z-day the battle for biak

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Z-Day The Battle For Biak

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1. May 28th, 2010 01:39 PM #1

Biak

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Z-Day The Battle For Biak

Just a short explanation of where I came up with my "name".

The battle for Biak Island began on May 27, 1944. The following was taken from :

HyperWar: US Army in WWII: The Approach to the Philippines
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Code named HURRICANE Task Force:

The principal combat component was the 41st Infantry Division, less the 163dRegimental Combat Team. Both the task force and the division were commanded by Maj.

Gen. Horace H. Fuller, who had commanded a similar organization at Humboldt Bay. For

Biak, the 41st Division was reinforced by two field and two antiaircraft artillerybattalions, a 4.2-inch mortar company, a medium tank company (less one platoon), an

engineer boat and shore regiment (less one boat company), and a number of antiaircraft

batteries. Service troops assigned to the HURRICANE Task Force, in addition to thoseorganic to the 41st Division, were three engineer aviation battalions (for airfield

construction work), other miscellaneous engineer units, and many medical,

quartermaster, and signal corps organizations.2

Control of the amphibious phases of the operation was vested in Rear Adm. William M.Fechteler (USN) as the Commander, Attack Force. Admiral Fechteler divided his combat

vessels into four support groups, which totaled 2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, and 21

destroyers. Assault shipping, comprising 5 APD's, 8 LST's, 8 LCT's, and 15 LCI's, was

placed in a separate unit which Admiral Fechteler designated the Main Body. Smallercraft, such as LVT's, LVT(A)'s, DUKW's, and LCVP's were to be carried to Biak aboard

LST's and APD's. A Special Service Unit of the Main Body contained 4 SC's, 3 rocket-equipped LCI's, 1 LCI carrying underwater demolition teams and their equipment, and 1

seagoing tug (ATF). The Special Service Unit, among other duties, was to provide close

support and control for landing waves. A naval beach party, which was to control the

landing of troops and supplies once the first waves were ashore, was also part of theAttack Force.

The First Reinforcement Group, consisting of 3 LST's and 8 LCI's, protected by 3

destroyers and 2 destroyer escorts, was to arrive at Biak on 28 May, Z plus 1. On the nextday the Second Reinforcement Group, made up of 7 LST's, 3 destroyers, and 2 frigates

(PF's), was to reach Biak. Aboard the cargo vessels of these two convoys were to be

artillery units, service troops, and supplies of all kinds.3Close air support for the invasion of Biak was primarily the responsibility of the

Advanced Echelon, Fifth Air Force, which was to operate from bases at Hollandia and

Wakde Island. The Fifth Air Force, the Thirteenth Air Force, and Australian and Dutchaircraft were assigned long-range and strategical support missions similar to those they

had undertaken prior to the landings at Wakde-Sarmi.4

ALAMO Force Reserve for Biak consisted of the 128th and 158th Regimental Combat

Teams, which had also been in reserve for the Wakde-Sarmi operation. HURRICANETask Force Reserve consisted of two units. The first of these was a battalion (less one

rifle company and the heavy weapons company) of the 186th Infantry, and the other was

the 41st Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop.5

Those elements of the HURRICANE Task Force scheduled to land on Biak on 27 and 28

May were to carry with them to the objective ten days supply of rations, clothing,equipment (but only organizational sets of spare parts), fuels, and lubricants. Sufficient

engineer construction equipment was to be landed on Biak during the first two days of

the operation to assure a rapid start on airfield rehabilitation, road construction, and

clearance of dispersal areas. All weapons except 4.2-inch mortars arriving at Biak


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through Z plus 1 were to be supplied with two units of fire, while the mortars were to be

supplied with six units of fire. Organizations arriving at Biak after 28 May were to bring

with them thirty days' supply of rations, clothing and equipment, fuels and lubricants,medical, engineer, and motor maintenance supplies, and three units of fire for all

weapons. Initial responsibility for the transportation of troops and supplies to Biak rested

with the Allied Naval Forces. It was planned that the Services of Supply would relievethe Navy of this duty late in June.6

For the complete report click on the link above.

