Chapter 7 - To Buin

Summary

Take your time, Hammer, there is no hurry.

Blamey, quoted in Notes on Bougainville, p. 3.

Following the Japanese defeat at Slater's Knoll, the campaign in the Southern Sector entered a new phase as the Australians continued towards Buin on a two-battalion front, advancing down the Buin and Commando Roads. Shocked at their unexpected loss, the Japanese instead tried to wear down and slow the Australians. The Australian advance was not fast; it was not spectacular; but it was unrelenting. Each step forward was contested, but resistance was overcome with firepower. By May 1945 the war in this sector moved from a patrolling war to a combined arms battle. From June both the Australian and Japanese commanders began planning for what would be the final battle as the Australians made their way ever closer to Buin.

IN THE MOUNTAINS

As the Australian infantry, tanks and engineers slogged their way south, Major Winning's 2/8th Commando Squadron was operating in the mountains on the fringe of their advance. Savige likened the squadron to traditional cavalry, acting as the commander's ‘eyes and ears’ in the front and on the flanks of the main force carrying out reconnaissance and harassing the Japanese with raids and ambushes. The squadron had a long campaign. Between 30 December and 22 August it had only one three-day and one ten-day break when its troopers enjoyed rest camps on the coast. From the Jaba River, the squadron moved inland first to Sovele Mission, then on to the villages of Opai, Nihero, Morokaimoro and Kilipaijino by the end of the war. Each village taken became a patrol base. Patrols were usually limited to two sections, although up to six sections could be operating at a time, and generally lasted between four to six days; longer patrols were not uncommon. Patrols collected and collated track information and terrain reports and located the enemy. Once patrols had gathered this information, they were then free to strike at the Japanese. The squadron, whose fighting strength seldom exceeded 175 men, became adept at these aggressive raids with 282 confirmed kills and capturing seven prisoners.