Battle of Lone Tree Hill

The Battle of Lone Tree Hill, is the name given to a major battle in 1944 in Dutch New Guinea, between United States and Japanese forces. Fought over the period 17 May – 2 September 1944, the battle formed part of the Western New Guinea campaign.
The battle, with the associated attacks on Sawar Airfield to the north and Wakde, an island just off shore of Toem to the south, took place after the opening phase of the campaign, which saw landings at Hollandia and the Aitape in late April.
Following the loss of Hollandia, to the east, in April 1944, the of coastline and surrounding area of Toem-Wakde-Sarmi was an isolated coastal salient for the Japanese. Nevertheless, elements of the Japanese 223rd and 224th Infantry Regiments, commanded by Lieutenant General Hachiro Tagami, were concentrated at Lone Tree Hill, overlooking Maffin Bay, and were blocking any further advance toward Sarmi, by the 158th Regimental Combat Team of the U.S. Army. The Japanese were in well-prepared positions, which included fortified caves. Meanwhile, the main body of the Japanese 223rd Infantry Regiment had outflanked the U.S. units, and a battalion of the Japanese 224th Infantry Regiment, was retreating from Hollandia, towards the Toem-Wakde-Sarmi area.
Lone Tree Hill rose from a flat, coastal plain about west of the main jetty in Maffin Bay. The hill was named for a single tree depicted on its crest by U.S. maps; it was a coral formation, covered with dense tropical rain forest and undergrowth. It was about high, long north to south, and wide east to west. The north side was characterized by a steep slope. The eastern slope was fronted by a short, twisting stream which the Americans named Snaky River.
On 14 June, U.S. General Walter Krueger sent the U.S. 6th Infantry Division to relieve the 158th RCT. After ten days of hard fighting, the US forces took Lone Tree Hill. The Japanese suffered more than 1,000 dead, including some trapped in collapsed caves. The U.S. Army suffered about 700 battle and 500 non-battle casualties. By 1 September, there were still around 2,000 Japanese troops in the area, but they no longer posed a threat to Allied operations. With Lone Tree Hill in American possession, Maffin Bay became a major staging base for six subsequent battles: Biak, Noemfoor, Sansapor, Leyte and Luzon.


Adak Airport

Adak Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located west of Adak, on Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is the farthest western airfield with scheduled passenger air service in the entire United States at 176.64W.
Adak's airport is one of the largest and most sophisticated airports in the Aleutian Islands. Built by the U.S. Navy for Naval air transport, the airport is a world-class facility consisting of a runway and a runway (perm closed fall 2015), equipped with an Instrument Landing System and glideslope which facilitate Instrument Flight Rules landings. Adak currently has scheduled jet service provided by Alaska Airlines.
As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 1,989 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 1,907 in 2009, and 2,097 in 2010. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a "general aviation" facility (the "commercial service" category requires at least 2,500 enplanements per year).
History.
The military first developed an air station on Adak during World War II. Adak Army Airfield was used during the Aleutian Campaign by both USAAF and Naval Air units, particularly in defensive actions against Japanese forces occupying Attu and Kiska.
Following the war, the AAF turned Adak over to the United States Air Force until 1950, and then to the Navy who established anti-submarine warfare base there. Adak was most recently run by the U.S. Navy as a deployment base for P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, primarily to conduct antisubmarine warfare operations against submarines and surveillance of naval surface vessels of the former Soviet Union. As many as 5,000 US personnel lived at the base during the Cold War, many with families.
Adak was also used as a refueling stop for transpacific passenger flights. Pan Am first operated a Seattle-Adak-Tokyo flight in 1946 to demonstrate the viability of a transpacific great circle route to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
On 31 March 1997, the Navy closed Adak Naval Air Facility. A large portion of the former military facility's property was transferred to the Aleut Corporation in 2004 and became a National Wildlife Refuge.
Facilities and aircraft.
Adak Airport resides at elevation of 18 feet (5 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways with asphalt surfaces: 5/23 is 7,790 by 200 feet (2,374 x 61 m) and 18/36 is 7,605 by 200 feet (2,318 x 61 m). Runway 18/36 is now permanently closed for all operations.
For the 12-month period ending January 2, 2011, the airport had 340 aircraft operations, an average of 28 per month: 62.4% scheduled commercial, 29.4% general aviation, and 8.2% military.
Airline and destination.
Scheduled passenger service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. Alaska Airlines operates two flights weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, using Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 jet aircraft and previously with Boeing 737-400 jet aircraft.
Historical airline service.
Reeve Aleutian Airways (RAA) served Adak from the late 1940s until 2000 when the airline ceased all flight operations and went out of business. In 1948, Reeve Aleutian was operating Douglas DC-3 service once a week between Anchorage and the airport. From the 1970s through the early 1980s, the airline was operating nonstop service several times a week from Adak to Anchorage (ANC) with Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop aircraft. Reeve Aleutian also operated nonstop Electra propjet service from the airport to Attu Island during the 1970s. Jet service arrived during the mid 1980s with Reeve Aleutian operating Boeing 727-100 jetliners from the airport nonstop to Anchorage twice a week. By 1989, the airline was operating nonstop 727 service three times a week from Adak to Anchorage. In 1994, Reeve Aleutian was operating four direct flights a week between the airport and Anchorage with Boeing 727-100 jets configured for combi aircraft passenger/freight operations with all of these flights making intermediate stop in each direction at the Cold Bay Airport in the Aleutian Islands.


