Tactical Planning of The South Seas Detachment, Relation With Midway Battle and Axis Powers Plans
Based upon the operational plans, Army troops were steadily making operations for combat when, on July 11, IGHQ ordered the suspension of the projected actions against New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa, because the Combined Fleet had failed at Midway. The reasons for the suspension of operations may be further summarized:
- The Combined Fleet had been badly hurt in the Midway battle.
- From the experience at Midway, it had been learned how difficult it was to attack an island.
- The opinion was gaining ground that it would be more advantageous to step up operations in the western Indian Ocean, in conjunction with the actions of the German Army and to drive upon the Suez Canal.
With the release of the Seventeenth Army from the mission of attacking New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa, IGHQ assigned a new double objective:
- the capture and security of Port Moresby, in co-operation with the Navy; and the opportune seizure of strategic points in eastern New Guinea.
- Army components which were to participate in the new operations against Port Moresby included the bulk of the Seventeenth Army (about six infantry battalions, primarily); naval forces comprising the Eighth Fleet; and units built around the 25th Air Regiment. According to the plan, the main Army strength was expected to capture Port Moresby and the nearby airdromes, from the direction of Kokoda and Buna, as soon as possible.
- The Navy would undertake to defeat the American and Australian air forces, master the U.S.-Australian Fleet, and furnish direct support for the land operations. An Army unit had been reconnoitering the road across the Owen Stanley Mountains, which extend north of Port Moresby.
Without awaiting the reconnaissance reports, the Seventeenth Army Commander hastily landed the South Seas Detachment near Buna in mid-July 1942, and then rushed them toward Port Moresby.
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