Battle of Morotai - Allied Landings

Allied Landings

The battle of Morotai began at 6:30 on the morning of September 15. Allied warships conducted a two-hour-long bombardment of the landing area to suppress any Japanese forces there. This bombardment set some native villages on fire but caused few Japanese casualties as they did not have many troops in the area.

The first wave of American troops landed on Morotai at 8:30 and did not encounter any opposition. The 155th and 167th RCTs landed at Red Beach and the 124th RCT at White Beach. Once ashore, the assault troops assembled into their tactical units and rapidly advanced inland. By the end of the day the 31st Division had secured all of its D-Day objectives and held a perimeter 2,000 yards (1,800 m) inland. There was little fighting and casualties were very low on both sides. The Japanese 2nd Provisional Raiding Unit was unable to offer any resistance to the overwhelming Allied force, and withdrew inland in good order. Japanese 7th Air Division aircraft based at Ceram and the Celebes began a series of nightly air raids on Morotai on September 15, but these had little effect on the Allied force.

The lack of resistance was fortunate for the Allies due to unexpectedly poor beach conditions. While the limited pre-invasion intelligence suggested that Red and White beaches were capable of supporting an amphibious landing, they were in fact highly unsuitable for this purpose. Both beaches were muddy and difficult for landing craft to approach owing to rocky ridges and coral reefs. As a result, soldiers and equipment had to be landed through deep surf. This delayed the operation and damaged a large quantity of equipment. Like many of his soldiers, General MacArthur was forced to wade through chest-high surf when he came ashore. On the morning of D-Day a survey party determined that a beach on the south coast of Morotai was much better suited to LSTs. This beach, which was designated Blue Beach, became the primary Allied landing point from September 16.

The 31st Division continued its advance inland on September 16. The division met little opposition and secured the planned perimeter line around the airfield area that afternoon. From September 17, the 126th Infantry Regiment landed at several points on Morotai's coastline and offshore islands to establish radar stations and observation posts. These operations were generally unopposed, though patrols landed in northern Morotai made numerous contacts with small Japanese parties. The 2nd Provisional Raiding Unit attempted to infiltrate into the Allied perimeter on the night of September 18 but was not successful.

A detachment from the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) was responsible for civil affairs on Morotai. This detachment came ashore on September 15, and reestablished Dutch sovereignty over Morotai's civilian population. Many natives subsequently provided NICA with intelligence on Japanese dispositions on Morotai and Halmahera and others acted as guides for American patrols.

On September 20, the 31st Division advanced further inland to secure an expanded perimeter. This was necessary to provide room for additional bivouacs and supply installations after General MacArthur's headquarters decided to expand airfield construction on the island. The advance met little resistance and was completed in one day. On September 22, a Japanese force attacked the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, 167th Infantry Regiment but was easily repulsed. The following day, a company from the 126th Infantry Regiment unsuccessfully attacked a fortified Japanese unit near Wajaboeta on the island's west coast. The 126th resumed its attack on September 24 and secured the position. US forces continued intensive patrolling until October 4 when the island was declared secure. US casualties during the initial occupation of Morotai numbered 30 dead, 85 wounded, and one missing. Japanese casualties were much higher, numbering over 300 dead and 13 captured.

The American ground troops did not require the heavy air support which was available to them, and the fast carrier group was released for other duties on September 17. The six escort carriers remained in support, but their aircraft saw little action. Four of the CVEs were released on September 25 and the remaining two on October 4. The destroyer escort USS Shelton was sunk by Japanese submarine RO-41 on October 3 while escorting the CVE group. Several hours later a TBF Avenger from the escort carrier USS Midway attacked USS Seawolf 20 miles (32 km) north of where Shelton had been torpedoed, in the mistaken belief that she was the submarine responsible. After dropping two bombs, the TBF guided USS Richard M. Rowell to the area and the destroyer escort sank Seawolf after five attempts, killing all the submarine's crew. It was later determined that while Seawolf was traveling in a designated "submarine safety lane", the CVE pilots had not been properly briefed on the lane's existence and location, and that the submarine's position had not been provided to USS Richard M. Rowell.

The US Navy established a PT boat base at Morotai on September 16 when the tenders USS Mobjack and Oyster Bay arrived with motor torpedo boat squadrons 9, 10, 18 and 33 and their forty-one boats. The PT boats' primary mission was to prevent the Japanese from moving troops from Halmahera to Morotai by establishing a blockade of the 12-mile (19 km)-wide strait between the two islands.

Elements of the 31st Division embarked from Morotai in November to capture several islands off New Guinea from which Japanese outposts could observe Allied movements. On November 15, 1,200 troops from the 2nd Battalion, 167th Infantry Regiment and attached units were landed at Pegun Island in the Mapia islands; the next day, Bras Island was attacked. The Mapia Islands were declared secure on November 18 after resistance from 172 Japanese troops of the 36th Infantry Division was overcome. On November 19, a force of 400 US troops built around F Company, 124th Infantry Regiment occupied the undefended Asia Islands. These were the first offensive operations overseen by the Eighth United States Army, and the naval commander for both operations was Captain Lord Ashbourne of the Royal Navy on board HMS Ariadne. Radar and LORAN stations were subsequently established on the islands.