The Battle of Bita Paka (11 September 1914) was fought south of Kabakaul, on the island of New Britain, and was a part of the invasion and subsequent occupation of German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Similar to New Zealand's operation against German Samoa in August, the main target of the operation was a strategically important wireless station—one of several used by the German East Asia Squadron—which the Australians believed to be located in the area. The powerful German naval fleet threatened British interests and its elimination was an early priority of the British and Australian governments during the war.
After an unopposed landing, a mixed force of German reservists and half-trained Melanesian police mounted a stout resistance and forced the Australians to fight their way to the objective. After a day of fighting during which both sides suffered casualties, Australian forces captured the wireless station at Bita Paka. The battle was Australia's first major military engagement of the war and the only significant action of the campaign; in its aftermath the remaining German forces on New Britain fled inland to Toma. Following a brief siege there the German garrison capitulated, ending resistance to the Australian occupation of the island.
Background
Terrain
German New Guinea consisted of north-eastern New Guinea and several nearby island groups that are now part of Papua New Guinea. First established in 1884, the main part of the colony was Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, in north-eastern New Guinea. The islands to the east were known as the Bismarck Archipelago and consisted of Neu-Pommern (now New Britain) and Neu-Mecklenburg (now New Ireland). With the exception of German Samoa, all German islands in the Pacific were administratively part of German New Guinea: the German Solomon Islands (Buka, Bougainville and several smaller islands), the Carolines, Palau, the Marianas (except for Guam), the Marshall Islands and Nauru. Although a relatively minor colony, it covered an extensive land area, totalling around .
While the western half of New Guinea had been administered by the Netherlands since 1828, the eastern half was not annexed by any European power until the 1880s. In 1883, fearful of growing foreign influence—particularly the influence of Germany—the British colony of Queensland annexed the south-eastern part of New Guinea, against the wishes of the British government. This initiated German interest in the remaining third of the island and on 3 November 1884, the German flag was raised over Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, the Bismarck Archipelago (formerly New Britain) and the German Solomon Islands. On 17 May 1885, the German Emperor granted an Imperial charter to the newly founded Neuguinea-Kompanie (New Guinea Company) for this annexation, which was further extended to the Solomon Islands on 13 November 1886.
On 1 April 1899, the German government took formal control, establishing a protectorate. A treaty with Spain, signed on 30 July, ensured German control over several other island groups in the Pacific, and these were added to the protectorate of German New Guinea. The economic life of German New Guinea's small population of European and Asian settlers, as well as that of its Melanesian population, relied heavily on the export of copra and the import of goods and services. It remained a modest outpost, and by August 1914 only 1,273 Europeans lived in the colony, while there was also a small but significant number of Japanese, Chinese and Malays.
Prelude
Planning and preliminary operations
Following Britain's declaration of war on Imperial Germany on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War, Australia and the other members of the British Empire were automatically involved, with Prime Minister Joseph Cook stating on 5 August that "...when the Empire is at war, so also is Australia." Within days, Brigadier General William Bridges and his staff officer, Major Cyril Brudenell White, had completed plans for the creation of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). White proposed an expeditionary force of 18,000 men, including 12,000 Australians and 6,000 New Zealanders. Cook subsequently approved the proposal, although he increased the offer to 20,000 men to serve in any destination desired by the British government. On 6 August 1914, London cabled its acceptance of the force and asked that it be sent as soon as possible. Recruiting offices opened on 10 August and by the end of 1914, 52,561 volunteers had been accepted, despite strict physical fitness guidelines.
Meanwhile, after an additional British request for assistance on 6 August 1914, the Australian government hurriedly prepared another expeditionary force to destroy the German wireless stations at Yap in the Caroline Islands, Nauru, and Rabaul in New Britain. As with the New Zealand military operation against German Samoa, which was completed in late August, the targets were strategically important wireless stations used by the German East Asia Squadron, under the command of Count Maximilian von Spee. The existence of the powerful German fleet—including the modern cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau—in the Pacific at the outbreak of the war worried the British Admiralty and the Australian government, and the elimination of its radio network was a key priority. Although the location of the German fleet was unknown, it was suspected they may have been hiding in the excellent natural harbour at Rabaul.
While the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was being raised for this task, as a prelude to an amphibious landing on the Gazelle Peninsula in New Britain, ships of the Australian Squadron conducted a reconnaissance of the area, subsequently entering Blanche Bay on 12 August, while several destroyers also entered Simpson Harbour. Landing parties went ashore to demolish the telephones in the post offices in Rabaul and at the German gubernatorial capital of Herbertshöhe (present-day Kokopo), located to the south-east. Enquiries were also made about the location of the radio station, although no information was forthcoming. After threatening to bombard the nearby settlements if the radio station continued to transmit, the Australian warships withdrew.