Maclean Mission

The Maclean Mission (MACMIS) was a World War II British mission to Yugoslav partisans HQ and Marshall Tito organised by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in September 1943. It was led by a recently promoted Brigadier Fitzroy Maclean and was first such mission with full authorization and a personal message from Winston Churchill. His memoir of these years forms the final third of "Eastern Approaches" (1949).
Purpose.
By the mid-1943, British government realised, through intercepted German intelligence, that "armed bands bearing the name of Partisans and led by a shadowy figure known as Tito" are causing Germans considerable inconvenience, especially in Bosnia. Very little else was known about them in London. It was believed that they were under communist leadership, with various theories about the identity of Tito ranging from an acronym, rotating post and even "a young woman of startling beauty and great force of character".
A few British officers had been dropped to partisan controlled areas recently, but due to the fierce fighting, there has been no comprehensive report from them. Maclean and his team were sent to "form an estimate on the spot of the relative value of the partisans' contribution to the Allied cause and the best means of helping them to increase it".
On 25 Jul 1943, Churchill met Maclean at Chequers, the Prime Minister's country house, north-west of London. During the evening, the PM announced that Mussolini had resigned. He then told Maclean:
Maclean then expressed concern about partisans' leadership communist and pro-Soviet ambitions. Churchill responded:
Maclean, who was a Conservative MP at the time and had no liking for communists, was relieved. He left for Cairo to prepare the mission. On 28 Jul 1943, Churchill wrote to the Foreign Secretary that he wanted "a daring Ambassador-leader with these hardy and hunted guerrillas", making Maclean an ideal candidate.
Assembly and Departure.
Thirty-two-year-old Maclean, a former diplomat realised that the mission would require professional soldiers, explosive, intelligence and supply experts as well as people with political experience. Hence, he picked cavalry officer Robin Whetherly (27), SAS Major Vivian Street and John Henniker-Major (27) another soldier-diplomat to accompany him. Later, they were joined by three sappers: Peter Moore, Donald Knight and Mike Parker who was to be in charge of supply logistics and Gordon Alston (25), an intelligence officer. The security was assigned to Sgt Duncan, Cpl Dickson (Scots Guards) and Cpl Kelly (Seaforth Highlanders) and communication to two wireless operators. Just before the departure, they were joined by an American Major Linn "Slim" Farish (41), who claimed that he could build aerodromes. It was decided to leave two officers, David Satow and Sgt Charlie Button behind as rear-link and supply support.
In early-Sep 1943, the group flew from Cairo to Bizerta, where they switched planes and boarded Halifax bombers for a flight to the mountains of Bosnia.
First impressions and meeting Tito.
On 17 Sep 1943, the parachuted group and their cargo landed near Mrkonjić Grad and were met by Vladimir Velebit (36) and Slavko Rodić (25), who helped them move onto Jajce to meet Tito (51). Maclean, who had been to Soviet Union long after the revolution, now saw real-life partisans for the first time:
Maclean met Tito (51) and explained the purpose and ambition of his mission. Both men were fluent in German and Russian. Maclean explained that the British government had received reports of partisan resistance and were anxious to help. His team of military experts was to establish the extent and nature of the movement as well as report and advise how help could best be given. He suggested sending an officer with a wireless set to each of the main partisan HQs throughout the country and agree the best way to arrange to supplies. Tito agreed and wanted the British representatives to see how the partisans were fighting in different regions. As Italy had recently capitulated, they considered sending supplies by sea, before Germans had had a chance to reoccupy the coast.
The discussion moved onto Chetniks, and possible renewed co-operation between the two forces, which by now seemed impossible. Tito mentioned his initial meetings with Col Mihailović (50), but realised that his troops had become too undisciplined and demoralised from long inaction, and had gone too far in their collaboration with the enemy. He then introduced (40), a Serbian Orthodox priest, who had left chetniks to join the partisans and who in addition to the usual red star, wore a gold cross as his cap badge. They discussed the future of the young King Peter II of Yugoslavia (20), still exiled in London. At a suggestion that the king might return to join the partisans, Tito replied that he could come as a soldier and not as a reigning sovereign, as the question of the future form of government would be settled after the war was over. Finally, Maclean asked if Tito's new Yugoslavia would be an independent state or part of the Soviet Union, the response surprised him somewhat: "You must remember the sacrifices which we are making in this struggle for our independence. Hundreds of thousands of Yugoslavs have suffered torture and death, men, women and children. Vast areas of our countryside have been laid waste. You need not suppose that we shall lightly cast aside a prize which has been won at such cost."
Maclean left the meeting with much to consider. He found Tito having energy, determination and intelligence as well as sense of humour who was ready to give his views on any subject that crops up: "Here, at last, was a communist who did not need to refer everything to the 'competent authorities', to look up the Party line at every step... there was that unexpected independence of mind, that odd lack of servility..."
Immersion and the switch of support.
Maclean's next task was to meet up with the three British officers who had already been posted with the partisans for some time and collate their feedback. Anthony Hunter was a Scots Fusilier who commanded a patrol of LRDG in Croatia. Major Jones was a Canadian officer, who joined the British army before being posted in Slovenia. Finally, Bill Deakin (30), who arrived to Tito's HQ as part of the Operation Typical at the height of the German Fifth Offensive, and "able to give us a better idea than anyone of what the partisans were worth".
By now, Maclean had a much better understanding of the partisan movement and its motivation:
The movement was led by a group of young army officers and revolutionaries: Arso Jovanović (36), Tito's CoS, former Royal Yugoslav Army officer, was "coldly competent", Edvard Kardelj (33), the expert Marxist dialectician was "perfectly frank, perfectly logical, perfectly calm and unruffled", Aleksandar Ranković (34) in charge of the Intelligence services who was "not, you felt, a man who would come off worst in a bargain", Milovan Đilas (32), "young, intolerant and good looking" and Moša Pijade (53), an elderly Jewish Belgrade intellectual who became a "favourite target for Nazi propaganda". Finally, the two women, in charge of keeping Tito's maps, lists and bundles of signals were (22) and Olga Humo (24). Olga, "tall and well-built, in her black breeches and boots, with a pistol hanging at her belt", was especially useful to the British mission as she was one of the rare people who spoke fluent English as she attended a finishing school in London before the war.
After a long period of observation, investigation and feedback from officers in the field, Maclean drafted his report. In it he stated that the partisans, whatever their politics, were fighting the Germans most effectively. They were more numerous, better led, organised and disciplined than the Chetniks, who were largely either not fighting at all or fighting with the Germans against their own countrymen. At the time, the partisans were containing a dozen or more enemy divisions and by increasing the "practically non-existent supplies" to them and giving them air-support, the Allies could ensure that they continued to contain this force. Their operations, if coordinated, could be of direct assistance to the recently arrived Allied armies in Italy.
Finally, Maclean had stated that the Allies were getting little or no return militarily from the arms they had dropped to the Chetniks, and that they were used against the partisans, who were fighting the Germans, and were impeding rather than furthering the war effort. He concluded that, purely on military grounds, the Allies should stop supplies to the Chetniks and "henceforth send all available arms and equipment to the partisans".
Journey to the coast.
While in contact with the Royal Navy, Maclean had arranged for the landing supplies to the island of Korčula, recently freed from the Italian army. He suggested that he would go there himself, with a wireless set and give particulars about the landing facilities. The first section of the journey, from Jajce to Bugojno was done "rather surprisingly" by a captured train, which left the station followed by the whistles of three retired station masters "complete with magnificent peaked caps, liberally adorned with gold braids, flags, whistles and all paraphernalia of office" on 5 Oct 1943.
In Bugojno, by now largely in ruins, Maclean noticed a group of Domobran POWs, who were "miserable troops...took the first opportunity of deserting or let themselves be taken prisoner" and whom "partisans regarded with good-natured toleration". He then met up with Koča Popović (35), the commander of Partisan First Corps, who made quite an impression:
After Bugojno, the group was on the move to Kupres and Livno, marching on foot beside their packed horses. They were unsure if it was safe to continue, when they encountered Ivo Lola Ribar (27), who "had a distinguished fighting record", and who confirmed that the partisans had recaptured Livno and were fighting in Kupres, which would also be in their hands shortly. After being unable to establish wireless contact with Cairo HQ at Kupres, they were driven by a shot-down Italian pilot who delivered them in a captured motor-bus to Livno at night. The next stop was Aržano, after which they continued onto Zadvarje and finally on foot to Baška Voda. Once there, the group was met by two partisan fishermen, who took them in their fishing smack to Sućuraj, and finally reached Korčula at dawn.
On Korčula.
Once on the island, Maclean met the local partisan representatives as well as a Franciscan friar, who was the chairman of the local council, and who somewhat surprisingly greeted him with a clenched fist salute. After a short rest, the group was taken on a drive around the island. They met the locals, inspected partisan detachments, the hospital and printworks even being "pelted with flowers by some nuns". Maclean noticed that, in contrast to the mainland, the Roman Catholic clergy in Korčula seem to be the "leading lights in the Partisan Movement".
