“I don’t think I have ever given any troops a tougher job than this.” –Commander of Guinea Force, Lieutenant General Sydney F. Rowell about the upcoming battle for Milne Bay.
Although the Japanese called off their invasion of Port Moresby following the battle of Coral Sea in May 1942, the high command of the Imperial Japanese Navy still wanted to continue with operations to gain control of all of eastern New Guinea. To that effect the Japanese navy, without any approval or support from their counterparts in the Imperial Army, decided to conduct Operation RE to take control of Milne Bay at the eastern end of New Guinea. The Japanese believed the area to be only weakly held by militia and a token force of Australian reservists. However, thanks to the US code breaking activities, the Australians were alerted to the new Japanese threat at Milne Bay and had rushed two brigades of the Australian 7th Infantry Division, veterans of the battles in North Africa, and part of a third to the region. What ensued was a battle that resulted in the first Allied victory over Japanese land forces in the war.
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