Atlas of Battles

battle, notable, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Rabaul

Battle of Rabaul was a battle fought in 1942 at Rabaul, in what is now Papua New Guinea. It was part of the Pacific War, which ran from 1941 to 1945. The recorded result: Japanese victory.

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Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain, Papua New Guinea Summary: Warangoi River, New Britain. 1942-01. The Adler River, in the Bainings Mountains on the eastern side of the Gazelle Peninsula, an obstacle t
Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain, Papua New Guinea Summary: Warangoi River, New Britain. 1942-01. The Adler River, in the Bainings Mountains on the eastern side of the Gazelle Peninsula, an obstacle t. L.I.H. (Les) Robbins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1942
WhereRabaul, Papua New Guinea4.198S, 152.168E
OutcomeJapanese victory
BelligerentsAustraliaagainstEmpire of Japan
Part ofPacific WarSouth-East Asian theater of World War II

Where it sits in the Pacific War

Bombing of Tokyo, 1940Bombing of South-East Asia, 1940Japanese invasion of French Indochina, 1940Battle of Guam, 1941Bombing of Bangkok in World War II, 1941Shelling of Johnston and Palmyra, 1941Axis and Soviet air operations during Operation Barbarossa, 1941Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941Philippines Campaign, 1941Battle of Hong Kong, 1941Battle of Wake Island, 1941Dutch East Indies campaign, 1941Bombing of Singapore, 1941Battle of Prachuap Khiri Khan, 1941Japanese invasion of Batan Island, 1941Attack on Clark Field, 1941Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse, 1941Japanese invasion of Aparri, 1941Japanese invasion of Vigan, 1941Battle of Jitra, 1941Japanese invasion of Legazpi, 1941Battle of Gurun, 1941Battle of Borneo, 1941Japanese Invasion of Davao, 1941Battle of Piis, 1941Battle of Kampar, 1941Solomon Islands Campaign, 1942Burma Campaign, 1942Battle of Savo Island, 1942Battle of Rabaul, 1942Battle of Corregidor, 1942Invasion of Tulagi, 1942Battle of Java, 1942Battle of Tarakan, 1942Japanese invasion of Cotabato, 1942Bombing of Mandalay, 1942Battle of Slim River, 1942Battle of Bataan, 1942Battle of Manado, 1942Battle of Kuala Lumpur, 1942Battle of Muar, 1942Battle of Gemas, 1942New Guinea campaign, 1942Battle of Balikpapan, 1942Battle of Ambon, 1942Marshalls–Gilberts raids, 1942Battle for Australia, 1942Battle of Port Moresby, 1942Battle of Makassar Strait, 1942Battle of Singapore, 1942Battle of Kranji, 1942Battle of Sarimbun Beach, 1942Battle of Bukit Timah, 1942Battle of Palembang, 1942Battle of Pasir Panjang, 1942Battle of Badung Strait, 1942Bombing of Darwin, 1942Battle of Timor, 1942Air raids on Australia, 1942–43, 1942Bombardment of Ellwood, 1942Wake Atoll raid, 1942Battle of Los Angeles, 1942Battle of the Java Sea, 1942Battle of Sunda Strait, 1942Second Battle of the Java Sea, 1942Attack on Broome, 1942Operation K, 1942Bombing of Sukabumi, 1942Battle of Tjiater Pass, 1942Invasion of Salamaua–Lae, 1942Invasion of Sumatra, 1942Indian Ocean raid, 1942Battle of Christmas Island, 1942Doolittle Raid, 1942air raids on Japan, 1942Japan Campaign, 1942Ogu Air Raid, 1942Japanese invasion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, 1942Japanese invasion of Zamboanga, 1942Battle of the Coral Sea, 1942Aleutian Islands Campaign, 1942Battle of Midway, 1942Battle of Dutch Harbor, 1942Attack on Sydney Harbour, 1942Shelling of Newcastle, 1942Bombardment of Fort Stevens, 1942Action of 5 July 1942, 1942Operation Fischreiher, 1942Attack on the Dureenbee, 1942Guadalcanal campaign, 