Battle of Slater's Knoll - Background

Background

At the beginning of 1945, the south-eastern part of Bougainville was occupied by the Japanese 6th Division, under the command of Lieutenant General Tsutomu Akinaga. Made up of the 13th and 23rd Infantry Regiments, as well as a field artillery regiment, an engineer regiment, a transport regiment and a medium artillery regiment, Akinaga's division consisted of 3,300 men. The previous November, the Australian II Corps under Lieutenant General Stanley Savige had taken over responsibility of the island from the US XIV Corps. Although incorrect, at the time the Allies believed that the Japanese forces on the island numbered around 17,500 men and while these forces were understrength, they were still considered to be capable of carrying out effective combat operations. In order to counter this, it was decided that the Australian II Corps—consisting of the 3rd Division and the 11th and 23rd Brigades—would go on the offensive and a three pronged campaign was planned in the northern, central and southern sectors of the island.

As a result, the Australian campaign on the island developed into three separate drives: in the north, it was planned that Japanese forces would be forced into the narrow Bonis Peninsula and contained; in the centre, the seizure of Pearl Ridge would give the Australians control of the east–west thoroughfares and protection against further counterattacks, while also opening the way for a drive to the east coast; and the main campaign would take place in the south, where the bulk of the Japanese forces were concentrated. Consequently on 21 January, Savige directed the 3rd Division under Major General William Bridgeford to take "swift and vigorous action" to destroy Japanese forces in southern Bougainville. The division's immediate task was to advance eastward to the Puriata, and send patrols across it. Savige considered that the Japanese division was "weak and off balance" due to casualties and disease as well as a shortage of supplies. The 7th Brigade under Brigadier John Field was tasked to "take Mosigetta, clear the enemy from the Kupon–Nigitan–Sisiruai area, and patrol along the Puriata".