Milne Bay

Type: Event

As of November 2026, Milne Bay has been mentioned in one podcast episode on Dan Carlin (Nov 2020). Significant battle where Australian forces repelled Japanese advances.

The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE or the Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese naval infantry, known as Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai, with two small tanks attacked the Allied airfields at Milne Bay that had been established on the eastern tip of New Guinea. Due to poor intelligence work, the Japanese miscalculated the size of the predominantly Australian garrison and, believing that the airfields were defended by o