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Australian Army Logistics 1943-1945

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Australian Army Logistics 1943-1945 Australian Army Logistics 1943-1945 by Ross A. Mallett Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities and Social Science University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy 2007 Abstract This thesis examines the logistical support of the Australian Army’s operations in the South West Pacific from January 1943 to August 1945. It begins by examining the strategic context. Succeeding chapters then examine various topics, including doctrine, base development, problems of storage and tropic proofing, inland water transport, road construction, air supply, amphibious operations and the support of combat operations. In this thesis I argue that the Australian Army’s logistical acumen and ability steadily grew with each campaign, resulting in a highly effective military organisation that inflicted a series of crushing defeats on the Japanese. i Statements Originality Statement I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. Copyright Statement I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. Third Party Copyright Statement I have either used no substantial portions of third party copyright material, including charts, diagrams, graphs, photographs, maps, in my thesis, or I have obtained permission for such material to be made accessible worldwide via the Web. If permission has not been obtained, I have asked/will ask the Library to remove the third party copyright material from the digital copy. Dissertation Abstracts International I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International. Authenticity Statement I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially ii approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred, and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format. Signed ……………………………………………........................... iii Acknowledgments A number of people deserve special mention for their help in the preparation of this thesis. First and foremost among them is my supervisor, Professor Jeffrey Grey, whose assistance has been invaluable. He was instrumental in getting this thesis underway, in keeping it on track, and in ensuring that it eventually got completed. I must also thank Professor Peter Dennis without whom this thesis would never have commenced. Dr John Moremon and Myriam Amar provided much helpful information. My father, Ronald A. Mallett, besides providing a great deal of encouragement, went into the details of old time mechanical transport for me. I also wish to thank my mother, Rosemary Mallett, sister Gail Leenstra, brother-in-law Martin Leenstra and nieces Jenette and Reanne Leenstra. Paralleling the wartime alliance with the United States was my very own support crew over there: Rhonda and Steve Stroud and Tamara, Ryan and Erica O’Connell, who threw open their homes to me. I received wonderful assistance from Dr Michael J. Brodhead at the US Army Corps of Engineers and Lieutenant Colonel Michael E. Bigelow of the US Army Center of Military History, who sent me an entire box of photocopied papers. Ernest Paqette provided detailes of amphibian engineer operations and a copy of his book. I must also thank all the wonderful people at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland and the US Naval Historical Center at the Washington Navy Yard. Enormous gratitude is due to the staff at the Australian War Memorial, who bore the brunt of my requests for a vast array of documents and those at the Fryer Library, at the University of Queensland, the State Library of Victoria, and the National Archives in Canberra and Melbourne. The latter in particular went out of the way to accommodate my schedule and fast-tracked the declassification of documents. Special thanks to Kate Fletcher for her proofreading. iv Table of Contents Abstract i Statements ii Acknowledgments iv Table of Contents v Illustrations vii Maps ix Maps ix Tables x Introduction 1 1. Strategy, Command and Logistics 9 2. Organisation, Logistics and Doctrine 28 3. The Bases in Papua 51 Base Development 56 The Problem of Storage 61 POL Storage 64 Port Development 73 Tropical Diseases 77 4. The Bulldog Road 80 5. From Wau to Salamaua 112 Wau 116 Battle of the Ridges 121 Nassau Bay 136 6. CARTWHEEL Gets Rolling 142 7. The Markham and Ramu Valleys 170 Nadzab 173 Postal 182 The Ramu Valley 185 The Development of Lae 194 Signals 208 CUTTHROAT 216 v 8. Amphibious Warfare 220 Red Beach 223 Finschhafen 229 Sattelberg 252 The Pursuit to Saidor 257 9. The Bases in New Guinea in 1944 263 Saidor and Madang 263 The Wau-Labu Road 268 Regrouping 272 The Americans Depart New Guinea 279 10. The Mopping Up Campaigns 283 New Britain 286 Aitape 296 Bougainville 309 11. Borneo 328 Morotai 331 Tarakan 340 Brunei Bay 351 Balikpapan 363 12. Conclusion 376 Abbreviations 378 Units of Measurement 384 Bibliography 387 Index 406 vi Illustrations 1. Port Moresby, December 1943. Armco huts at 10th Advance Ordnance Depot..............61 2. Milne Bay, 4 April 1944. 2nd Bulk Petroleum Storage Company. Note open hut design.61 3. Milne Bay, 26 June 1943. 5th Division headquarters in Native style huts.......................61 4. Milne Bay, 14 September 1942. SS Kremer unloads at pontoon wharf ...........................74 5. Milne Bay, 16 April 1943. Pontoon Wharf and the sunken Anshun. ...............................75 6. Milne Bay, May 1943. Salvage divers work on the Anshun.............................................76 7. Reinhold Highway, New Guinea 25 February 1944. The Mossy Forest near the highest point in the road, at around 3,000 metres above sea level ........................................84 8. Terapo waterfront, 16 September 1943..............................................................................92 9. Minivasi, 29 June 1944. Sappers working on the groyne..................................................97 10. 19 January 1944. Trestle bridge over Eloa River. .........................................................101 11. Reinhold Highway, 18 July 1943. Papuan porters carrying compressor parts negotiate a narrow and dangerous ledge about one mile south of Ecclestone’s Saddle. .......104 12. Reinhold Highway, 23 August 1943. Colonel Reinhold traverses the road. ................110 13. Supply Routes between Wau and Salamaua..................................................................124 14. POL prepared for dropping. Cornsacks are used between and under the drums..........129 15. Bougainville, March 1945. Droppers prepare to push stores out of the plane with their feet.............................................................................................................................131 16. Douglas Harbour 19 May 1943. AS28 set ablaze by an enemy air attack....................136 17. Nadzab, 25 September 1943. Australians advance on Lae. ..........................................170 18. Kaiapit airstrip, 21 September 1943. The 2/16th Infantry Battalion arrives.................188 19. Landing at Red and Yellow Beaches .............................................................................223 20. Scarlet Beach, 22 September 1943. LSTs unload in the background and supplies move inland by jeep and truck ...........................................................................................236 21. A Matilda Tank arrives at Kedam Beach in a 2nd Engineer Special Brigade LCM to support the attack on Sattelberg...............................................................................245 22. Hospital Ship Stradbroke II in Sydney Harbour in 1945. .............................................247 23. 1 March 1943 Chinaman loader at Wampit. This device is used to facilitate the loading of tip trucks..................................................................................................269 24. Jacquinot Bay, 9 June 1945............................................................................................289 vii 25. New Britain, 8 April 1945. Pile bridge over the Kalumalagi River built from local timber. The raised centre span allowed barge traffic. ............................................293 26. Two views of the heavy lift ship AV2767 Crusader, taken 5 December 1945 ............320 27. Bougainville, 25 December 1944. A storepedo is prepared for dropping. ...................325 28. USS Titania docks at the South Wharf while LSTs are beached in the background. ..343 29. Tarakan,
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