Due to technical problems with the radio, they were unable to contact Cairo or Jajce and spent time planning the next steps. It was then that they witnessed the first aerial bombardment of Korčula harbour by a dozen Stuka bombers. Finally, a British Navy M.L., laden with several tons of arms and supplies, speculatively docked at the other end of the island. David Satow, Maclean's assistant, brought in the sailors, including Sandy Glenn, whom Maclean recognised immediately. As the partisans were off-loading the cargo, news came from Pelješac peninsula that the Germans were advancing and preparing a naval invasion fleet at the mouth of the river Neretva. Maclean managed to send two messages from the Navy vessel. One was to Air Vice-Marshall Coningham asking for an aerial attack on German troop concentrations at Mostar, Metković and Pelješac and their invasion barges at the mouth of the Neretva. The second message was sent to the Navy's Flag Officer at Taranto asking for some Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) to be sent to patrol off the mouth of the Neretva. Both messages were received and acted upon as the group was getting ready for the return journey to Jajce. As Baška Voda was by now in German hands, their small fishing boat took them to Podgora, where they bumped into Gordon Alston and his W/T operator. They were on their way from Jajce to the islands, bringing a spare wireless set, mail and the news for the Maclean's group.
Towards Vis.
Maclean returned to Jajce to agree on the future action with Tito. He told him that he would return to Cairo to find out "what prospect there was of securing effective Allied support in Dalmatia". Tito agreed, and asked him to take two partisan representatives, Ivo Lola Ribar and Miloje Milojević (31), with him. Maclean accepted, stating that he would seek the approval from the Commander-in-Chief and the Foreign Office. The time was of the essence as the Germans were consolidating their positions and were about the close the access to Dalmatian islands. Maclean and Tito knew that agreeing to host a partisan delegation would put British government on a collision course with the Royal Yugoslav Government (in-exile) who were their allies and the official representatives of the country. They anticipated a long wait. Maclean, in the meantime, had to leave for the island of Hvar, expecting Ribar and Milojević to join him once the agreement to host them has been reached.
After the midnight crossing, Maclean reached the town of Hvar and was welcomed by the local people. They were aware that the enemy had already landed at the western shore of the island. He got in touch with Cairo who instructed him to come immediately via the island of Vis, and that the partisan delegation could follow later "if required". Maclean realised that the Germans are continuing to advance and that the coast will be cut-off very soon. He reached Vis after an overnight trip on a fishing boat. He realised the strategic importance of the island which was within striking distance of the coast yet far enough out to see for it to be reasonably easy to hold and access from Italy. It was to make an ideal base for future supplies. From Vis, the Navy Motor Launch took him to southern Italy.
To Cairo and back.
By 5 Nov 1943, Maclean had reached Cairo and realised why he was summoned at this time. Large British delegation including the Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, the Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Alexander Cadogan and others were there on their way back from Moscow in preparation for the Tehran Conference. He handed a written report on the situation in Yugoslavia to Eden who promised to forward it to Churchill. He also verbally confirmed to him that the partisan movement is effective, likely to be very influential after the war and that their effectiveness could be considerably increased by Allied help. The report had caused a stir.
Trying to extract the Partisan delegation.
Maclean returned to Bari and managed to get in contact with Tito's HQ at Jajce. As expected the Dalmatian coast was now fully blocked and the only way to extract the delegation would be to land an aeroplane at the air-strip at Glamoč and fly them out. The mission would require a large enough passenger aircraft capable of completing the return journey while escorted by some half a dozen fighters. Maclean was promised a Baltimore bomber and a group of Lightnings and the timing was agreed. Two attempts were made to reach Glamoč but due to thick storm clouds both had to be abandoned. By now, the fighters needed to be redeployed elsewhere, and Maclean made the third attempt un-escorted. This time they tried to get under the cloud cover but to no avail. On the return to Italy, they were told that Bari airfield had too low visibility and to land in Foggia instead where they spent the following two days in a downpour of rain.
By the time they re-established full communications, a tragedy occurred. Partisans had captured a small German aeroplane and were intending to fly out the delegation themselves. They had informed Bari in order to warn the RAF and anti-aircraft batteries not to shoot at their small aeroplane with German markings and refuelled. On 27 Nov 1943, at first light, as the passengers and those who had come to see them off had gathered around the aircraft, they had noticed a small German observation plane. It flew quickly very low over their heads and dropped two small bombs. One exploded near Robin Whetherly and killed him. The other hit the aircraft, destroying it completely and killing Donald Knight and Ribar, and wounding Milojević.
As the improvised airfield at Glamoč was unlikely to remain in partisan hands for much longer, the operation was given a higher priority, and Maclean was able to fly over in a troop-carrying Dakota escorted by half a dozen Lightning fighters on 3 Dec 1943. The Dakota had landed in broad daylight while the Lightnings circled above. Without switching off the engines, William Deakin, Vladimir Velebit and Anthony Hunter boarded the plane, together with wounded Milojević and Vladimir Dedijer (30). Finally, Captain Meyer, captured German intelligence officer, was put on board on his way to Bari for interrogation. The plane took off completing the first successful landing operation in enemy-occupied Yugoslavia.
In Cairo again.
Cairo in early-Dec 1943 was the right place at the right time. Both Churchill and F.D. Roosevelt were there, on their return journey from Tehran. Maclean and Deakin went to the Prime Minister's villa out by the Pyramids. He was still in bed, "smoking a cigar and wearing an embroidered dressing-gown" and questioned Maclean if he had parachuted wearing a kilt, before moving onto more a pressing issue of Yugoslav fight. Churchill confirmed that he had read Maclean's report and together with all other available information had discussed it with Stalin and Roosevelt. Finally, the three had decided to give all-out support to the partisans. The question of continuing support to Chetnik forces was raised by the British officers attached to their formations who advised that Chetniks' resistance is not solid, their troops ill-disciplined and their commanders collaborating more or less openly with the enemy. In short, their contribution to the Allied cause was by now little or nothing. Their commander, General Mihailović, was given a last chance to blow two railway bridges on the strategic Belgrade to Salonika railway. If he failed to carry out the operation by an agreed date of 29 Dec 1943, the missions would be withdrawn and the supplies to Chetniks would cease. Indeed, that was the final outcome.
Maclean once more raised the concern about partisans' commitment to the Soviet Union once the fighting had finished when Churchill asked:
Maclean realised that the Soviet Union had remained the ally since 1941 and that the British were doing everything in their power to bolster up Soviet war effort. This was done without examining too closely their political system or the circumstances which had brought them into the war on the same side. It was also possible that the nationalist forces in Yugoslavia will overwhelm the communists in the end. There was however one major unresolved issue, the British government had continued to support the Yugoslav government-in-exile and King Peter II, who also happened to be in Cairo at the time. Maclean arranged a dinner with the king and the British ambassador Ralph Stevenson. The king asked him what the partisans and other people thought of him, and what were his chances of reclaiming the throne after the war. The response was that the partisans resented some radio proclamations condemning their leaders as traitors and that many did not take much interest in him. As for the return to the throne, Maclean's opinion was that the king would have to go back and take part in the war of liberation, as his father had done in the last war. The king replied: "I wish that it only depended on me.".
The next task was to agree with senior British officers to form a nucleus of the new Yugoslav Air force and Navy by training partisan fighters. At the same time, the immediate need of the air supply and air support had to take priority. It was agreed to increase substantially the amount of supplies and number of dedicated aircraft and that regional missions will be dropped to smaller partisan HQs in order to organise supply, train and advise them. The new officers have been added including Andrew Maxwell and John Clarke of the Scots Guards and Geoffrey Kup, a gunner. Finally, Randolph Churchill, the Prime Minister's 32-year-old son, who followed his father to Tehran and back, agreed to join the mission. Maclean thought that Randolph was dependable, had endurance and determination, and that his sometimes explosive approach to life was similar to a Yugoslav one, and that they may well like him for that.
Return to Yugoslavia.
Maclean's team flew to Italy and crossed the Adriatic in a motor-torpedo-boat passing by two British Navy Hunt Class destroyers, and realising the higher attention that the area was now receiving. They arrived at Vela Luka on the island of Korčula and off-loaded the arms and ammunition that they brought with them. By now, the Germans have taken over the neighbouring Pelješac peninsula and started exchanging of shell-fire across a narrow strait that separated them. It became obvious that Korčula could not be held for much longer, and that the preparation for the evacuation onto the island of Vis, the farthest away from the mainland, should start. Once on Vis, Maclean and the team inspected the island and realised that its main valley would make an ideal airfield. Having an ability to base or refuel there would extend the Allied air-power range across the whole of Adriatic and deep into Yugoslavia. However, they needed to garrison the island, and while the partisans offered one brigade, another one had to be found from the Allied 15th Army Group still fighting in central Italy. Maclean and R Churchill returned to Bari to consider their options.
