 In the Battle of the Bismarck Sea during World War II, American and Australian aircraft attacked a Japanese convoy, causing heavy troop losses. In , the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters decided to reinforce their position in the South West Pacific. The plan was to move some 6,900 troops from Rabaul directly to Lae, New Guinea. Strong Allied air power made it risky, but the alternative was for troops to march through inhospitable terrain. The convoy (eight destroyers and eight troop transports escorted by fighter) set out on 28 February 1943. The Allies had detected preparations for the convoy, and codebreakers had decrypted messages indicating its intended destination and arrival date. The convoy came under sustained air attack on 2–3 March 1943. Follow-up attacks by PT boats and aircraft were made on 4 March. All eight transports and four of the escorting destroyers were sunk, and only about 1,200 troops made it to Lae. Another 2,700 were saved by destroyers and submarines and returned to Rabaul. The Japanese made no further attempts to reinforce Lae by ship, greatly hindering their ultimately unsuccessful efforts to stop Allied offensives in New Guinea. |
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