Battle of Bita Paka
Bita Paka, south of Kabakaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
What happened
The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force fought German reservists and Melanesian police of German New Guinea under Hauptmann Hans Wuchert. When the First World War began, Australia sent a force to capture the German radio stations in New Guinea, which the German navy used to send messages. Australian troops landed on New Britain and marched inland toward the Bita Paka radio station. After a day of fighting through ambushes and trenches, they found the station abandoned.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was Australia's first battle of the First World War, and the first Australians to die in that war fell there. It ended German resistance in New Guinea, which Australia then governed.
What came next
The remaining German forces surrendered on 21 September 1914. Australia later governed the territory under a League of Nations mandate.
Timeline
- August 1914The Australian expeditionary force is raised.
- 11 September 1914Australians capture the Bita Paka radio station.
- 14 September 1914The Australian submarine AE1 disappears.
- 21 September 1914German forces in New Guinea surrender.