On 31 Dec 1943 at a New Year's Eve party in nearby Molfetta, Randolph and Maclean met with brothers Jack and Tom Churchill (no relation), young Commando officers who offered to help and station their unit on Vis subject to approval by high command. Both General Alexander, the commander of the 15th Army Group and his CoS General John Harding were keen to help. They realised that supporting partisans in Yugoslavia will ensure fewer German troops available for deployment and reinforcements on the Italian front. On 6 Jan 1944 Jack Churchill was ordered to make a reconnaissance of Vis, while Maclean and Randolph flew out to Marrakesh to meet the Prime Minister again. Mr Churchill (senior) was informed that Jajce had fallen to the Germans and that Tito and his HQ were on the move once again. He realised that they needed some encouragement and wrote a personal letter to Tito. He congratulated him on his past achievements and held out the hope of future help. He then instructed Maclean to deliver it personally, without delay. They flew back to Bari and soon were parachuted near Bosanski Petrovac. The group consisted of Maclean, Randolph, Sgt Duncan, Sgt Campbell (new W/T operator), Corp Iles (signaller) and Slim Farish returning from a brief visit to the US.
They were welcomed on the ground by John Selby and Slavko Rodić who took Maclean to see Tito in a makeshift camp nearby. They reached his hut just after midnight and Maclean congratulated him on being given a rank of Marshal of Yugoslavia in Nov 1943. He then handed him the letter from the Prime Minister, which Tito did not expect. Maclean witnessed Tito's reaction, opening the seal and unfolding the heavy paper with the address of 10 Downing Street and the PM's signature at the bottom, enclosed with a signed photograph. He saw Tito smile and try to translate the wording, and understand the complimentary references to the partisan fight and promises of Allied assistance as well as advice on future mutual correspondence via Maclean. Tito, the underground fighter perpetually in conflict with the established order, realised that he and his movement were finally recognised as an ally and were in direct and formal communication with the Prime Minister of a Great Power. He understood that the official and public recognition may not be far away. The questions of partisans' contribution to the Allied cause and the best way to assist them have been fully answered.
At Drvar.
After a few days in snow-covered Bosanski Petrovac, the Mission, together with the Partisan HQ, moved onto Drvar, a small town farther away from German garrisons. The Mission occupied an adapted house in town, while Tito's HQ opted for a nearby cave. From there, they were able to coordinate the assistance to Partisans in other parts of Yugoslavia. One of the key tasks was to interrupt Trieste-Ljubljana railway, crucial for the supply of the German forces in Italy, and a vital link between the Eastern and Western fronts. The air-drop of the explosives was arranged, and Peter Moore was sent to Slovenia to blow up the Stampetta Bridge, key viaduct on the line. The operation, code-named 'Bearskin', was a great success, as the bridge was severely damaged and remained so for some time. The co-operation between Moore and the local Partisan troops had proven to be very effective.
By now, the situation somewhat stabilised and the Allied aeroplanes were able to drop new members to the mission. This included Major Doctor Lindsay Rogers RAMC (NZ) who led his own Mission and organised improvised hospitals throughout the Partisan controlled territory, insisting on standards of hygiene, medical discipline and the isolation and treatment of the many typhus cases. He was also able to organise the air-drops of large quantities of medicament.
One of the more surprising arrivals was the very first Soviet Military Mission, headed by the Red Army General , on 23 February 1944. Due to constant heavy snow, the Partisans were unable to keep clear a sufficiently large runway for an aircraft to land and take-off, and the Soviets did not want to be parachuted. Finally, two Horsa gliders were found and pulled over by two Dakotas with a fighter escort. The General and his crew landed safely.
Back to London.
By April, as the snow started to melt, and the Partisan movement grew in strength, Maclean was told to report to London in person in order to agree on the next course of action. He was authorised to bring a Partisan representative with him, so Velebit came along as well. They made their way back to Bosanski Petrovac and the nearby landing-strip. They were air-lifted quickly, together with a group of badly wounded Partisans and flown to Algiers in a Dakota. From there, Maclean made a phone-call to Winston Churchill and was told that he and Velebit must continue onto London at once.
They found the country in suspense, with numerous American and Allied troops preparing for the D-Day invasion. They were taken to meet senior army officers including General Eisenhower and finally the Prime Minister. Velebit was pleased with being able to put his point of view to Mr Churchill personally and had made other useful contacts within the Establishment and the Press, hoping to keep Tito and the Partisan movement before the mind of the public. He then flew back, preceded by Vivian Street who took charge of the mission while Maclean remained in London for numerous further discussions.
Maclean met Joint Planners, the representatives of each branch of the armed forces, and agreed the best way to help the Partisans and increase their contribution to the war effort as a whole. On the political front, he met King Peter II, a trained pilot, and agreed that the King could maybe join the RAF Yugoslav Squadron, which "appealed to him". He then met Dr Ivan Šubašić, a moderate former Governor of Croatia, who was trying to reach out for a settlement between the Royal Yugoslav Government and Tito. Finally, he met some of the British Liaison Officers (BLOs) who were attached to General Mihailović HQ, including the one at Chequers presided by the Prime Minister:
Shortly after this meeting, Maclean received a call from Buckingham Palace stating that King George VI wished to see him to get "a first-hand account of the Yugoslav situation". Maclean was surprised that the King was so interested in a relatively minor question of policy, given the much greater issues of the day. The King, on the other hand, was fully briefed and realistic about the situation and mainly interested in the military side of Mission's work. Maclean was left very much impressed.
Return to Vis.
As Maclean was preparing for the return journey, an urgent signal arrived from Vivian Street stating that on 25 May there had been a large-scale airborne attack on Partisan HQ with gliders and parachute troops, that the Partisans had suffered heavy casualties and that Tito and the Allies' missions had managed to escape capture. Unbeknown to him, a meticulously planned and executed Operation Rösselsprung was underway. Tito had by now realised that he could no longer lead the Partisan movement while being constantly on the move. The decision was made to evacuate the HQ and the missions, first to Bari and then onto Vis. The flight was organised by the RAF and executed by a Russian crew.
Once on Vis, Tito was able to conduct the movement while extending the co-operation with the Allies. Shortly afterwards he was invited to Naples to meet with the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean General Maitland Wilson and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The Naples Conference was a success, the two leaders got on well and Churchill was "generous in his praise for Tito's leadership and in his recognition of the Partisans' contribution to the Allied cause". He also insisted that there could be no political recognition of the Partisan regime unless they came to some kind of arrangement with King Peter II, and warned Tito against a Soviet-style collectivisation of agriculture. After the ten-day sojourn, the group returned to Vis to manage political and military events ahead.
As the Allies pushed towards Berlin, there was an expectation that the Germans would cut their losses and withdraw their troops from the Balkans to a "more tenable defence line in the north". This would refresh and reinforce their presence there and prolong the war. Their withdrawal from the region had to be disrupted. Maclean came up with a plan called Operation Ratweek, a week of intensive attacks on the lines of transport and communication, fuel supplies and general disruptions. He flew to Serbia to direct the activities in person and stayed there until the end of the operation when he was ordered to return to Italy as Tito had unexpectedly left Vis.
Finale.
Maclean assumed that Tito had moved inland in order to direct the liberation of Belgrade. He decided to fly to a recently-liberated Valjevo and continue his search in Serbia. Partisan troops moved quickly and after a couple of days in Aranđelovac, Maclean and his team left for Belgrade on 20 October. Their three-jeep expedition included two BLOs - Vivian Street and Freddie Cole and two Americans - Colonel Ellery Huntington, the Commander of the US Military Mission to the Partisans and Charles Thayer, his second-in-command and a friend of Maclean from the prewar Moscow days. The fact that the two spoke Russian was very useful when encountering Soviet troops on their way. They eventually reached the centre of the city and its main vantage point, Kalemegdan, from where they observed the hasty withdrawal of German troops pursued by the Soviets.
Belgrade was finally liberated and Maclean met up with Tito at his new residence on 27 October. They discussed the cooperation difficulties posed by Tito's sudden departure from Vis and the future political resolution for Yugoslavia. Maclean resumed his diplomatic and military activities from the old British Embassy building and assisted in the information flow between the Foreign Office, Tito, King Peter II and others during the negotiations. Eventually, a new government was established and Ralph Stevenson, the existing ambassador to the Royal Yugoslav Government moved to Belgrade, replacing Maclean. This marked the end of his mission.


