Battle of Lababia Ridge
1943 CE.
Shown on the map at -7.217°, 147.017°.
The Battle of Lababia Ridge was fought from 20–23 June 1943 in the Territory of New Guinea during World War II. Part of the Salamaua–Lae campaign, the battle involved Australian and Japanese troops who clashed on the ridge, which was about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Salamaua, near Mubo, over the course of several days. The battle was fought in conjunction with several other actions in the region as the Allies attempted to draw Japanese attention away from Lae, where they launched seaborne landings in mid-September 1943, in conjunction with airborne landings around Nadzab. The fighting around Lababia Ridge took place at the same time as the Battle of Mubo, after two battalions of Japanese infantry launched a counter-attack on a depleted Australian company. The Australians, supported by Royal Australian Air Force fighter-bombers, managed to hold off the initial Japanese attacks before being reinforced by another depleted company. Fighting continued over the course of three days before the Japanese withdrew.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Lababia Ridge, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.