 
• Potter, E.B.; Chester W. Nimitz (1960). Sea Power. Prentice-Hall. 
• Silverstone, Paul H. (1968). U.S. Warships of World War II. Doubleday and Company. 
• Sulzberger, C.L. (1966). The American Heritage Picture History of World War II. Crown Publishers. 
• United States Army Center of Military History. "Japanese Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, Volume II - Part I". Reports of General MacArthur. http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V2%20P1/macarthurv2.htm#contents. Retrieved 2006-12-08. - Translation of the official record by the Japanese Demobilization Bureaux detailing the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy's participation in the Southwest Pacific area of the Pacific War.