to Australia for rest, reinforcements, and re-equipping. By April 1944, an armada of a hundred ships carrying 25,000 men and tons of equipment had been assembled for an attack on the Humboldt Bay area of New Guinea to secure Japanese-held airfields. A massive naval bombardment was followed by air strikes to soften the area for the amphibious landing. The 162nd Infantry moved north to overrun its objective, Hollandia Town, while the 186th Infantry moved west to capture two airfields. On the second day, a low-flying enemy bomber made a direct hit on an American ammunition dump. The subsequent explosions ignited a two-day firestorm that consumed all American ammunition and rations landed in that beach area, and caused 24 deaths and over 100 injuries. Rationing became necessary. Soft sand bogged tanks, and LVTs became mired along swampy roads. The terrain was favorable for the Japanese defense, but most Japanese troops had moved to Wewak, where the next Allied thrust was expected. As a result, casualties were light. High-ranking Army and Navy officers who had witnessed the landing described it as the perfect amphibious assault." Aitape While the 162nd Infantry and 186th Infantry were making the landings in Humboldt Bay, the 163rd Regimental Combat Team, backbone of a task force of 22,500 men under the command of General Doe, was making a simultaneous landing at Aitape. The mission of this force was to rapidly seize the airfields in the Aitape-Tadji area and to prepare them quickly to accommodate one fighter group. The naval bombardment was so well executed that the enemy fled inland. The advance was so rapid that engineer units pronounced the captured airstrip ready for use two days after the landing. Some enemy resistance was encountered by patrols, but was pushed back effectively. On 3 May the 163rd was relieved by the 32nd Division. Wakde Island The occupation of Wakde was to be a shore-to-shore operation, it was too small an island to permit a major landing force. Following a naval bombardment on 17 May, the 163rd Infantry landed four companies (A, B, C and F), seized the beachhead and began the push inland assisted by four M4 Sherman medium tanks. The companies executed a successful flanking maneuver which left the important airfield in the middle of the island in Allied control after only two days of fighting. The campaign was unique for its brevity and conclusiveness, and marked the