Our duty as civilians, is to never forget the sacrifices of those who Served.

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syscom3 (May 29th, 2010)

3. May 29th, 2010 01:48 AM #2

syscom3

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Re: Z-Day The Battle For Biak

Save up some money and go on a tour to Biak. Its cheaper than what you might

imagine.
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4/20

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5. May 29th, 2010 09:29 PM #3

BobUlagsen

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My Uncle was a Sgt. in the 41st Division in New Guinea. Here's a link to a site.

The 41st Infantry Division

Check out this guy's memories:

The 41st Infantry Division

Home of the Jungleers

Kenny Rogers, E Co., 163rd Infantry, Heavy Weapons Platoon

"My training at Camp Roberts in California before going overseas included alesson I never forgot. I was an eager young recruit (a little too young as I had lied

about my age.) I was enthusiastically engaged in bayonet training, learning all the

right moves. Then an old grizzled veteran called to me 'Tennessee, come overhere. I see you're taking all this bayonet training very seriously.' 'Yes, sir,' I

replied. 'Well, I want to tell you how to take care of the best bayonetter the

Germans have and the finest swordsmen in the Japanese army.' 'How's that sir?'was my reply. 'Never run our of ammunition,' was his advice. I never forgot it.

Never used my bayonet much either, except for opening K rations.
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I never remember going hungry in the army. We were occassionally short ofammunition (in spite of the best advice), and often short of cigarettes, but seldom

short of food. We were good at improvising. If you didn't have the right

ingredients you could generally swap with somebody for something. Ted Funkwas our mess sargeant and really knew his way around. One time he had 3 or 4

cases of canned peaches he didn't know what to do with so he threw them in the

back of the truck, dropped by a few other places, and asked 'Whatcha got toswap?'. He was always so calm about it. And he would always come back with

something you could use. Some people were cooks, and some were butchers. But

Funk was good. Even the officers from other units came over to eat his fixins.

One time we ended up with 56 lbs of bacon in tins. Since I had 'liberated' a large

frying pan and had several cans of sterno, I took some of the bacon and rendered

it. Then took my 22 and shot one of the local chickens. Hailing from Tennessee,fried chicken was my speciality. Pretty soon, stray chickens were showing up in

the hands of other GIs who stood in line waiting their turn at the fry pan.On Jolo Island, near Sanga Sanga, I was assigned to be a driver for the general.

We were returning from a long drive, when the general mentioned that 'he had a

hankering for a fish dinner'. So, I recruited the usual bunch of natives, and we

went fishing along the Sulu Archipelago. We loaded the little boats with a fewgrenades and cannisters of explosives. One of the natives swam like a serpent; he

would weave around under the water to spot the fish, and then slink onto the boat

with such grace it looked he never moved. Once a school of fish were located, itwas time for the depth charges. Boom! We had enough fish to feed 200 men.

Took them ashore, and I filleted them and gave the natives the heads. They had

fish-head and rice as a delicacy.When you went in for a landing, the army had given each of us nine K rations;

that was for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days, plus three cigarettes, a

book of matches and toilet paper. If you lost your can opener you were in trouble.If they hadn't resupplied us by the fourth day, we went to emergency rations. That

was mostly chocolate bars, which doesn't sound too bad until you realize that this

stuff was white on the outside, and hard as a rock. You could use it for hand-to-

hand combat to hit Japs with. The only way we could get it to melt was to shaveit. With enough work, it became a cup of 'Choke-O'.

In the Philippines, we bought a young water bufalo from one of the local farmers.

Included with the price was the slaughter. After it's throat was cut, it was laid on

it's back spread eagle. A slit was made up the belly, and next the hide wascarefully stripped back which made a clean table upon which to dismember the

animal. We had to work fast, because the green flies would overtake you if you

didn't. The same haste was used in burial of our dead.


