Kaiapit, Morobe, Papua New Guinea

Kaiapit, Morobe, Papua New Guinea

Members of the Australian 2/6th
Independent Company display Japanese flags they
captured at Kaiapit, 1943.

- The Battle of Kaiapit was an action fought in 1943
between Australian and Japanese forces in New
Guinea during the Markham and Ramu Valley —
Finisterre Range campaign of World War ll. Following
the landings at Nadzab and at Lae, the Allies attempted
to exploit their success with an advance into the upper
Markham Valley, starting with Kaiapit. The Japanese
intended to use Kaiapit to threaten the Allied position
at Nadzab, and to create a diversion to allow the
Japanese garrison at Lae time to escape. The Australian
2/6th Independent Company flew in to the Markham
Valley in 13 USAAF C-47 Dakotas, making a difficult
landing on a rough airstrip. Unaware that a much larger
Japanese force was also headed for Kaiapit, the
company attacked the village on 19 September to
secure the area so that it could be developed into an
airfield. The company then held it against a strong
counter-attack. During two days of fighting the
Australians defeated a larger Japanese force while
suffering relatively few losses. The Australian victory at
Kaiapit enabled the Australian 7th Division to be flown in
to the upper Markham Valley. It accomplished the 7th
Division's primary mission, for the Japanese could no
longer threaten Lae or Nadzab, where a major airbase
was being developed. The victory also led to the capture
of the entire Ramu Valley, which provided new forward
fighter airstrips for the air war against the Japanese.