Opposing forces
The AN&MEF comprised one battalion of infantry of 1,000 men hurriedly enlisted in Sydney, plus 500 naval reservists and ex-sailors who would serve as infantry. The 1st Battalion, AN&MEF was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Russell Watson, while the naval reservists were formed into six companies under Commander Joseph Beresford. Also included were two machine gun sections, a signals section and a medical detachment. Another battalion of militia from the Queensland-based Kennedy Regiment—which had been dispatched to garrison Thursday Island—also contributed 500 volunteers. Recruitment began on 11 August, with very few of the infantry having had previous military experience. Under the overall command of Colonel William Holmes, the force departed Sydney on 19 August aboard HMAS Berrima and halted at Palm Island off Townsville until a New Zealand force, escorted by the battlecruiser HMAS Australia, cruiser HMAS Melbourne and the French cruiser Montcalm, occupied Samoa on 30 August. The AN&MEF then moved to Port Moresby, where it met the Queensland contingent already aboard the transport Kanowna. The force sailed for German New Guinea on 7 September, although Kanowna was left behind when her stokers refused to work. The militia were also left in Port Moresby after Holmes decided they were not sufficiently trained or equipped to be committed to the anticipated fighting.
At the outbreak of war, German New Guinea was only lightly defended; even after all available reservists had reported for duty and the Melanesian police had been armed, the total strength was only 61 German officers and non-commissioned officers, and about 240 Melanesian police. To compound the defenders' problems, most of the Germans were reservists with either limited experience or who had served in the military many years earlier. The Bita Paka radio station itself was occupied by eight Germans and 60 Melanesians, under the command of Hauptmann (Captain) Hans Wuchert. Wuchert's force was assigned to defend against any hostile landing at a point near the coast, and was authorised to withdraw halfway between Toma and Bita Paka to Tobera if necessary, but only after demolishing the radio station. A company of 10 Germans and 140 Melanesians was also stationed at Herbertshöhe, commanded by Leutnant (Lieutenant) Mayer, while a squad of Melanesians at Toma under Leutnant Robert von Blumenthal ("Lord Bob") was charged with digging in and improving defences. Section outposts were established at various locations and monitored the coast from St. George's Channel to Rabaul. Despite the limits of manpower, such arrangements proved effective and the reconnaissance of the Australian Squadron on 12 August had been quickly detected, with German forces subsequently directed towards the coast to repel any invasion.
Battle
Initial landings
Off the eastern tip of New Guinea, Berrima rendezvoused with Australia and the light cruiser HMAS Sydney and several destroyers, while Melbourne was detached to destroy the wireless station on Nauru. Melbourne arrived there on 9 September only to find that the radio station had already been disabled by its staff, with Nauru surrendering without opposition. The task force reached Rabaul on 11 September, where they found the port to be free of German forces. Sydney and the destroyer HMAS Warrego landed small parties of naval reservists at the settlements of Kabakaul and at Herbertshöhe. These parties were reinforced firstly by sailors from Warrego and later by infantry from Berrima. Two parties were subsequently landed, one under Sub-Lieutenant C. Webber and the other commanded by Lieutenant Commander J.F. Finlayson. In accordance with German plans, the Australians encountered no opposition at Herbertshöhe, with the German company stationed there having withdrawn to Takubar—between Herbertshöhe and Kabakaul—in the early morning. At 07:00, the Australians raised the Union Jack over the settlement.
The Australians believed there were probably two radio stations, one under construction directly inland from Herbertshöhe and the other directly inland from Kabakaul, at Bita Paka. Finlayson remained at Herbertshöhe to guard the stores being landed from Sydney, while Webber's party began an advance from Herbertshöhe inland along the Toma road. Another party under Lieutenant Rowland Bowen would advance towards Bita Paka, to the south. Bowen's force, consisting of two officers and 25 naval reservists was subsequently landed at Kabakaul. Also included were about 15 other personnel to provide medical support and maintain communications.
Advance inland The advance inland began along the fringe of the dense jungle-edged road to the radio station, with the Australians attempting to avoid the road wherever possible. By 09:00 they had penetrated about and with the scrub becoming denser, the scouts pushed away from the road to work their way around the obstacle. They suddenly surprised a group of about 20 Melanesian soldiers led by three German reservists, who were apparently laying an ambush on the road for the advancing Australians. They opened fire, wounding one German in the hand and capturing him, and scattering the Melanesians. By means of a ruse Wuchert and Mayer were also captured, depriving the defenders of two important commanders, while several significant maps also fell into Australian hands at this time.