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One person I remember from the Sulu Archipelago area was 'Two-Gun' Parks. He

was a pilot with the 146th Field Artillery. He was assigned to be a spotter, but hecouldn't resist striking at anything he spotted. He'd carry a case of grenades in the

cockpit. He'd fly with one hand and pitch with the other. 'Two-Gun' finally made

first lieutenant. He had carried on a one-man war for quite a while in thePhilippines. If he saw even one Jap, he'd lob a grenade or something at him.

I'm originally from Southeast Chatanooga. I was in California two months when

inducted. Was in Camp Roberts on Angel Island. Got into a fight with MarinesAir Force. At Oakland got on board ship 'Mormack Sea.' Never saw nothing while

at sea; not even a dove with an olive branch. From California it took 27 days to

get to Brisbane by freighter.

In Australia, we spent July and August at the Ascot Racetrack living in tents. It

was freezing and they needed an overcoat and woolens. The plumbing was very

primitive. But the beer was good. We were a pretty salty outfit. Saturday nooneverything stopped and we turned on the beer keg; and it never stopped. We got

two 22 gallon kegs, from the Fitzroy Brewery; it was called 'green death.' Wemade beer mugs by taking string and tying it around a bottle, grind off the edge

with sandpaper. Just pour it down! The Aussies took to feeding us. 3 inches of

mutton tallow on top of vegetables. Meat still had fur. But they were doing the

best they could without refrigeration. It was a poor country in the 40s. Fish andchips were the best option. There was no milk until I got back to the States; that

was the food I missed the most. Outside Rockhampton a few enterprising GIs set

up a hamburger joint. They had the bakery make special buns. Also had apple pie.But it was a long hike. It took two copper pennies to get a ride to town in

Rockhampton. But why go? There were 25 guys to every gal. And NO BEER. All

the gals had teeth problems. The only good set of teeth were false. Mossies werebad in Rockhampton. B Co. of the 163rd was all Indian. One night they got

tanked up on beer and went running naked through the woods with axes. Didn't

kill anybody, but after that they broke up the company and put 6 to 8 Indians ineach.

Toem: Tom Parker and I spotted a Jap cemetery near dark. Knew it would rain asit did everyday. Grave had a shelter, so we put ponchos in there. In the middle of

the night Parker says 'stop pushing.' It turned out to be a Jap general who came up

out of the grave as the water table rose. He was really bloated and we had a devilof a time pushing him back down. Felt sorry for the New Guineans; pigs lived

better.

Ambush on Biak: Soggy, wet and black soil had a track through it from foot

traffic. Set up alongside the track. Tom Parker was in a hole with me. Pavonca set

up his gen 38 on the other side. Prior to this, they had decided to take air-cooled


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30's away from us and came out with a new gun ; had bipod on it with stock that

rested on shoulder. Once fired you didn't know which way it fired. Haven't seen a

Jap in three days. Cut fence.

We were in a bamboo thicket so thick it was dark at noon; 40-60 clumps. TomParker was the trigger man (he was from Watsonville, Ca.). Parker and me cut

some smaller bamboo and made a little fence in front of our position. That stuff

rattled like crazy. Also put trip wire over trail and hung cans with a couple ofcartridges inside as an early warning system. I sure remember the ones not killed

running through the bamboo and you could follow the sounds of their retreat.

Seven or eight were killed, there was no way of knowing the number wounded or

how many tempted fate by screwing with E Company.

Japs hit it just before daylight. Someone gave out a Rebel yell. Dozing with my

back up against the bamboo, I heard the noise and let off eight shots. Pavonka cutloose, and they ran off the trail into the dark like inside of a black cat. Souvenirs

the next morning were great.

I've grown up with guns. Carried several, including a 22 into battle. If I got hit, I'd

still be in orbit. The big problem with infantry co was men who didn't seeanything to shoot. Powers was so small he looked like a turtle in a helmet as it

came down on his shoulders.

Back to Biak. There were 7 or 9 bodies stacked up in front of us. The first one fell

on gun; Parker shot him over the top of eyes, tore his head off because he wasfiring straight up. Japs were trying to get to the coast. The bamboo was so thick,

you couldn't see the sun go up or down.

Tom Parker and I picked up C ration cans (see letter). Lieutenant comes up to me

in New Guinea and says if something hits it don't fire. Uh huh.