1942Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo, 1942Makin Island raid, 1942Battle of the Tenaru, 1942Battle of the Eastern Solomons, 1942Battle of Milne Bay, 1942Battle of Isurava, 1942Battle of Mission Ridge – Brigade Hill, 1942Battle of Edson's Ridge, 1942Actions along the Matanikau, 1942Lookout Air Raids, 1942Battle of Cape Esperance, 1942Battle of Goodenough Island, 1942Battle for Henderson Field, 1942Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 1942Koli Point action, 1942Matanikau Offensive, 1942Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942Kokoda Track campaign, 1942Battle of Buna–Gona, 1942Battle of Tassafaronga, 1942Arakan Campaign 1942–1943, 1942Carlson's patrol, 1942Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse, 1942Bombing of Rabaul, 1943Operation Python, 1943Operation Ke, 1943Shelling of Port Gregory, 1943Battle of Rennell Island, 1943Battle of Wau, 1943Battle of the Bismarck Sea, 1943Battle of Blackett Strait, 1943Battle of the Komandorski Islands, 1943Operation I-Go, 1943Operation Vengeance, 1943Salamaua–Lae campaign, 1943Battle of Mubo, 1943Battle of Bobdubi, 1943Raid on Darwin, 1943Battle of Attu, 1943Japanese evacuation of Kiska, 1943New Georgia Campaign, 1943Operation Chronicle, 1943Battle of Lababia Ridge, 1943Operation Cartwheel, 1943Battle of Wickham Anchorage, 1943Landings on Rendova, 1943Battle of Viru Harbor, 1943Battle of Kula Gulf, 1943Landing at Nassau Bay, 1943Battle of Enogai, 1943Battle of Kolombangara, 1943Battle of Mount Tambu, 1943Drive on Munda Point, 1943New Georgia counterattack, 1943Battle of Bairoko, 1943Battle of Munda Point, 1943Battle of the Pips, 1943Battle of Vella Gulf, 1943Battle of Roosevelt Ridge, 1943Operation Cottage, 1943Battle off Horaniu, 1943Bombing of Wewak, 1943Landing at Nadzab, 1943Finisterre Range campaign, 1943Battle of Kaiapit, 1943Huon Peninsula campaign, 1943Battle of Finschhafen, 1943Battle of Dumpu, 1943Battle of Scarlet Beach, 1943Naval Battle of Vella Lavella, 1943Land Battle of Vella Lavella, 1943Battle of John's Knoll–Trevor's Ridge, 1943Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign, 1943Bougainville Campaign, 1943Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, 1943Raid on Choiseul, 1943Landings at Cape Torokina, 1943Battle of Koromokina Lagoon, 1943Battle for Piva Trail, 1943Battle of the Treasury Islands, 1943Action of 13 November 1943, 1943Battle of Sattelberg, 1943Battle of Piva Forks, 1943Battle of Tarawa, 1943Battle of Makin, 1943Battle of Wareo, 1943Battle of Arawe, 1943Battle of Sio, 1943Battle of 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1944, 1944Battle of the Philippine Sea, 1944Battle of Noemfoor, 1944Battle of Driniumor River, 1944Action of 17 July 1944, 1944Battle of Tinian, 1944Operation Crimson, 1944Battle of Guam, 1944Operation Boomerang, 1944Battle of Sansapor, 1944Battle of Lone Tree Hill, 1944Battle of Angaur, 1944Battle of Morotai, 1944Bombing of Okinawa, 1944Battle of Leyte, 1944Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 1944Battle off Samar, 1944Battle of Cabo Engaño, 1944Aitape–Wewak campaign, 1944Burma Campaign 1944, 1944Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands, 1944Bombing of Singapore, 1944Action of 10 November 1944, 1944Battle of Ormoc Bay, 1944Battle of Peleliu, 1944Battle of Wide Bay, 1944Battle of Pearl Ridge, 1944Battle of Okinawa, 1945Battle of Manila, 1945Borneo campaign, 1945Battle of Tarakan, 1945Bombing of Osaka, 1945Bombing of Macau, 1945Bombing of Hamamatsu in World War II, 1945Bombing of Kure, 1945Action of 8 June 1945, 1945Bombing of Kyoto, 1945Bombing of Nara, 1945Bombing 