25 March Capture of Manus Island
ON THIS Day in 1944 Manus Island was captured as part of the USN/ RAN Admiralty Island Campaign.
The value of the Admiralty Islands to the Allies was enormous. Their capture saved more lives than they cost by obviating the need to capture Truk, thereby speeding up the Allied advance by several months. As an airbase, the Admiralties’ value was great, for aircraft based there ranged over Truk, Wewak, and beyond. As a naval base, their value was greater still, as they combined a fleet anchorage with major facilities including a giant floating dock.
A well-known rule of thumb is that an attacking force needs a 3:1 superiority to ensure success. In the opening stages of the battle the ratio was more like 1:4 in favour of the Japanese defenders. In the end the Allies won, “simply because,” wrote Samuel Elliot Morison, “the United States and Australia dominated that stretch of ocean and the air over it.”
When queried about the naval support he received, General Chase the American Commanding general replied, “they just didn’t support us; they saved our necks”. HMAS Arunta was one of the ships that provided NGS and which Chase was gratefully referring to.