South West Pacific Area (command)

South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the Dutch East Indies (excluding Sumatra), East Timor, Australia, the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, and the western part of the Solomon Islands. It primarily consisted of United States and Australian forces, although Dutch, Filipino, British and other Allied forces also served in the SWPA.
General Douglas MacArthur was appointed as the Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, on its creation on 18 April 1942. He created five subordinate commands: Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces, Allied Naval Forces, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), and the United States Army Forces in the Philippines. The last command disappeared when Corregidor surrendered on 6 May 1942, while USAFIA became the United States Army Services of Supply, Southwest Pacific Area (USASOS SWPA). In 1943 United States Army Forces in the Far East was reformed and assumed responsibility for administration, leaving USASOS as a purely logistical agency. Both were swept away in a reorganisation in 1945. The other three commands, Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces and Allied Naval Forces, remained until SWPA was abolished on 2 September 1945.
Origins.
The forerunner of the South West Pacific Area was the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA). In December 1941 and January 1942 ABDA was referred to as the South West Pacific Area. The rapid Japanese advance through the Dutch East Indies effectively divided the ABDA area in two and, in late February 1942, ABDA was dissolved at the recommendation of its commander, General Sir Archibald Wavell, who—as Commander-in-Chief in India—retained responsibility for Allied operations in Burma and Sumatra.
Another command, established under emergency conditions when a convoy intended for supply of the Philippines, known as the Pensacola Convoy, was rerouted to Brisbane due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Brigadier General Julian F. Barnes was ordered to assume command of all troops in the convoy on 12 December 1941 concurrent with their designation as Task Force—South Pacific, and place himself under the command of MacArthur. The next day, by radiogram, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General George C. Marshall, ordered Barnes to assume command as Commander, US Troops in Australia and take charge of all troops and supplies. On 22 December 1941, with the convoy's arrival in Brisbane, the command was designated as United States Forces in Australia (USFIA). It was renamed U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) on 5 January 1942. Its mission was to create a base in Australia for the support of the forces still in the Philippines.
The staff, known as the "Remember Pearl Harbor" (RPH) group, selected by the War Department for USAFIA arrived Melbourne 1 February 1942 aboard and in the first large convoy bearing personnel, supplies and munitions intended for transhipment to Java and Philippines as well as Australia. For a brief time, due to the increased isolation of the Philippines and before the fall of Java, USAFIA was withdrawn from MacArthur's command and placed under the ABDA with continued direction to support both Java and the Philippines.
What would replace ADBA was the subject of discussions between the Australian and New Zealand chiefs of staff that were held in Melbourne between 26 February and 1 March 1942. They proposed creating a new theatre of war encompassing Australia and New Zealand, under the command of Wavell's former deputy, Lieutenant General George Brett, who had assumed command of the US Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) on 25 February.
The President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, discussed the matter of command arrangements in the Pacific in Washington, D.C., on 9 March. Roosevelt proposed that the world would be divided into British and American areas of responsibility, with the United States having responsibility for the Pacific, where there would be an American supreme commander responsible to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Churchill responded favourably to the proposal, and the governments of Australia and New Zealand were then consulted. They endorsed the idea of an American supreme commander, but wanted to have some input into matters of strategy.
This resulted in the creation of the Pacific War Council, which met for the first time in London on 10 February 1942. Churchill, Clement Attlee (Deputy Prime Minister) and Anthony Eden (Foreign Secretary) represented the United Kingdom, and Earle Page represented Australia, along with representatives from the Netherlands, New Zealand, India and China. Page was replaced as the Australian representative by Stanley Bruce in June 1942. A parallel Pacific War Council was created in Washington, D.C., that first met on 1 April 1942. It was chaired by Roosevelt, with Richard Casey and later Owen Dixon representing Australia, and Prime Minister Mackenzie King representing Canada. The Pacific War Council never became an effective body, and had no influence on strategy, but did allow the Dominions to put their concerns before the President.
Formation.
The obvious choice for a supreme commander in the Pacific was General Douglas MacArthur. He had been ordered to leave the Philippines for Australia to take command of a reconstituted ABDA area on 22 February 1942, and had therefore been promised the command even before there were discussions on what it should be. MacArthur had solid support from the President, the Army and the American people, but not the Navy. The Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, Admiral Ernest King, saw the Pacific lines of communication primarily as a naval responsibility and would not yield command to an Army officer and proposed a division placing all of the Solomons within the Australian area, but excluding the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. While the Army planners, led by Brigadier General Dwight Eisenhower, were willing to compromise on a divided command, they objected to placing Australia and New Zealand in separate theatres. The Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed the matter between 9 and 16 March, the result of which was a decision to adopt the Navy's plan, with only minor amendments.
While this was still going on General Marshall, had contacted Brett and asked him to get the Australian government to nominate MacArthur, whose arrival in Australia was now imminent, as its choice for supreme commander. This was done on 17 March when MacArthur arrived at Batchelor, Northern Territory. On 24 March 1942, the Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive formally designating the Pacific theatre an area of American strategic responsibility. On 30 March, the Joint Chiefs of Staff divided the Pacific theatre into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), under Admiral Chester Nimitz; the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), under MacArthur; and the Southeast Pacific Area, which never became an active theatre. The former Anzac Area was divided between SWPA and the POA.
An annex defined SWPA's boundaries:
On 17 April 1942 the Prime Minister of Australia, John Curtin, directed all Australian defence forces personnel to treat orders from MacArthur "as emanating from the Commonwealth Government". The Army's workshops and fixed fortifications, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)'s logistical and training infrastructure, were not placed under SWPA. Having placed its troops at MacArthur's disposal, the Australian government was adamant that it should be consulted on any alteration to the boundaries or command arrangements in SWPA. The government was particularly concerned that the Supreme Commander should not move troops outside Australia or Australian territory without its consent, as there were legal restrictions on where the Australian Militia could serve. The matter of changes in command first came up when Brett was replaced as Commander of Allied Air Forces by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. MacArthur and Curtin agreed that there would be no change to General Sir Thomas Blamey's status (as Australian Army Commander-in-Chief), and that the government would be consulted about any other proposed changes. When Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary was replaced a few months later, Curtin was consulted, and concurred with the change.
General Headquarters.
MacArthur became the Supreme Commander Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) on 18 April 1942, although he preferred to use the more conventional title of Commander in Chief. MacArthur's first General Order created five subordinate commands: Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces, Allied Naval Forces, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), and the United States Army Forces in the Philippines. The last command had a short life. Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright's United States Army Forces in the Philippines disintegrated over the following three weeks, and disappeared entirely when Wainwright surrendered on Corregidor on 6 May.
MacArthur announced the composition of his staff, known as General Headquarters (GHQ) on 19 April. Major General Richard K. Sutherland became Chief of Staff; Brigadier General Richard J. Marshall, Deputy Chief of Staff; Colonel Charles P. Stivers, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1; Colonel Charles A. Willoughby, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2; Brigadier General Stephen J. Chamberlin, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3; Colonel Lester J. Whitlock, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4; Brigadier General Spencer B. Akin, Signal Officer; Brigadier General Hugh J. Casey, Engineer Officer; Brigadier General William F. Marquat, Antiaircraft Officer; Colonel Burdette M. Fitch, Adjutant General; and Colonel LeGrande A. Diller, Public Relations Officer.
Although Marshall had recommended that MacArthur appoint as many Australian and Dutch officers to senior positions as possible, most of his staff was made up of US Army officers who had served under him in the Philippines. The rest, including Whitlock, Fitch and Chamberlain, had been on the staff of USAFIA. MacArthur reported to Marshall that there were no qualified Dutch officers in Australia, and that the Australian Army had a critical shortage of staff officers, which he did not wish to exacerbate. Nevertheless, several Dutch and Australian army officers, as well as some American naval officers, served in junior positions on the staff.
In July, MacArthur moved his GHQ north, from Melbourne to Brisbane, where it was located in the AMP Building. The original intention had been to move to Townsville, but this was found to be impractical, as Townsville lacked the communications facilities that GHQ required. The Allied Air Forces and Allied Naval Forces headquarters were co-located with GHQ in the AMP building. The Advanced Headquarters of Allied Land Forces opened at St Lucia, about away. The Advanced GHQ subsequently moved to Hollandia in September 1944, Leyte in October 1944, and Manila in May 1945.
There was a major reorganisation in April 1945 for the planned invasion of Japan. All Army forces in the Pacific were placed under MacArthur's command, including those in Nimitz's Pacific Ocean Areas. A new command was formed, Army Forces Pacific (AFPAC), with GHQ operating as the headquarters of both AFPAC and SWPA. Units in POA remained under Nimitz's operational control, and the first major formation, the Tenth United States Army, did not pass to AFPAC control until 31 July 1945. SWPA, together with the Allied Air Forces, Allied Naval Forces and Allied Land Forces, was abolished on 2 September 1945, but GHQ remained as GHQ AFPAC.
Allied Land Forces.
The Australian Army's Commander in Chief, General Sir Thomas Blamey, was appointed Commander, Allied Land Forces, SWPA. His headquarters was the existing General Headquarters (Australia), and became known as LHQ. An Australian commander was chosen as most of the land forces were Australian. In April 1942, there were 38,000 American ground troops in SWPA and 369,000 Australian. LHQ controlled five major commands: Lieutenant General Sir John Lavarack's First Army, based in Queensland; Lieutenant General Sir Iven Mackay's Second Army in Victoria; Lieutenant General Gordon Bennett's III Corps in Western Australia; the Northern Territory Force under Major General Edmund Herring; and New Guinea Force under Major General Basil Morris. Between them they controlled ten Australian and two American divisions. In August 1944, the Australian Army had a strength of 463,000 men and women, and there were 173,000 US Army ground personnel in SWPA. By late 1944, there were eighteen American divisions in SWPA, while the Australian Army had just seven.
When GHQ moved up to Brisbane, LHQ remained behind in Melbourne, but Blamey formed an Advanced LHQ under his Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS), Major General George Alan Vasey, which moved to nearby St Lucia. Major General Frank Berryman replaced Vasey as DCGS in September 1942, and remained in the post until January 1944. He resumed the post in July 1944 and remained until December 1945. When the main body of GHQ moved to Hollandia, Advanced LHQ followed, opening there on 15 December, but when the main GHQ moved to Leyte in February 1945, Advanced LHQ remained behind. A Forward Echelon LHQ was formed under Berryman that remained co-located with the main body of GHQ, while the main body of LHQ remained at Hollandia until it moved to Morotai for the operations in Borneo in April 1945.
In practice, MacArthur controlled land operations through "task forces". These reported directly to GHQ, and their commanders could control all Allied land, air, naval and service forces in their area if a Japanese land attack was imminent. The most important of these was New Guinea Force, which was formed in 1942 and was commanded personally by Blamey in September 1942, and again in September 1943. In February 1943, Lieutenant General Walter Krueger's Sixth Army arrived in SWPA, and its headquarters became that of Alamo Force. Alamo Force reported directly to MacArthur, and as a result Blamey did not command of the majority of American land forces in the theatre after that time, although his post was not abolished.
In March 1944, MacArthur met with Curtin and detailed his plans for the Western New Guinea campaign, explaining that he would assume direct command of land forces when he reached the Philippines, and suggesting that Blamey could either go with him as an army commander, or remain in Australia as Commander in Chief. The new organisation went into effect in September 1944, with Lieutenant General Walter Krueger's Sixth US Army, Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger's Eighth United States Army, Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee's First Australian Army, Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead's I Australian Corps and Major General Oscar Griswold's XIV Corps reporting directly to GHQ. Allied Land Forces remained as an important administrative and logistical command, until it was abolished, along with SWPA, on 2 September 1945.
