An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Menu

The Bougainville campaign

The Bougainville campaign was a prolonged action against Japanese forces entrenched in the island of Bougainville off Papua New Guinea. It took place during WWII and was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied’s grand strategy in the South Pacific. The Bougainville campaign was one of the best examples of coordination between the Navy and Marine Corps and remains one of the most resounding successes of the war in the Pacific.

The campaign took place in the Northern Solomon’s in two phases. In the first phase, American troops landed and held the perimeter around the beachhead at Toro kina, this lasted from November 1943 through November 1944. In the second phase, American troops were relieved by Australian troops who went on the offensive, mopping up pockets of starving, isolated but still-determined Japanese. This lasted from November 1944 until August 1945, when the last Japanese soldiers on the island  surrendered.

Did you know?

The original USS Bougainville (CVE 100) was an escort carrier that was commissioned in Astoria, OR on June 18, 1944. Unlike most of her sister ships, she did not operate in a direct combat role supporting amphibious assaults or conducting antisubmarine warfare, but rather, she performed logistical missions for both land bases and the fleet carriers. She earned two Battle stars for her efforts during WWII.

 
Navy.mil  |  Navy.com  |  Navy FOIA  |  DoD Accessibility/Section 508  |  No Fear Act   |  Open Government  |  Plain Writing Act  USA.gov  |  Veterans Crisis Line  |  VA Vet Center  |  FVAP  |  DoD Safe Helpline  |  Navy SAPR  |  NCIS Tips  |  Privacy Policy  |  Site Map  |  Contact Us   |  988 Helpline
 
Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic  |  1751 Morris Street  |  Norfolk, Virginia 23511-2808
Official U.S. Navy Website
Veteran's Crisis Line