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South Seas Force




During 1942 , the force was used in the Battle Of Rabaul and then during the New Guinea Campaign , in the Kokoda Track Campaign and the Battle Of Buna-Gona .

In accord with Kenosuke Sato , naval thinker, this unit along Army detachment, was the force, with General Tomoyuki Yamashita , charged to invade Australian soil, but with strategic changes in planning, the Battle Of Midway , and the opposition of Prime Minister Hideki Tojo , the operation was delayed, and finally cancelled in accord with Burma land operations and the results in the Battle Of Coral Sea and the objectives were changed to Port Moresby and New Guinea Campaign .


STRUCTURE

In early December 1941, the force was organised in three sub-groups:
  • Wake Invasion Group

  • ---Air unit of land based Bomber s

  • ---Bombardment unit of four Destroyer s and three Cruiser s

  • ---Invasion unit of gunboats and a Special Naval Landing Force

  • ---Submarine unit (three submarines)

  • Gilberts Invasion Group

  • ---Air Unit

  • --- Tarawa invasion unit

  • --- Makin invasion unit

  • ---Makin base construction unit

  • ---Submarine unit

  • Guam Invasion Group

  • ---Air unit

  • ---Cruiser unit with four Heavy Cruiser s

  • ---Support unit with four destroyers

  • ---Invasion unit

  • ---Transport unit

  • ---Submarine unit


After the failure of the initial Wake invasion on December 11 , 1941, the Wake group was reinforced with:

  • Carrier unit of two Aircraft Carrier s, two cruisers and two destroyers,

  • Support unit of four heavy cruisers, three destroyers and four submarines, one of the other submarines having been sunk.