Allied Air Forces.
The April 1942 reorganisation that created the Allied Land Forces and Allied Naval Forces also created the Allied Air Forces under Brett. Unlike MacArthur, Brett created a completely integrated headquarters, with a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) officer, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock, as his chief of staff. Each United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) staff officer was paired with a RAAF officer, with the senior staff posts divided evenly between them. A majority of command positions were held by Australians. To make up shortages of USAAF aircrew, RAAF aircrew were assigned to USAAF air groups, serving in every role except aircraft commander.
In May 1942, the Australian government appointed Air Vice Marshal George Jones as Chief of the Air Staff. He became responsible for matters other than operations, such as administration and training. It soon became clear that Jones and Bostock could not get along together, but Kenney preferred to have Bostock in operational command, and although he regarded the antipathy between Jones and Bostock as a nuisance, was happy to leave arrangements the way they were.
One of MacArthur's first orders to Brett was for a bombing mission to the Philippines, an order delivered personally by Sutherland. When Brett protested, Sutherland informed him that MacArthur wanted the mission carried out. The mission was flown by Brigadier General Ralph Royce, but MacArthur personally wrote a reprimand to Brett. Henceforth, communications with Sutherland were handled by Bostock. Further disagreements between MacArthur and Brett followed. Meanwhile, in Washington, General George Marshall and the Chief of Army Air Forces, Lieutenant General Henry Arnold, had become alarmed at Brett's integration of the USAAF and RAAF, and disturbed by his inability to work with MacArthur. On 6 July 1942 Marshall radioed MacArthur to offer him Major General George Kenney or Brigadier General Jimmy Doolittle as a replacement for Brett; MacArthur selected Kenney.
Kenney sent home Major General Royce, Brigadier Generals Edwin S. Perrin, Albert Sneed and Martin Scanlon, and about forty colonels. In Australia he found two talented, recently arrived brigadier generals, Ennis Whitehead and Kenneth Walker. Kenney reorganised his command in August, appointing Whitehead as commander of the V Fighter Command and Walker as commander of the V Bomber Command. Allied Air Forces was composed of both USAAF and RAAF personnel, and Kenney moved to separate them. Brigadier General Donald Wilson arrived in September and replaced Air Vice Marshal Bostock as Kenney's chief of staff, while Bostock took over the newly created RAAF Command. Walker was shot down over Rabaul in January 1943. His successor, Brigadier General Howard Ramey, disappeared in March 1943.
Kenney deviated from the normal structure of an air force by creating the Advanced Echelon (ADVON) under Whitehead. The new headquarters had the authority to alter the assignments of aircraft in the forward area, where fast-changing weather and enemy action could invalidate orders drawn up in Australia. He created the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Air Task Forces to control air operations in a forward area for a specific mission, another departure from doctrine. While Kenney was enthusiastic about this innovation, Washington did not like it and, over Kenney's objections, converted the three air task forces into the 308th, 309th and 310th Bombardment Wings. In June 1944, Major General St. Clair Streett's Thirteenth Air Force was added to the Allied Air Forces. Kenney created the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) from his Fifth Air Force headquarters, while ADVON became the Fifth Air Force under Whitehead. The RAAF formed the Australian First Tactical Air Force under Air Commodore Harry Cobby in October 1944, and when MacArthur became commander of all Army forces in the Pacific, the Seventh Air Force was added as well. Major General Paul Wurtsmith replaced Streett in March 1945, and Air Commodore Frederick Scherger replaced Cobby in May. Allied Air Forces was abolished on 2 September 1945.
Allied Naval Forces.
Vice Admiral Leary was appointed Commander, Allied Naval Forces, in April 1942. On 7 February 1942, he had become commander of the Anzac Area to the east of Australia extending to include Fiji with headquarters in Melbourne. That command included a naval element, some air forces but without responsibility for land defense. He was answerable directly to Admiral King. The most important force under his command was Rear Admiral John Gregory Crace's Anzac Squadron. When SWPA and the Allied Naval Forces were formed in April 1942, Leary also became Commander, Southwest Pacific Force (COMSOUWESPAC), while Crace's Anzac Squadron became Task Force 44. In June, Crace was succeeded by another Royal Navy officer, Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley. The former Anzac Area was divided so that the Australian coastal waters were with SWPA and the sea and air lines of communication from Hawaii and North America fell in the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA) with a special provision for the South Pacific Area having a designated sub commander under Admiral Chester Nimitz.
With the agreement of the Australian government, Leary was succeeded as Commander, Southwest Pacific Force, and Commander, Allied Naval Forces, by Vice Admiral Arthur S. Carpender on 11 September 1942. Like his predecessor, he reported to King in the former role, and MacArthur in the latter. Also like Leary, Carpender was not the most senior naval officer in the theatre, as the Royal Australian Navy Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Sir Guy Royle, and the Royal Netherlands Navy′s Vice Admiral Conrad Helfrich were both senior to him. However, Royle agreed to serve under Carpenter as Commander, South West Pacific Sea Frontier, which was formed on 16 March 1943.
The Southwest Pacific Force was renamed the Seventh Fleet on 15 March 1943, and its task forces were renumbered to match, so Task Force 44 became Task Force 74. Another important component was Task Force 76, the Amphibious Force, Southwest Pacific, which had been formed under Rear Admiral Daniel Barbey on 8 January 1943. It became the VII Amphibious Force later in the year. A training centre, was established at Port Stephens, New South Wales, and another at Toorbul Point, Queensland. The VII Amphibious Forces initially consisted of the Australian Landing Ships, Infantry , and and the American attack transport , but gradually grew in size as more landing craft and landing ships arrived.
MacArthur was annoyed at the way that Royle, a Royal Navy officer, communicated directly with the Admiralty; he was also aware that Royle had been critical of SWPA's command arrangements, and of some of his decisions. MacArthur proposed that an Australian officer, Captain John Collins, replace Royle as CNS, an appointment that Carpender also supported. Over the Admiralty's objections, Curtin appointed Collins to replace Crutchley as Commander, Task Force 44, in June 1944, at the rank of commodore, with the intention that Collins would replace Royle when his term expired. This did not occur, because Collins was seriously wounded in Leyte Gulf on 21 October 1944.
MacArthur did not get along with Carpender, and twice asked for him to be replaced, only to be embarrassed in November 1943 when King replaced Carpender with Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid without informing MacArthur or seeking the approval of the Australian government. However, a face-saving formula was agreed upon. For the invasion of Leyte, the Seventh Fleet was massively reinforced by ships from the Pacific Fleet. Cover was provided by Admiral William F. Halsey's Third Fleet, which remained under Nimitz. At the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the divided command brought the Allies to the brink of disaster when misunderstandings arose between Kinkaid and Halsey. Allied Naval Forces was abolished, along with SWPA, on 2 September 1945.
U.S. Army Services of Supply.
Under U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) a series of bases had gradually been built in Australia, initially to support the US forces in the Philippines. Seven base sections were established in Australia to operate under USAFIA: Base Section 1 at Birdum, Northern Territory; Base Section 2 in Townsville; Base Section 3 in Brisbane; Base Section 4 in Melbourne; Base Section 5 in Adelaide; Base Section 6 in Perth; and Base Section 7 in Sydney. On 20 July USAFIA became the United States Army Services of Supply, Southwest Pacific Area (USASOS SWPA), under the command of Brigadier General Richard J. Marshall, and Barnes returned to the United States.
When Lieutenant General Krueger's Sixth United States Army headquarters arrived in Australia in February 1943, the administrative functions were taken from USASOS and given to a new headquarters, United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), under MacArthur's command. This had the same name as MacArthur's old headquarters in the Philippines, but its function was different. This left USASOS with logistical responsibilities only. The new arrangement was awkward, and required considerable adjustment before it functioned properly. In September 1943, Marshall was replaced by Brigadier General James L. Frink.
The New Guinea Advanced Base was formed in Port Moresby in August 1942, and sub bases were created at Milne Bay and Oro Bay. These became Advanced Sub Base A and Advanced Sub Base B respectively in April 1943. Advanced Sub Base C was created on Goodenough Island in April 1943, but was discontinued when the island was handed over to Sixth Army control in July. Meanwhile, Advanced Sub Base D was formed at Port Moresby in May. The sub bases became bases in August 1943. Advanced Base E was formed at Lae and Advanced Base F at Finschhafen in November 1943, followed by Bases G and H at Hollandia and Biak respectively.
With a worldwide shipping crisis and SWPA being at the end of a very long supply line, as well as being a region without well developed transportation nets, regional logistics were almost entirely dependent on water transport. No one fleet composed the assets available to the Commander in Chief, SWPA as the U. S. Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Netherlands East Indies Navy were under his operational command while being maintained under their respective organizations. Those assets were inadequate resulting in the creation of a large Army fleet unique to SWPA, the Permanent Local Fleet, under first USFIA, later USASOS and finally Army Forces, Western Pacific (AFWESPAC), starting with the retention of the , and from the convoy diverted to Brisbane in December 1941.
That core was augmented by vessels fleeing the Japanese advance, particularly twenty-one Dutch vessels later known as the "KPM vessels" after the Dutch shipping line's name, Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij. As of 28 April 1942 the Army fleet had grown to twenty-eight ships and by 24 January 1945 that fleet of large ships exceeded ninety with a peak of ninety-eight by 1 August 1945. That number did not count a much larger fleet of small vessels, ranging from landing craft, barges and other floating equipment to seagoing vessels under 1,000 tons, including the Small Ships Section of requisitioned and locally constructed (2,712 craft) vessels manned largely by Australian civilian employees, 1,719 as of June 1945, of the U.S. Army, and many such vessels and floating equipment delivered from the United States. The permanent fleet of SWPA almost had as many vessels as the Army’s general fleet during some periods, though those vessels were often small, obsolete, in poor condition and under unorthodox management in comparison.
As the Allied forces advanced, new bases were formed, and the old ones in Australia were closed. Base Sections 5 and 6 were closed in January 1943, and Base Section 4 in June 1944. The remaining four became bases, and a Base Section was formed in Brisbane to control them. Bases 1 and 3 were closed in December 1944, leaving only Bases 2 and 7. These were deactivated in June 1945 and their functions absorbed by the Australia Base Section, as the Base Section had been renamed in February 1945. In New Guinea, Base D was closed in July 1945, and Bases A, B and E in September, leaving Bases F, G and H. Meanwhile, a series of bases were opened in the Philippines: Base K on Leyte, Base M on Luzon, Base R at Batangas, Base S on Cebu and base X at Manila. These came under the Luzon Base Section, which was redesignated the Philippine on 1 April 1945. On 7 June 1945, USASOS became AFWESPAC, under the command of Lieutenant General Wilhelm D. Styer, and it absorbed USAFFE.
Intelligence.
In April 1942, Brigadier General Spencer Akin and his Australian counterpart at LHQ, Major General Colin Simpson, agreed to pool their resources and establish a combined intelligence organisation, known as the Central Bureau. The Australian, British, and US Armies, as well as the RAAF and the RAN all supplied personnel for this formation, which worked on codebreaking and decrypting Japanese message traffic. This Magic and Ultra intelligence was vitally important to operations in SWPA.
To handle other forms of intelligence, Blamey and MacArthur created the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB). This included the Services Reconnaissance Department with its Z Special Unit that carried out special operations like Operation Jaywick; Secret Intelligence Australia; the Coastwatchers, who watched for Japanese aircraft and ships from observation posts behind Japanese lines; and the propaganda specialists of the Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO). Two other important combined organisations, not part of AIB, were the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), which translated Japanese documents, and the Allied Geographical Section, which prepared maps and charts, and drafted appreciations of the terrain.
Since quality tended to be more important than quantity in intelligence, this proved to be a fruitful field in which the minor Allies, Australia and the Netherlands, could play a key part. Good intelligence enabled the Allied forces to minimise the risk of failures and maximise the chances of success. Moreover, the organisation built up in Australia proved to be useful after the war as well. David Horner later wrote that "it may prove that present day intelligence cooperation has proved to be the most lasting and important legacy of Australia's experience of coalition warfare in the Second World War."
Legacy.
The Allied command structure in the South West Pacific Area faced the challenges of coalition warfare in several ways, with varying degrees of success. The benefits of the wartime alliances proved to be substantial, but required constant effort to maintain. For Australia and New Zealand, coalition warfare became the norm, and the experience in SWPA proved to be a formative and informative one, with many political and military lessons. Over the following decades, Australian, New Zealand and American forces would fight together again, in the Korean War, Vietnam War and the War on Terror.