Killed a couple of dogs that tripped the alarm. Dead meat no matter what it was.Twenty feet either way, you didn't know what was going on.

Korim Bay they set up a command post. Sorties out and back. Built a prison of

barbed wire and coconut logs and kept prisoners. Ran into cannibalism among theJaps who were trapped there. We swam out to the Aussie boats one day; had 'tea'

and swam back. The stockade had 10-12 prisoners when the boats came and it

was time for us to move out. Shoot the bastards. Drew straws in weapons; it fell toone Harvey Licht from Seattle.

We cut a wide swath in Japanese items in the gray market; was in no hurry to get


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home. Made the most money in the soap business.

I'm known for setting fire to things. There were 50-100 drums of gas. An Indian

from Montana said to burn it, so I put a grenade on top and shot holes in it. Sentup a huge plume of smoke.

On Itape, Tom Parker fell into a Jap outhouse. Slot up perimeter right on train

tracks. Shorty Scales was on the gun. A horse came down the road, and Shorty

missed the horse. Parker was in a jungle hammock, tried to hit the deck and fellinto the burned shitpit up to his waist. Somebody else woke up and shot; hit a

bone in the leg of one of our guys who then got his ticket home. Just up the road

was where I killed my first Jap. I put his gold teeth in the wooden part of my gun.

Tried to mail it home to my Dad, but some Air Force guys bought it from me for a45 pistol.

Dysentery Ridge. The ledge was _______________, Japs had 75mm cannon toright of us. Orr and Newman would try to draw fire. Crazy bastard. Several

people killed up there. Started at Jetty at sea level, several hundred yards up wentup to second level; we were bivouacked up there. The gun was like shooting fish

in a barrel. There were no people in the town area when I was there. The first tank

battle in the South Pacific was on Biak. Jap tanks were tinkertoys. Had 'canisters'

wicked piece of equipment, like a shotgun, point it in any direction and shoot.Had bazookas which took two men to run it; had to tie wires into battery post.

Standing behind was more dangerous than in front. 2.5. Had to keep spring fired

around as rocket wouldn't go. Bolt action. Had 03's till end of war; star gauged,brand new. Nobody ever got long distance shot, but it was a beautiful gun.

Tex Holleen was deadly. He could smell 'em. Never got all our table of equipment

because Europe was more important. Understrength. 163rd Infantry was

'Musket.'; Musket 'Red' was the 1st Battalion; 'White' the 2nd battalion, and 'Blue'the 3rd battalion. 2BNHQ4 Jeep. Triangle was 163rd Infantry. LCM was my

favorite with a big ramp in the front. Higgens was original; had to face rear and

swing yourself over while facing enemy.

Caves at Biak. We rolled barrels of gas down there and then shot them; smoke

came out everywhere. It was a honeycomb. One thing that I remember is thestink. Wet, hot of New Guinea and Biak; the smell of jungle rot. Got itchy stuff

between everything. Salicylic acid would burn your hoohoos, but killed

everything.Near the airfield on Biak I was running back and forth up the hill. Ran over a

booby trap six times, and it never went off. When Scotty Kullen got killed on

Biak, Sgt. Owens from Texas went bananas crying after a few beers. I never got

that close. Down on the Bosnik jetty, 40-50 corpses were being barged out.


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I got yellow jaundice on Biak caused by flies. As for water on Biak there weresome streams, but they were more like buffalo wallows. We had portable pumps

with rubber bags of chemicals. Tanks had gas in one and water in the other. Drank

coconut milk and Sago palm milk which tasted like buttermilk. There were bugson everything. Japs got so sick on Biak because they stayed too long. I also had

malaria. If your arm got next to the mosquito net at night, it would be swollen up

the nest day. The pills were galling. Some Nordics turned yellow from them. I lostmy appetite and my urine looked like GI coffee. Shipped off.

