New Guinea
Japanese forces landed on the north coast of Papua in July 1942 and advanced across the Owen Stanley Range toward Port Moresby while Allied forces fought to hold the approaches from the south. Terrain, disease and the difficulty of moving food, ammunition and medical support through mountains and jungle shaped the campaign as directly as battlefield strength. By 1944 Allied air and sea superiority permitted much larger operational leaps along the northern coast. The Hollandia and Aitape landings went beyond major Japanese concentrations around Wewak, isolating rather than assaulting them…
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