Dover Patrol

The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dover and Dunkirk for the duration of the First World War. Its primary task was to prevent enemy German shipping—chiefly submarines—from entering the English Channel "en route" to the Atlantic Ocean, thereby obliging the Imperial German Navy to travel via the much longer route around Scotland which was itself covered by the Northern Patrol.
History.
In late July 1914, with war looming, 12 Tribal-class destroyers arrived at Dover to join the near obsolete destroyers already at anchor in the harbour, most of them built in the late 19th century. These destroyers formed the nucleus of the fledgling Dover Patrol, which, from its early beginnings as a modest and poorly equipped command, became one of the most important Royal Navy commands of the First World War.
The Dover Patrol was first officially established as an independent command on 12 October 1914 in response to the German capture of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, as well as the impending fall of Ostend. German possession of Belgian Channel ports and rising activity of U-Boats led the British Admiralty to consider the Dover Straits vital enough to be distinct from the Admiral of Patrols. The first actions of the Dover Patrol included bombarding German coastal positions during the Battle of the Yser and defeating a German Navy detachment in the Battle off Texel.
The Dover Patrol assembled cruisers, monitors, destroyers, armed trawlers and drifters, paddle minesweepers, armed yachts, Motor Launches and Coastal Motor Boats, submarines, seaplanes, aeroplanes and airships. With these resources it performed several duties simultaneously in the Southern North Sea and the Dover Straits: carrying out anti-submarine patrols; escorting merchantmen, hospital and troop ships; laying sea-mines and even constructing mine barrages; sweeping up German mines; bombarding German military positions on the Belgian coast and sinking U-boats. The Dover patrol was often attacked and took many casualties as in the action of 15 February 1918.
During the war, the Dover Patrol was maintained by the Dover Engineering Works, an Iron Foundry which employed and housed many hundreds of workers in Dover Town and was managed by Vivian Elkington, nephew of Walter Emden. The company still exists today, operating from a reduced premises at Holmestone Road, under the name of Gatic. In March 1919 the Dover Patrol was renamed Dover Patrol Force.
Commemoration.
After the war, a fund was set up to erect a memorial to the Dover Patrol. In July 1921, a memorial at Leathercote Point near St Margaret's Bay was unveiled. Similar memorial obelisks stand at Cap Blanc Nez on the French channel coast, and at John Paul Jones Park near Fort Hamilton, overlooking New York harbour.
Rear-Admiral/Vice-Admiral commanding.
Post holders included:
Board game.
Dover Patrol was the name of a popular board-game, similar to L'Attaque, but based on naval warfare, devised by Harry A. Gibson in 1911.


Moffett Field airship hangars

There are three historic airship hangars at Moffett Field, in Mountain View in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, California. Hangar One (built 1931/2) is based on a structure of steel girders, while Hangars Two and Three (built 1941/2) are of wood. They are among the world's largest freestanding structures.
Hangar One.
Hangar One was originally built in the 1930s to house US Navy rigid airships, the USS Macon (ZRS-5) in particular. It is tall and covers .
Hangars Two and Three.
Moffett Field's Hangars Two and Three were built at the beginning of World War II for a program of coastal defense. They are still among the world's largest freestanding unsupported wood structures.
1940.
In 1940, the US Navy proposed to the US Congress the development of a lighter-than-air station program for anti-submarine patrolling of the coast and harbours. This program proposed the construction of new stations in addition to the expansion at Naval Air Stations (NAS) M and Lakehurst.
The original contract was for steel hangars rather than wooden ones, long, wide and high. Included at each site were helium storage and service, barracks for 228 men, power plant, landing apron, and a mobile mooring mast.
Wooden hangars.
1941.
The Second Deficiency Appropriation Bill for 1941, passed on 3 July 1941, introduced strict control of strategic materials like steel causing a change in construction material to wood. Standardized plans were drawn up by the Navy Department Bureau of Yards and Docks, with Arsham Amirikian acting as principal engineer.
1942.
Hangars Two and Three at Moffett Field are long, wide and high, with an extruded parabolic form that reflected the profile of the airship vessels to be accommodated. A total of 51 Douglas Fir heavy-timber trusses resting on concrete bent frames contain the two-story shop and office areas. Two concrete and wood post and lintel structures support high multi-track rolling doors at either end.
1943.
A total of 17 wooden hangars were commissioned by the Navy Department Bureau of Yards and Docks in 1943, including those at Naval Air Station Lakehurst (2), Naval Air Station Moffett Field (2), Naval Air Station South Weymouth (1), Naval Air Station Weeksville (1), Naval Air Station Glynco (2), Naval Lighter Than Air Station Richmond (3), Naval Air Station Houma (1), Naval Air Station Hitchcock (1), Naval Lighter-Than-Air Station Santa Ana (2) and Naval Air Station Tillamook (2), with each hangar accommodating six airships.
Present day.
Seven of the original seventeen wooden hangars still exist in the U.S.: Moffett Field (2), Tustin, California (2), Tillamook, Oregon (1), and Lakehurst, New Jersey(2).
These hangars have a monumental presence, and the Moffett Field pair, set within a paved expanse of the airfield, are a familiar landmark in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Popular culture.
An episode of the Discovery Channel TV show "MythBusters" used one these hangars to disprove the myth that it is not possible to fold a sheet of paper in half more than seven times. The sheet of paper covered nearly the full width of the airship hangar. Other episodes of "Mythbusters" have utilized the hangar to test myths such as "Inflating a football with helium allows longer kick distances" and "Airworthy aircraft can be constructed of concrete."


Operation Wunderland

Operation Wunderland () comprised a large-scale operation undertaken in summer 1942 by the German "Kriegsmarine" in the waters of the Northern Sea Route close to the Arctic Ocean. The Germans knew that many ships of the Soviet Navy had sought refuge in the Kara Sea because of the protection that its ice pack provided during 10 months of the year.
History.
On 16 August 1942, —under Kommodore Wilhelm Meendsen-Bohlken—left Narvik and entered the Barents Sea. Along with it went U-boats , commanded by Captain Grau, and , commanded by Lieutenant Captain Timm, as well as destroyers , and .
Kara Sea.
By 19 August, the German fleet rounded Cape Zhelaniya and entered the Kara Sea which was fairly free from ice during the short summer. The next day, the Arado Ar 196 seaplane on board "Admiral Scheer" flew to Kravkova Island in the Mona Islands and spotted three groups of Soviet ships, including icebreakers and . Fog and ice floes prevented the German warships from approaching. When they arrived at the Mona Islands, the Russian ships were gone. "Admiral Scheer" then turned northeast and sped towards the Nordenskiöld Archipelago.
On 24 August, "U-601" sank the Soviet steamer "Kuybyshev" (2,332 BRT). On 25 August, "Admiral Scheer" fell upon the Russian icebreaker (under the command of Captain Anatoli Kacharava) right off the northwest coast of Russky Island at the northern end of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago. After putting up resistance, "Sibiryakov" was sunk in an unequal battle.
"Admiral Scheer" headed back to the Mona Islands, but not finding any ships, sailed again to the Nordenskiöld Archipelago, trying to straddle the two convoy routes from the Vilkitsky Strait. Since it was unable to find any Soviet ships, "Admiral Scheer" headed southeast towards Dikson Island in order to attack its military installations. Its powerful guns caused random destruction ashore at Dikson and badly damaged the ships and "Revolutsioner" anchored in the harbour. On 30 August, "Admiral Scheer" returned to Narvik.
On 8 September, "U-251" surfaced close to Uyedineniya Island and destroyed a Soviet weather station with gunfire.
Barents Sea.
During the operation, (Lt. Captain Brodda) sank, on 17 August, a transport convoy of the Soviet Secret Service (NKVD) composed of cargo ships "Nord" and "Komsomolets" and light vessels "Sh-III" and "P-IV" west of the Yugorsky Strait. Apparently there were 328 political prisoners on board, of which 305 men were killed through artillery fire or drowning. Meanwhile, on 20 August, (Lt. Captain Max-Martin Teichert) tried to sink the Soviet icebreaker off Belushya Guba with torpedoes but was unsuccessful. and "U-209" emerged and bombarded Soviet targets in Cape Zhelaniya and Khodovarikha on 25 and 28 August respectively.
Conclusion.
Operation Wunderland was only moderately successful. Owing to adverse weather conditions and the abundance of ice floes, the vessels taking part in Operation Wunderland did not venture beyond the Vilkitsky Strait. Therefore, the "Kriegsmarine" campaign only affected the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. By mid-September it had to be stopped because of the freezing of the sea surface with thick pack-ice, especially in the Kara Sea, which not being affected by the warmer Atlantic currents freezes much earlier.


