The Battle Of

Rabaul

Demand for an Inquiry Into Grave Charges of Muddling

AUSTRALIAN newspapers, accepting as complete and well-informed reports the “stories” supplied by “our special war correspondents on the North Australian front” (actually, a handful of cow-reporters isolated in Port Moresby) have been shouting about the achievements of the Australian troops in the “Battle of Rabaul”.

One daily news-sheet, famous for the blurb and twaddle it employs whenever it discusses Australia’s war effort, was almost lyrical when it referred to “Anzac and Pozieres, Tobruk and Rabaul”.

Actually, the less said about Rabaul the better. The Australian anny has plenty of fine deeds to its credit, with out having to call for glory upon Rabaul, which was by no means a well-managed show.

Two months ago, the “PIM” compiled the story of Rabaul, from first-hand accounts by people who were there when the Japs came, and sent all the details, in a special private report, to the Minis ter for the Army.

“Smith’s Weekly", of Sydney, in its issue of May 9, prominently publishes an article entitled “Investigation of New Guinea Affair Demanded”. Much of the information given in the “SW” article is similar to that which was presented in the “PIM” report.

Presumably, there is no official objec tion to the publication of the “SW” article, so we take the liberty of printing most of it, below, with our own com ments added in Italic type.

SMITH’S” demands that the Federal Government make a full investi gation into the whole circum stances of the capitulation. It is a sorry story, ard there are many people now in Australia from whom evidence may be taken. It is in this nation’s interest that such an inquiry be held.

Rabaul was raided from the air on Tuesday, January 20, 1942. There were about 90 Jap planes in the raid. They blasted the garrison fort to pieces.

Civilian population began to evacuate the town the following day—Wednesday.

Troops left the town which, by its position on a narrow neck of land, was difficult to defend, and took up defensive positions behind the town, covering beaches and approaches.

On the same day there was a small Burns, Philp steamer in Rabaul. The few civilians left in the town could all have been taken off on it. There was room for 250 at a pinch. But apparently nobody was told about it—and those who knew and went off to pack a few things found, when they returned, that the ship had sailed an hour earlier than they were told she would sail. Instead of taking off all those civilians who were in the town, she took off only five. Many icked l6ft Again some body had pan- The position was worse than that. A large, modern, motor-ship, which had been sewf into Rabaul with supplies, just before the Jap blitzes started, was ordered to remain there and load copra.

When the blitzes began, about January 19, and it was clear that an invasion was threatened; and later, when the Jap

invasion fleet was reported approaching, certain people begged permission to get that big motor-ship away south, with as many Rabaul civilians as she could carry.

Permission was refused. That ship was bombed, set afire and sunk, alongside the wharf, and copra-sheds, which were destroyed in the same fire. The people whom she could have brought away are now in the jungle, or in prison camps— no one knows.

JAPS did not arrive in Rabaul Harbour until the morning of Friday, Jan uary 23.

Meantime those who had been left began to evacuate themselves on foot— to the hills or along the coast. Many are still there. Some have been taken out.

In Tuesday’s air-raid Rabaifi’s fortress and its defenders, along with its guns, had been blown to bits. Left in the town were AIF and some militia. Their heaviest armament now consisted of some mortars and machine guns.

Five Wirraway planes of the RAAF had gone up to meet the horde of Jap planes and were blown out of the sky by Zero fighters.

The few anti-aircraft guns soon ex pended their ammunition, iney got one Jap plane. It crashed in the hills behind the town. A civilian went out to it—but no Army or Air Force men had visited it. Tne civilian “souvenired ’ a paracnute and some of the piane s instruments. It was a bomber-fighter type—single engined, mere were three dead Japs in it —stocky little fellows aged 24 or 25.

Bombs were lying some little distance from the crasnea plane. The civilian did not “souvenir” these!

Has the Federal Government taken any steps to ascertain from that civilian, now in Australia, what he discovered on his visit to the piane? Has it made any attempt to get evidence of the type of plane, nature of its construction and other important information about what happened in Rabaul from this civilian, or from anyone else?

According to our information, the fore going, if anything, understates the posi tion. Our information is that neither on that occasion, nor subsequently, did officialdom display any interest in the secrets of the crashed plane—and it had secrets.

WHEN the Japs came into Rabaul Harbour on Friday, January 23, the troops opened fire on them, but their ammunition soon ran out and they took to the bush. They carried out cer tain demolitions before they went. Their stores were blown up and some petrol installations were demolished.

But this job was not thoroughly done.

Unexploded bombs —ours —were lying all over the place and at least one petrol tank was untouched because the man who was supposed to touch it off was away serving in the volunteers.

Five hundred tons of rice and three hundred tons of sugar were left in the Government stores. A thousand dozen bottles of beer were also left. At the hotel the beds were all made—sheets turned down, ready for occupation. Japs must have thought it the height of hos pitality !

We are informed that there was a worse “oversight” than that. There were a number of engineering workshops, with modern machinery, in Rabaul — in valuable to an invader requiring urgent repairs while far from home. Those workshops were not so completely demolished that they could not be used by the enemy. Some were not smashed at all.

YES, somebody blundered at Rabaul —blundered badly. They had three weeks’ notice from the Japs that they were coming. Yet no demolitions were made. Wharves were left intact.

They could have been blown up. Now the Air Force has to go over and try to demolish them from the air.

Tokio has advised that the troops have come in from the hills and surrendered —l7OO of them.

Apparently we had no air force (except the Wirraways), totally inadequate equipment, poor leadership, no cohesion between military and administration. It would be interesting to know how many officers got away from Rabaul, too.

The military forces appear to have formed some sort of defence line west ward of the town, and extending far southwards along the western side of the harbour. When the Japanese came into the harbour, on January 23, the lads along the western shores opened up against them vigorously, but with wholly inadequate equipment. At one or two points, where the Japs tried to land, our men put up a stout resistance, and in flicted heavy casualties on the enemy. In this action, the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, recruited from in and around Rabaul, appear to have particularly distinguished themselves.

But the bravery of our men accom plished little. They soon were driven back into the jungle by superior forces and equipment. Their heroism is the only binght spot in this dismal story of Rabaul, of lack of planning, and of incompetent leadership of both military and civilians.