November 1943 (4)

Pacific Paratrooper

Matilda tank enroute to Sattelberg

The battle of Sattelberg (17-25 November 1943) saw Australian troops capture a strongly defended Japanese position in the hills to the north-west of Finschhafen, and helped secure their position on the eastern tip of the Huon Peninsula, New Guinea.

The Australian 9th Division landed north of Finschhafin on 22 September 1943, at Scarlet Beach.  The Japanese retreated to Sattelberg.

After the failure of the Japanese counterattack the Australians were able to go back onto the offensive. They still held a fairly narrow coastal strip, running north from Finschhafen past Scarlet Beach and up to Bonga. They also had an isolated outpost at Jivevaneng, on the road west from the coast to Sattelberg.

The Japanese held the high ground around Sattelberg, the area north from Sattelberg to Wareo, and a ridge that ran east from Wareo to Gusika, on the coast just to the north of Bonga…

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