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The Battle of Biak Island, which ended this week in 1944, was an operation conceived to establish airfields in support of further US advances in the Southwest and Central Pacific theaters of war.
With a major amphibious operation to seize the Marianas from the Japanese scheduled to begin on June 15, 1944, time was of the essence for the assault force commanded by Maj. Gen. Horace Fuller, whose own 41st Infantry Division would play a major role in the battle.
Fuller was ordered to secure Biak by June 10, 1944, to ensure that the airfields were in place to support the landings on Saipan in the Marianas. Intelligence estimates held that the island’s Japanese garrison was approximately 2,000 strong,with little evidence of fortification.
In fact, the Japanese commander on Biak, Col. Kuzume Naoyuki, had slightly over 11,000 men under arms, including a company of Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks, with which to resist the invasion.
The Battle of Biak would mark the beginning of a doctrinal shift in Japanese defensive preparations. Rather than resist the enemy at the water’s edge, US forces would be allowed to establish themselves ashore before being subjected to fierce counterattacks.
In addition, an elaborate system of caves and bunkers connected by tunnels, some with wooden floors and electric lights, was built into the high ground north of Mokmer Airfield, one of the two airfields sought by Fuller’s “Hurricane Force.”
US Navy Task Force 77.2, commanded by RADM William M. Fechteler, comprised the naval element with air support provided by the US Fifth Air Force, among with additional air assets from the Royal Australian Air Force, who assisted with logistical support for the operation.
The island was assaulted following a 45 minute bombardment on May 25, 1944. Troops from the 41st Division’s 162d Infantry made the initial landing, with the balance of the division soon following on.
By 1200 hours on May 25 the assault force was firmly established.
By 1200 hours on May 25 the assault force was firmly established.
D-Day on Biak went well despite strong currents that blew a portion of the assault force three miles off course, leading to brief confusion regarding mission objectives. Light air attacks by the Japanese caused negligible damage to the fleet.
However, once the 41st Div closed on Mokmer Airfield, the battle began in earnest. Japanese artillery, mortars, and machine guns emplaced in the high ground overlooking the airfield rained down on the attacking US infantry, inflicting heavy casualties.
Japanese counterattacks with light armor and infantry were defeated with the assistance of Shermans and naval gunfire. The following day, a larger assault on the airfield by the Japanese was defeated at great cost to Kuzume, but it was now apparent that a longer battle lay ahead.
The key to the battle was opening the airfields to use; engineers followed close behind the infantry, assisting with the blasting of caves entrances to seal the defenses inside or immolating those inside by rolling drums of gasoline inside and setting them alight with grenades.
Upset by the “slowness” of Fuller’s progress, Gen. Douglas MacArthur relieved him of command on June 15, 1944. Lt. Gen. Robert Eichelberger assumed command of Hurricane Force and completed the grim task of dislodging the defenders.
During this time Col. Kuzume was killed. By the end of June, fighters and B-25 medium bombers were operating from Mokmer, further frustrating Japanese breakout attempts. By the time the last pockets of resistance were cleared on July 25, over 4,000 Jap. remained at large.
To give an idea of the difficulty involved with reducing these enemy positions, consider that over 40,000 artillery and mortar shells were used to obliterate targets in the Ibdi Pocket on the island’s eastern side.
Japanese 2nd Army ordered the survivors of the garrison to disperse into the hinterland of Biak to occupy US forces. The mopping up these scattered remnants of Kuzume’s command would last until August 17, 1944, when the island was finally declared secure.
The Battle of Biak claimed the lives of 474 US personnel, and another 2,400 wounded. Disease laid low another over 4,000 men during some of the battle’s most intense fighting. Of the Japanese garrison, 225 became prisoners and over 4,700 were killed.
#WWII #History
#WWII #History
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