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The Naval Battle of Kula Gulf: July 5-6, 1943

Posted By: AlenMiler
The Naval Battle of Kula Gulf: July 5-6, 1943

The Naval Battle of Kula Gulf: July 5-6, 1943 by Eric Hammel
English | Mar. 10, 2016 | ASIN: B01CUTHV4Q | | AZW3/MOBI/EPUB/PDF (conv) | 1.31 MB

The Allied invasion of New Georgia began on June 30, 1943, when a large part of the U.S. Army’s 43rd Infantry Division landed at Rendova Island. This landing was a first step toward the capture of the strategically important Japanese air base at Munda.

During the night of July 4–5, as the 43rd Infantry Division’s main drive against Munda got underway, a force of U.S. Marine Raiders and a U.S. Army infantry battalion were landed at Rice Anchorage, in northwestern New Georgia. It was the goal of this force to divert Japanese troops from the main battle before Munda and to block the flow of Japanese reinforcements and supplies to Munda via Kolombangara Island and New Georgia’s Bairoko Harbor. In order to divert attention away from the landings of Marine Colonel Harry Liversedge’s Northern Landing Group at Rice Anchorage, it had been decided to dispatch a strong force of U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers to carry off a hopefully devastating bombardment of the strong Japanese installations around Vila, on Kolombangara.

Quite by chance, the Japanese themselves had reached a decision to begin moving ground troops to Kolombangara aboard fast destroyer-transports. Then, from Kolombangara, the ground troops would be moved to Bairoko by means of landing barges. The first destroyer-borne reinforcement effort was set to go off on the night of July 4–5, when four thousand Imperial Army troops were to be set down at Vila for eventual staging into the Munda defense complex via Bairoko.

On the American side, Rear Admiral Walden L. “Pug” Ainsworth’s Task Group 36.1 was just getting into position in Kula Gulf a bit before midnight. Once in the gulf, Ainsworth’s battle force set a direct course for Vila.

Military Historian Eric Hammel, in 5,700 words, describes what happened when the opposing forces collided in Kula Gulf.