Floydforce

Floydforce was the name given to the British Army intervention unit in Yugoslavia in October 1944, during the Second World War. Its main objective was to aid Yugoslav Partisans, lead by Marshall Tito, in preventing German withdrawal from Greece and Albania via Montenegro, and "to give the greatest possible artillery support to the Yugoslav National Army of Liberation". It was a continuation of the British Government policy of support and supply that started with the Maclean Mission and culminated in Tito's meeting with Winston Churchill in Naples in August 1943.
Background.
As Allied troops from the East and West were moving towards Berlin, they realised that large German military formations such as Army Group E will eventually abandon Greece, Albania and Yugoslavia and withdraw to defence lines further north. This would reinvigorate and resupply their troops in the region and likely extend the war.
In September 1944, Operation Ratweek was launched, aiming to frustrate German movements through Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Now, the movement via the secondary route in Montenegro had to be disrupted as well. Very mountainous terrain did not land itself well to aerial bombardment so heavy artillery and land troops had to be deployed. The Partisans, used to hand-to-hand, small-arms warfare had neither the long-range guns nor the experience.
Arrival.
The force consisted of batteries from the 111 Field Regiment, No. 43 Commando Unit and a field unit of Royal Engineers. Commanded by Brigadier J P O'Brien-Twohig, it sailed in four Tank Landing Craft (LCT) and three Infantry Landing Craft (LCI) from Bari to Dubrovnik on 27 October 1944 and arrived the following day.
Their first target was to block the German breakout at Risan, along the coastal route of the Bay of Kotor. Dedicated group, named Finney Force was assembled for the task. It consisted of 211 Field Battery with eight field-guns and 'C' Troop of the No. 43 Commando. The Battery Commander Major Pat Turner was in overall command, while the 'C' Troop was led by Captain Robert Loundoun. The two commanders travelled via Trebinje, Bileća i Vilusi, to reach Podhan - a strategic location from which they could see and shell the German troops in the town of Risan, Ledenice barracks and in five old Imperial Austrian forts nearby. They arrived on 29 October, preparing for the first battle the following morning.
Risan Operation.
The advanced guard of the German Army Group E, found from the XXI Mountain Corps, had already entered Montenegro and used a narrow, meandering road that follows the Bay of Kotor fjord eventually reaching Risan. Both the Partisans and the British gunners on the high rock shelf, 1,600 feet above the Bay, could see German movements and once the weather had cleared, heavy bombardment started. After seeing the volume and accuracy of the shelling the Germans realised that they were not dealing with the traditional Partisan fighters, but much better trained and equipped army units. Some tried to surrender to the British troops, hoping for a better treatment, but it was already agreed that all POWs were to be handed over to the Partisans.
By 4 November, the bombardment had been so heavy that an attempt was made to ask Germans to surrender. They were barricaded in a local sawmill and hospital. The negotiations failed, and the hostilities continued. On 7 November, the first German fort was breached, and two days later the second. Germans were trying to send reinforcements from Kotor to Risan via the narrow and winding road. They also assembled a force at Mostar, 75 miles north-west, in order to free them up, but these were successfully contained by the local Partisans.
By this time the decision has been made to blow up the road and at least damage it enough to prevent heavy vehicles crossing. Capt Loundoun led the expedition which laid the explosive in a culvert about two miles from Risan. The operation was successful.
By 17 November, the last three forts fell and Ledenice barracks surrendered with 43 dead, over 70 wounded and 197 unhurt German soldiers. Shortly after, the Germans withdrew from Risan as well, and the town was taken over by the Partisans. One of the three routes, the southernmost one, was now closed off and the Finney Force achieved its objective and withdrew to Bileća to wait further instructions.
Podgorica Operation and the withdrawal.
The second, central, route for withdrawal was via Danilovgrad and Nikšić. British contingent consisting of Raiding Support Regiment, a troop of 43 Commando and No. 579 Field Company of the Royal Engineers gathered the troops and heavy artillery at Nikšić and prepared to demolish the 150 yards-long stone bridge nearby, should a need arise. However, the Partisans were able to enter Danilovgrad, thus making this route impassable for the German troops, leaving them with only one, most difficult, northernmost route via Kolašin.
The bulk of German troops was already on Montenegrin territory, in the town of Podgorica, desperate for a passage north. On 5 December, Major W.H. Cheesman took a convoy of troops, heavy guns and a detachment of sappers with a flat-packed Bailey bridge to Risan. They knew the terrain well, as they had been monitoring and shelling it for weeks already. Once in Risan, they followed the road onto Kotor installing and crossing the Bailey bridge on the way. After a couple of days on the coast, the mission reached Cetinje on 9 December. Just as they were preparing to continue onto Podgorica, an order was received to return all the way back to Vilusi, where their journey had started. They duly withdrew, taking back the Bailey bridge as ordered.
Meanwhile, the troops remaining in Nikšić prepared to move onto Danilovgrad, via a heavily damaged road. They passed the town on 13 December and started amassing the firepower towards Podgorica and the road to Bioče, German's last remaining route. Heavy shelling had started and lasted until 19 December together with the aerial bombardment by the Balkan Air Force. Podgorica was freed, and the chase of the Germans onto Bioče and Kolašin continued. By 22 December, there was a diminishing number of targets that could be visually identified, and the risk of shooting at Partisans in error increased. This was the last day of British active intervention and the troops and the equipment were brought back to Italy to assist in the campaign the following month.
Controversies.
Floydforce was an unusual and somewhat strained operation. It spanned significant ideological, geopolitical and military contradictions.
At the same time, the Partisans feared a bigger British landing and intervention. British Government still hosted and supported the Royal Yugoslav Government-in-Exile as well as King Peter II of Yugoslavia. Finally, the future of Istria, Rijeka and Trieste was yet to be decided. Winston Churchill thought of this as the key stumbling block and wrote to Tito on 3 December:
Tito was visiting Stalin in Moscow, when the news of British units arrival broke out. Tito reassured Stalin that it must have been just a few batteries of artillery that he had asked for. Stalin then questioned what would he do if the British really tried to land against his will in Yugoslavia. "We should offer determined resistance." - came Tito's reply.


List of United States Army campaigns during World War II

The United States Army conducted many campaigns during World War II. These are the campaigns that were officially designated by the Army. It is the basis of campaign honors and awards for U.S. Army units and servicemen, but is not a comprehensive list of all the campaigns of the war, as it omits campaigns in which U.S. Army participation was minimal.
In all, 44 World War II campaigns were designated by the U.S. Army: 24 for the Asiatic–Pacific Theater, 19 in the European–African–Middle Eastern Theater, and one in the American Theater. In addition, there were three main blanket campaigns: antisubmarine warfare, ground combat and air combat. These were designated for each theater, except the American Theater, which only had the one blanket campaign awarded – anti-submarine warfare. These three theaters each had its own campaign ribbon. The list of campaigns includes those undertaken by U.S. Army units participating in ground combat as well as those undertaken by United States Army Air Forces participating in air combat.
Overview.
The war started for America on 7 December 1941 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the invasion of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. Hard-fought campaigns in Papua and Guadalcanal followed in 1942. In 1943, the Japanese were driven from the Aleutian Islands, and U.S. forces landed in the northern Solomon Islands, the Gilbert Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago. This was followed in 1944 by the invasion of the Marshall Islands, a series of landings in western New Guinea, the capture of the Mariana Islands and Battle of Palau. The U.S. Army returned to the Philippines in October 1944, waging major campaigns on Luzon and the southern Philippines through 1945. U.S. forces landed on Okinawa and in April 1945. Atomic bombs developed under the direction of the U.S. Army were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, which caused the Japanese to unconditionally surrender on 2 September 1945, aboard the USS "Missouri".
While U.S. support for China was a reason for the war, the U.S. Army did not deploy major ground forces there, although U.S. air and service units played a vital role. After being driven out of Burma in 1942, a provisional regiment of the U.S. Army (Merrill's Marauders) participated in the reconquest of Northern Burma in 1944, and two regiments took part in the Central Burma Campaign the following year before moving on into China. In response to U.S. Army Air Forces operations from China, the Japanese drove the Americans and Chinese from eastern China. Only in the last weeks of the war did the tide turn in favor of the Allies in China.
Although many campaigns were fought in Asia and the Pacific, the major focus of the U.S. Army was always on the European Theater, where most its strength was ultimately deployed. U.S. forces saw action in the invasion of North Africa in November 1942, and the subsequent Tunisia Campaign in 1943. The U.S. Army participated in the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and then the Allied invasion of Italy in September. Hopes for a quick capture of Rome were frustrated by the Germans, who conducted a fighting withdrawal to the Gustav Line, which the landing at Anzio and the fighting at Monte Cassino in January 1944 failed to break. The Gustav Line was finally broken in May 1944, while Rome was captured on 4 June, and the Germans retreated to the Gothic Line in Northern Italy, where the Allies were held until they broke into the Po Valley in a successful offensive in April 1945.
In June 1944, the U.S. Army participated in Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. After heavy fighting, the Allies broke out of Normandy in July 1944. Efforts to capture the ports in Brittany proved difficult, but Allied forces quickly liberated Belgium and much of France. U.S. forces participated in the invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon) in August 1944, and the airborne assault on the Netherlands (Operation Market Garden) in September, but logistical difficulties and German resistance slowed U.S. assaults on the Siegfried Line and in Lorraine in late 1944. In December 1944, the U.S. Army was surprised by the German Ardennes offensive (the Battle of the Bulge), which was defeated only after costly fighting that strained the U.S. Army's manpower to its limits. In February 1945, operations began that drove the Germans from the Rhineland, and the Rhine was crossed in March 1945. In April 1945, U.S. Army forces entered the heartland of Germany. Operations continued until the war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945 with the signing of unconditional surrender the previous day.