Land Battle of Vella Lavella

Battle of Vella Lavella Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II New Zealand soldiers land at Baka Baka, Vella Lavella to relieve the U.S. 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Division, on 17 September 1943. Date 15 August – 9 October 1943 Location Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands Result Allied victory Belligerents  United States  New Zealand Colony of Fiji  Empire of Japan Commanders and leaders Theodore S. Wilkinson Oscar Griswold H. E. Barrowclough Strength 9,588[1] 700[2] Casualties and losses 150 killed[3] 200 killed[4]

Coordinates: 7°44′S 156°38′E / 7.733°S 156.633°E The Battle of Vella Lavella was fought from 15 August – 9 October 1943 between Japan and the Allied forces from New Zealand and the United States. Vella Lavella is an island located in the Solomon Islands that had been occupied by Japanese forces. The Allies successfully recaptured the island. Barakoma Airfield on Vella Lavella was later the homebase of VMF-214 "Blacksheep" and its CO Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington.

Notes

1. Miller, Cartwheel, p. 176 & Gillespie, Official History, p. 128. Ground forces included 5,888 U.S. and 3,700 New Zealanders.
2. Gillespie, Official History, p. 128 & 139.
3. Gillespie, Official History, p. 142. Includes ground force and naval support personnel.
4. Gillespie, Official History, p. 139.

References

• McGee, William L. (2002). "Occupation of Vella Lavella". The Solomons Campaigns, 1942–1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville—Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII). BMC Publications. ISBN 0-9701678-7-3.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). "Chapter XIII: Vella Lavella". Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. ISBN 0-7858-1307-1.
• Rottman, Gordon L.; Dr. Duncan Anderson (consultant editor) (2005). Japanese Army in World War II: The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942–43. Oxford and New York: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-870-7. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)

External links

• "The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War, 1939–1945: I: Vella Lavella".
• Craven, Wesley Frank; James Lea Cate. "Vol. IV, The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944". The Army Air Forces in World War II. U.S. Office of Air Force History. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
• Hughes, Warwick; Ray Munro. "3rd NZ Division in the Pacific". Archived from the original on 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
• Lofgren, Stephen J. Northern Solomons. The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II (United States Army Center of Military History). CMH Pub 72-10. Retrieved October 18, 2006.
• Melson, Charles D. (1993). "UP THE SLOT: Marines in the Central Solomons". WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. p. 36. Retrieved September 26, 2006.
• Miller, John, Jr. (1959). "CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul". United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific. Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Department of the Army. p. 418. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
• Rentz, John (1952). "Marines in the Central Solomons: CHAPTER 5, Central Solomons Mop Up". Historical Branch, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. Retrieved May 30, 2006.
• Shaw, Henry I.; Douglas T. Kane (1963). "Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul". History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. Retrieved 2006-10-18.