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1945Operation Tan No. 2, 1945Battle of the Visayas, 1945Attack on Kure, 1945Battle of Bacsil Ridge, 1945Bombing of Innoshima, 1945Battle for Cebu City, 1945Battle of Slater's Knoll, 1945Operation Starvation, 1945Cactus Ridge, 1945The Pinnacle, Battle of Okinawa, 1945Operation Kikusui, 1945Operation Ten-Go, 1945Battle of Bōno-Misaki, 1945Battle of Kakazu, 1945Operation Copper, 1945Bombing of Kōriyama, 1945Bombing of Kawasaki, 1945Battle of the Hongorai River, 1945Battle of Davao, 1945Operation Dracula, 1945Battle of Elephant Point, 1945Battle of Sugar Loaf Hill, 1945Battle of the Malacca Strait, 1945Battle of Ipo Dam, 1945Bombing of Yokohama, 1945Raid on Taipei, 1945Battle of Bessang Pass, 1945Battle of Ratsua, 1945Battle of Porton Plantation, 1945Bombing of Atsuta, 1945Battle of North Borneo, 1945Battle of Labuan, 1945Bombing of Hitachi, 1945Bombing of Chiba in World War II, 1945Battle in the Hills of Kuniyoshi, 1945Operation Inmate, 1945Bombing of Yokkaichi, 1945Bombing of Fukuoka, 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Hodojima, 1945Bombing of Shimada, 1945Bombing of Matsuyama, 1945Bombing of Kure, 1945Bombing of Aomori in World War II, 1945Oyamaguchi train air raid incident, 1945Bombing of Hamada, 1945Bombing of Yonago, 1945Bombing of Ōgaki, 1945Nakagawa iron bridge air raid, 1945Bombing of Nagaoka in World War II, 1945Bombing of Toyama, 1945Bombing of Hachiōji, 1945Bombing of Mito, 1945Bombing of Maebashi, 1945Bombing of Saga during World War II, 1945atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945atomic bombing of Hiroshima, 1945Battle of the Sittang Bend, 1945Bombing of Toyokawa in World War II, 1945Bombing of Fukuyama, 1945Chikushi Station Train Air Raid Incident, 1945Soviet–Japanese War, 1945atomic bombing of Nagasaki, 1945Bombing of Ōminato, 1945Bombing of Hanamaki, 1945Bombing of Tosu during World War II, 1945Bombing of Kurume during World War II, 1945Bombing of Kajiki, 1945Bombing of Nagano, 1945Bombing of Ōtsuki, 1945Bombing of Akita in World War II, 1945Bombing of Kumagaya in World War II, 1945Bombing of Odawara, 1945Bombing of Isesaki, 1945Seishin Operation, 1945Philippines campaign of 1944–1945, 1945Operation Jurist, 1945Operation Tiderace, 1945Operation Agas, 1945UN Offensive Campaign, 195019401950Battle of Rabaul, 1942
415 placed engagements of the Pacific War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1942 (year precision)
to February 1942
PlaceRabaul, Papua New Guinea
4.198S, 152.168E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength1,400 soldiers (New Britain); 130 soldiers (New Ireland); 24 Squadron RAAF (10 Wirraway trainer aircraft and 4 Hudson light aircraft, approximately 200 ground personnel).15,000 soldiers (New Britain)
Casualties and losses6 aircrew killed; 5 aircrew wounded; 28 soldiers killed; 1,000 soldiers captured; 4 aircraft shot down; 2 damaged aircraft crashed16 killed; 49 wounded; at least 2 aircraft shot down; 4 aircraft lost in accidents
Commanders
  • John Joseph Scanlan (soldier)
  • Shigeyoshi Inoue
  • Tomitarō Horii
Battle of RabaulBattle of RabaulBombing of RabaulOperation CartwheelBattle of Karavia BaySiege of TomaBattle of Bita PakaSiege of TomaBattle of Bita Paka100 km4.198S, 152.168E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1942

Battle of Rabaul is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 70 in present-day Papua New Guinea.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1572785, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Rabaul (1942), revision 1384307446, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.