The worst fighting was the mortar shower at Zamboanga; some soldiers wentbonkers after that. But Biak was the low point. Things looked bleak, our future

was none to hot. We had been there a long time and got through OK. The ground

itself was very inhospitable. It was hit and humid. Women were disease-ridden

jungle bunnies. The Japs were gonna get you. Supposedly the whole Navy was onit's way with a million replacements. I lost some friends there. The Philippines

was easier; people were English speaking and there were ties with the US.

22 April 1944 was the first of three landings in two days in the Philippines - never

a shot fired. E Company was on 'Ward' which sunk subs at Pearl Harbor; theymade a troop carrier out of it. The 3rd platoon of E Co. was on Zamboanga. Very

shot up. Mountain blew up. S-2 had an intelligence mission. I volunteered to

follow the river, but that was cancelled. There was Jap landing craft on the river;first one I ever saw, and I wanted them to check out the area.

Jolo City in the Philippines: The motor pool, over the edge down 50 feet was a

native cemetery. Bringing light food and drink to the dead. Mack N. Smith

_______ country on Holo. Had a jungle piano; a hollowed out log with hardwoodslats like a xylophone. Saw my first execution there. Knife fighters hated Japs;

took opportunity to get even. Cut him across body and beheaded him. The Jap

Rifle '25' were longer than the Japs.

At a reunion with two buddies from San Pedro, one named Phelps said to me 'you

saved my live over there.' I admitted I had no recollection. 'You came along andgave me a ride in a jeep; then let me drive it. It was then and there that I knew

what I was fightin' for - to come back here and drive a car! That attitude saved my

life.'Tex Holleen gave me the best advice. 'Don't run out of ammo.' Still haven't. Tex

was a good ole country boy and an expert marksman. He carried a Browning

automatic. Walking down a trail, he suddenly stops, pulls his Browning and killed

10-12 Japs; he had a sense for them. I would strip them for souvenirs.


10/20

Newman was a California boy and a pretty good soldier. Up on the ridge from thetrail on Biak, he would stand up and draw fire. There were 50 Japs. They felt

secure, making plenty of noise. On alert, Parker was asleep behind the gun. If they

hadn't changed our guns (the old style had a tripod hard...) we'd have been introuble. Never could for the life of me figure out what good a machine gun was

because you had to lay down. That worked in Europe, but not here. Same with 50

cal gun and M1 carbine. A 30 cal you can carry and therefore do a lot moredamage per pound. The M1 was gas operated and weighed 8.69 lbs.; after you

carried it for 30 miles, the decimal point dropped out (9 lbs.). Once you got it

loaded it was foolproof. 8th shot, then cow bell rang, threw up catch, out of

ammo. Saved a guy's life at Camp Roberts (Cal.) I was on guard duty. You pumpthree times and fire, 7 rounds in a clip, closed bolt on empty slot. I hadn't been to

the rifle range yet. It was 2 or 3am. There were thousands of troops. On one side

is the barracks, the other side is the parade ground, a mile across. A figure comes

off the parade ground. I yell 'halt.' It didn't halt, and took off running. I chasedhim. He was going great guns till he hit the clothes line. I drew down on him, but

he ran into the barracks. I went in, pinned him to the wall with my bayonet. Hewas a member of the band. Guards said to let him lose. He would have been dead

if I had done the gun training.

Most of the people I fought with were with me all the way. Few replacements.

Our war was different. Ten guys here, 5 guys there, none of this 'over the top and

get 'em all' Nothing like heavy artillery in Europe; more like the Revolutionarywar days - tree to tree, hut to hut. We felt we were getting the raw end because we

were in combat for 2-3 months straight; island to island.

Stories of Japs still on these islands 50 years later; could see it happening where

they were. Kick butt and leave. Probably many times Japs cohabited and hung on.Regarding fighting Japs, if you killed off the sergeants or officers, the others

wouldn't fight - no initiative. If the head gone, body was useless.

Landed on Biak. Cooper (later made Lt. Col.) went charging into a longhouse;

yelled like a wounded panther, kicked down the door and fired. Killed 5-6 people

before he could be halted. They were Korean.

