Battle of Piva Forks

Battle of Piva Forks
Part of the Bougainville campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II)
First phase of the battle
Date 18–25 November 1943 Location Bougainville in the South Pacific Result United States victory
Belligerents
United States	Imperial Japan
Commanders and leaders
Roy Geiger George W. McHenry	Harukichi Hyakutake Masatane Kanda
Units involved
3rd Marine Regiment 9th Marine Regiment 21st Marine Regiment	23rd Infantry Regiment
Casualties and losses
115 dead or wounded	1,071 dead

The Battle of Piva Forks, also known as the Battle of Numa–Numa Trail, was an engagement that took place during the Bougainville campaign in World War II. Occurring between 18 and 25 November 1943 on Bougainville Island in the South Pacific, the battle involved troops from the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army fighting against Imperial Japanese Army forces and took place amidst the context of the expansion of a beachhead that US forces had established around Torokina on the western side of the island.

In response to the US forward movement, the Japanese placed road blocks along the main axes of advance to delay the Americans; finding their way towards the Piva River checked near the junction of the Numa–Numa and East–West Trails, the US forces sought to remove the obstacles by force. After the initial US attack was repulsed, the Japanese counterattacked before the US Marines overcame this and continued their advance towards two forks in the Piva River. By 26 November the battle had subsided following the capture of a knoll overlooking the East–West Trail by US forces. This represented the last of the significant features west of the Torokina, and the conclusion of the battle marked a temporary end to significant Japanese opposition to the US beachhead around Torokina.