Chronology of World War II
Saturday, January 2
Slain Japanese soldiers
US forces inflict heavy casualties on Japanese soldiers in capture of Buna, New Guinea. On the beach of Buna Mission, last point of Japanese resistance in the Papuan section of New Guinea, the bodies of slain Japanese soldiers lie a few steps from their shattered landing boat. The Japanese suffered heavy losses in this engagement and eventually were completely routed by American and Australian forces.