Siege of Toma

Siege of Toma
Part of the Australian occupation of German New Guinea
Map showing the area between Toma and Rabaul, 1914.
Date 14–17 September 1914 (3 days) Location Toma, outside Rabaul on New Pomerania, German New Guinea Result Australian victory Australian occupation of German New Guinea
Belligerents
Australia	German Empire  German New Guinea
Commanders and leaders
Edward Fowell Martin	Eduard Haber
Strength
Land: 200 infantry, 1 artillery piece Sea: 1 protected cruiser	40 infantry, 110 policemen
Casualties and losses
none	150 captured

The siege of Toma was a bloodless action during the First World War on the island of New Pomerania (now New Britain) between 14 and 17 September 1914 as part of the occupation of German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF). Australian forces had been dispatched to seize and destroy German wireless stations in the south-west Pacific because they were used by the German East Asian Cruiser Squadron of Vice-Admiral Maximilian von Spee which threatened merchant shipping in the region. New Zealand provided a similar force for the occupation of German Samoa. Ultimately the German colonial government was forced to surrender after being surrounded, ending the last significant resistance in the territory.