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  USAAF October 21, 1942 |
Location Kumusi River is a large river in New Guinea. The mouth is a large delta four miles wide that empty into Nicolette Bay on the north coast of New Guinea between Katina village and Laundered village. To the south is Fufuda. To the northwest is the mouth of the Opi River and beyond Cape Ward Hunt and Mambare River. To the southeast is Gona. The Kumusi River meanders westward then southward into the Owen Stanley Range and crosses the Kokoda Trail at Wairopi. Prewar and during the Pacific War part of the in the Northern District (Northern Province) in the Territory of Papua. Today located in Oro Province in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Wartime History The mouth of the Kumusi River area was occupied by the Japanese and used as a base area in support of their advance inland. During late 1942, the Kumusi River mouth was used by the Japanese to hide barges traveling down the coast of New Guinea. After the Japanese retreat, the Australian Army advanced to the Kumusi River area by early November 1942. On November 28, 1942 Japanese Army 15th Independent Engineers C.O. Col Yokoyama at Sanananda sent all available landing craft to the mouth of the Kumusi River to rescue as much of the 41st Infantry Regiment as possible, that followed the Kumusi River down from the Owen Stanley Range to Wairopi to the north coast. On December 1, 1942 the landing craft rescued as much of the force as possible, but roughly 500 troops from the 41st Infantry, 1st Battalion including Col. Yazawa were left behind and instead marched to Giruwa to join the defense of the beachheads and made a failed attempt to deliver 200 of the troops to 600 yards east of Gona but were driven off by patrols of the 2/27 Battalion and instead landed at Giruwa and the rest of the rescued force was transported to the mouth of the Amboga River. On December 2, 1942 at dawn, a Japanese convoy of four destroyers reached Basabua but before they could unload attacked by Allied aircraft and instead landed at the mouth of the Kumusi River where roughly 500 soldiers from the 3d Battalion, 170th Infantry (less one company) plus 41st Infantry under the command of Maj. Gen. Tsuyuo Yamagata and some supplies reached shore. After being unloaded to the north, this force then had to proceed southward to defend Gona. American missions against Kumusi River October 3, 1942–January 16, 1943 I-22 Japanese Submarine Claimed to be sunk near the mouth of the Kumusi River References Buna-Gona-Sananada Time Line U.S. Army in World War II - Victory In Papua Chapter 12 pages 213, 217 Contribute
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