In Australia near Rockhampton, the Aboriginal's roamed everywhere; stark naked,carrying everything they owned. Two or three guys in E. Co married Australians

and decided to live there. Two or three enterprising individuals started a

hamburger stand - for 25cents a throw. Soda pop people would bottle sarsaparilla

and cream soda in whatever bottles they could find. Aussies were an un-uniform


11/20

nation; they would use anything for anything. For 'Two and six' you could go to a

milk bar and get papaya with pineapple covered with ice cream. We were at Ascot

Racetrack outside Brisbane. Pubs had window to segregate families from GI's.Early morning beer call for real drunks, then 2 o'clock for 2-3 hours, then

evenings. Put Green Death into copper pitchers for 6 pence a glass. Ran out for

fish and chips while somebody held my place at the pub. That was livin. The bestplace to eat in Rockhampton was the American Red Cross. Hen apples. Your

could get 'stike and aggs' for 60-70 cents. Got Coke syrup and put with water, no

carbonation. Had lemon powder to make a drink, but needed more than thepackage told you. Don't remember eating Australian food. We had an agreement

with the Australian government regarding troop movement such as Rockhampton

towards Brisbane for water training. They would feed troops mutton stew - awful.

Still had hair on it. Carrots were huge; could kill a person if thrown. They had itin stations, they put in garbage cans with yellow tallow grease on top. Left it for

the cripples and laggards; rest of us headed for the pub.

About every other Saturday we got 2 barrels of beer from Fitzroy - imperial

gallons, 21 or 22 per keg, delivered under the mess hall on Friday night. Icedthem up so about 11:30 on Saturday we would tap the first keg and never turned

the tap off. Guys lined up. Bu the second keg had to be leftover to Sunday as

everybody was sick from too much Green Death.

When we arrived in Australia we got a ration book for uniforms. I wanted swim

trunks, so went to the department store, but the only ones were wool and highwasted. Felt like you were in a corset. I made a diving helmet out of a gas mask

and went diving off Coolangatta on the Barrier Reef. But the wool soaked up all

the water, and the suit stretched and ended up hanging down around my knees.For unwary soldiers.

Enjoyed streetcars and buses (which were flatbed trucks with seats and a running

board); they would collect 2 cents a ride. We could take the Toonerville Trolley toYagoona where they had a boarding house on a 3-day pass. First made a pub call,

6 or 8 glasses; then went to the beach and laid down on the sand. I woke up

burned like a lobster, and went back to the boarding house, flopped on the bed.

The Aussie housemaid got a pitcher of ice water and rubbed it on my back. Later Iwent to the Aid Station and they smeared me with Tannic Acid. All the medicine

in the army was brown - made cure-alls.

Fighting Japs on Biak was mostly like jumping on a bunch of cripples; we had

them outgunned. It seems like both our governments had forgotten about us; wenever did get all the jeeps, etc., we were supposed to. We would have been hard

pressed to move out. The Regiment had 6X6 carriers that could hold one company

with rifles packs at a time. Everything went to Europe. Never saw a half-track.

Had tank battle there; Jap tank was Mickey Mouse piece of crap; one turret, little


12/20

short cannon 37mm. This tank came fumbling down road out of Mokmer to beach

road; Sherman's caught it in one shot. It was laughable.

One of our outfits really got into a mess there; ran smack into them coming out.

Sickly, scared beatup bunch of people. Almost past talking. Cut off. Took thebrunt of it. Don't remember any real frontal with 300 men going at it."

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Biak(May 31st, 2010), mikebatzel (May 31st, 2010)

7. May 30th, 2010 06:08 PM #4

syscom3

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Thanks for that posting!

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9. May 31st, 2010 02:49 AM #5

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Thanks for sharing. It's always interesting to read first hand accounts that give asoldiers view.


