Landing at Jacquinot Bay

Landing at Jacquinot Bay
Part of the Pacific War of World War II
Australian 6th Brigade troops unload stores at Jacquinot Bay.
Location	Jacquinot Bay, New Britain, Territory of New Guinea 5°34′00″S 151°30′00″E / 5.5666667°S 151.5°E / -5.5666667; 151.5
Commanded by	Raymond Sandover
Objective	Amphibious landing to secure the site for a planned base
Date	4 November 1944
Executed by	6th Brigade
Outcome	Allied success

The Landing at Jacquinot Bay was an Allied amphibious operation undertaken on 4 November 1944 during the New Britain Campaign of World War II. The landing was conducted as part of a change in responsibility for Allied operations on New Britain. The Australian 5th Division, under Major General Alan Ramsay, took over from the US 40th Infantry Division, which was needed for operations in the Philippines. The purpose of the operation was to establish a logistics base at Jacquinot Bay on the south coast of New Britain to support the 5th Division's planned operations near the major Japanese garrison at Rabaul.

Brigadier Raymond Sandover's 6th Brigade was directed to secure the Jacquinot Bay area. While the region was believed to be undefended, the initial landing was conducted by a combat-ready force comprising the reinforced Australian 14th/32nd Battalion protected by warships and with aircraft on standby. As expected, there was no opposition to the landing on 4 November and work soon began on logistics facilities.

Once a base was established at Jacquinot Bay, it was used to support Australian operations toward Rabaul. These were conducted in early 1945 in conjunction with advances on the northern side of New Britain. The campaign was effectively one of containment, isolating the larger Japanese force and allowing the Allies to conduct operations elsewhere.