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Location
Lat
2° 31' 60S Long 140° 41' 60E Located inland from Humbolt Bay.
History
Occupied by the Japanese during April 1942 and developed into a base and airfield complex: Hollandia Drome, Sentani Drome and Cyclops Drome.
American Occupation
Prior to the American landing, a reconnances party was landed
in March 1944 by submarine USS Dace. The group, consisiting of Ameircan,
Australian, Indoesian and New Guineans (Mariba, Yali, McNicol, Buka)
landed in two groups. Only
7 of the 12 landed survived the aborted mission. Liberated by
American amphibious task force Code named Operation
Reckless on April 22, 1944 that caught the Japanese largely
by surprise, and evenhundereds that willingly surrendered. Japanese
units included
the remnants of the 41st, 20th and 51st Divisions that moved inland
to try to escape. Also, many support personel and airfielld personel.
After American occupation, the area was a huge staging area for
later operations, including the invasion of Luzon in
the Philippines. MacArthur had retained
Company A of the 1st Tank Battlaion, 1st Marine Division to support
the landings that had particpated in the actions on West
New Britain, but a swamp beyond the beachhead prevented their dive
inland.
American Missions Against Hollandia
April 17, 1944 - ?

at Hollandia
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207th Antiaircraft
Artillery AW
207th Antiaircraft Artillery AW
572nd Quartermaster Railhead
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458th Aviation Squadron
593rd Port Port Co
415th Army Band
741st Antiaircraft Artillery Gun |
Today
After Indonesian gain control of Western New Guinea, Hollandia's
name was changed to Jayapura.
Tanahmerah Bay
(Red Beach)
Several US tanks hulks lie to the east
of Depapre at the base of the track built be the Americans that connects
Tanahmerah to Jayapura (Hollandia) to the East. Following a Navy
bombardment, elements of the 19th and 21st Infantry Regiments made
landings at: Red Beach 1 and Red Beach 2.
Humbolt Bay (White Beach)
Natural
harbor located to the East of Hollandia town. The
41st Infantry Division landed against light opposition
on April 22, 1944. After the invation, the bay became a major American staging base, for future landings in the Philippines.
US
Army 'Base G' Hollandia
US
Army letter base designation. Name
for the US Army Base G at Hollandia located at the shore of Humbolt
Bay. This was a major American base from late April 1944 until the
end of the war.
Hollandia Airfield (Hollandia Drome)
Japanese built airfield, occupied by US Army and further developed
Cyclops
Airfield and mountain near Hollanida, MacArthur's HQ at Hollanida.
Museum
Jayapura
Located inside the Cenderawasih University
campus.
Sentani
Located inland from Hollandia, site of Sentani Airfield, parallel, to the south Cyclops Drome. Also, Lake Sentani a large freshwater lake.
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Last Updated
May 14, 2011
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