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11.June 9th, 2010 12:24 AM #6
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More on (and again from), the link in the first post:The Biak Plan

The Objective

Biak is shaped roughly like an old-fashioned high-topped shoe.1 (Map 13) The

sole is on the south, the back of the shoe on the west, and the instep runs southeastto northwest. Off the northwest corner of Biak (and about one third its size) lies

Soepiori Island. The two are separated by a small creek-like strait. Off

southeastern Biak lie a number of islets, including Owi, Aoeki, Mios Woendi, andothers of the Padaido Group. In May 1944 Biak's principal towns lay along its

southern shore. About fourteen miles west of the southeast tip was Bosnek,

prewar administrative and commercial center.Biak was formed as the result of underwater disturbances which in prehistoric

times had brought part of the ocean's floor above the surface. Much of the island

is cut by broken coral terraces, ridges, and shelves which in the course ofcenturies acquired a thick cover of tropical rain forest and dense jungle

undergrowth. There are some extensive inland flat areas at the southeastern third
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of the island. Little fresh water is readily available on Biak, since most of the

streams run through underground channels that drain even the heaviest rainfall

from the surface. The island lacks good harbors almost all its shore line beingfringed by rough coral reefs.

A high, rough, and narrow coral ridge, lying in front of a generally flat inland

terrace in levee-like fashion, parallels Biak's southern shore from a point aboutfive miles east of Bosnek to Mokmer, a village located ten miles west of Bosnek.

(Map 14) The seaward face of this ridge is from 180 to 250 feet high, while its

landward slope rises only 100 feet or so above the flat but rough-surfaced inlandterrace. Near Mokmer the coral ridge turns northward and inland for about a mile

and a half, and then west again toward Biak's southwestern corner. At Parai, some

2,000 yards east of Mokmer, one spur of this coastal ridge comes down almost to

the shore line to form a twenty-foot-high cliff. This cliff runs along the water linefrom Parai to a point about 1,000 yards west of Mokmer.

The turning of the main coastal ridge combines with a protrusion of the coast line

beginning near Parai to form a plain about eight miles long and up to one and a

half miles wide. The Japanese had begun to construct airfields on this plain late in1943, and by April 1944 had completed two strips. The most easterly was

Mokmer Drome, near the village of Mokmer. About two and one-half miles westwas Sorido Drome, located near the village of the same name. Both these strips

were close to the southern shore of Biak. Between them, but about three quarters

of a mile inland, was Borokoe Drome, which became operational early in May

1944. A site for a fourth airfield had been surveyed on flat land north of the coralridge behind Bosnek, and for a fifth between Sorido and Borokoe Dromes.

There were few good localities for amphibious assaults along the shores of Biak,

and the best lay far from the airstrips. Since these airfields were the principalAllied objectives, it was necessary to choose relatively poor landing points in

order to put assault forces ashore close to the fields. ALAMO Force knew that

reasonably good beaches, though fronted by coral reefs, were located at Bosnek,Mokmer, and along the coast between those villages. But the Mokmer area was

known to be the most heavily defended on Biak, It would be foolhardy to land at

the point of the enemy's greatest strength if other usable beaches could be foundat near-by but more lightly defended areas. East from Mokmer, coral cliffs or

mangrove swamps lie immediately behind the beach. These obstacles would

prevent a landing force from maneuvering or finding room to disperse its

supplies. The lessons of the Hollandia campaign were fresh in the minds ofplanners, who had no desire to find the troubles of the 24th Division at

Tanahmerah Bay or those of the 41st Division at Humboldt Bay repeated on Biak.

Bosnek appeared to be the point nearest to Mokmer Drome where cliffs orswamps did not back the beach. It was also known that some roads or trails led

both inland and along the coast in both directions from Bosnek. Moreover, at

Bosnek two possibly usable jetties led to deep water beyond the coral reef whichfringed the entire southern coast.

The men planning the Biak operation could obtain little definite information about

this fringing reef, which was estimated to vary from 200 to 600 feet in width.

According to aerial reconnaissance, much of the reef was dry at low water, but no


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information was available concerning the amount of water over the reef at high

tide. In any case, reef conditions off Bosnek appeared to be no worse than

elsewhere along the south coast of Biak. Since this was true, and because jetties,apparent lack of strong enemy defensive installations, and maneuver room on

shore offered advantages not found any place else, General Krueger, in agreement

with the air and naval commanders, decided that the initial landing would bemade at Bosnek.

Attached Images

o Biak Island.jpg (43.4 KB, 4 views)

o Biak Landings - Mokmer Drome.jpg (41.3 KB, 3 views)

o Mokmer Drome.jpg (54.7 KB, 6 views)


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13.September 2nd, 2010 03:35 AM #7

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I just ran across this link with the Action Report for the USS Fletcher DD-445;USS Fletcher DD-445 at Biak Island, June 8, 1944

USS Fletcher DD-445

Biak Island Action Report

June 8 - June 9, 19441. This vessel in company with combined task force 74 and 75 contacted anenemy force of five Japanese destroyers on a south-easterly course, speed 15knots, at 2219, Zone minus 10 time, 8 June, 1944, in position Latitude 00 33'South, Longitude 135 48' East which is seven miles north of Biak Island, NewGuinea. Ships of DesDiv 42 and 47 were ordered to attack and pursue the

enemy, pursuit to be broken off not later than 0230 or prior as the situationdictated. The enemy force had barges in company and were believed headedfor Korim bay, Biak Island where they were either to reinforce or evacuateenemy troops there. On contact, the enemy force turned northwest andretired in the direction of Mapia Island at high speed emitting dense columnsof smoke. The enemy destroyers were taken under fire at maximum gunrange at intervals for a period of about two hours. The only observed resultswas a large explosion on one of the ships at 0211, 9 June, indicating probabledamage although the track did not indicate a change of course or a decreasein speed.

There is much more and at the bottom of the page is a link to theUSS Fletcher History index.


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15.January 27th, 2011 12:54 AM #8
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I've found some more on the battle for Biak. This from the Japanese perspective.Starts on page 283.

"Biak First Phase The swift Allied advance to Wakde left no doubt that the

enemy was rapidly preparing for the final phase of his campaign to win control ofall New Guinea and force the Japanese back upon the Philippines. Because of its

vital strategic importance as a base from which to extend the radius of Allied air

domination, Biak Island- less than 600 miles from Halmahera and Palau, andbarely 900 miles from Davao, on Mindanao Island-was considered certain to be a

major objective of this final drive.

Second Area Army, when it first formulated its plans to develop the Geelvink Bayarea into the main line of resistance in Western New Guinea, decided to make

Biak the key strongpoint of the line. As elsewhere along the absolute defense zone

perimeter, primary emphasis was laid upon the construction of airfields. BetweenDecember 1943 and the enemy invasion of Hollandia in April 1944, two of three

projected fields on southern Biak were completed and put into operational use by
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planes of the Navy's 23d Air Flotilla.110 Their usefulness ended almost

immediately, however, when the enemy's vastly superior air forces began

operating from Hollandia bases.As in the Wakde-Sarmi sector, the concentration of effort on airfield construction

until the Hollandia invasion resulted in dangerously delaying the preparation of

ground defenses against enemy amphibious attack. In the five weeks whichelapsed between the Hollandia and Biak invasions, the Biak garrison forces, under

able leadership and by dint of desperate effort, succeeded in organizing a system

of strong cave positions, which proved highly effective after the enemylanding.111 However, time, equipment and manpower were so short that

defensive preparations could not entirely be completed. Some 15-cm naval guns,

brought to Biak immediately after the Hollandia invasion to strengthen the coast

defenses, were still unmounted when the island was attacked.112The Allied blow also fell before Second Area Army had been able to execute its

plan to reinforce the Biak garrison with elements of the 35th Division.113 The

222d Infantry, 36th

[283]

Division, under command of Col. Naoyuki Kuzume, continued to constitute the

combat nucleus of the garrison, the remainder of which consisted of rear echelon,

service, and construction units. In addition to the Army troops, 2,000 navalpersonnel were on the island, bringing the aggregate strength of the forces on

Biak to approximately 12,000.114

Five days after the enemy landings at Hollandia, Col. Kuzume took initial action

to organize and dispose his forces to meet a possible amphibious attack. Thesedispositions were laid down in an operations order issued on 27 April, the

essentials of which were as follows:115"

Continues at;

Chapter X: Western New Guinea Operations


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