The Salawaket Crossing, September - October 1943: An Episode of Japanese Death Marches during the New Guinea Campaign

Drawing upon the 102-volume Japanese war history series, Senshi sōsho (Tokyo: Asagumo shinbunsha, 1968-1980), this project maps the Salawaket Crossing, one of the episodes of death and starvation that the Japanese army and navy ground forces experienced during the New Guinea campaigns in the South Pacific.

The 51st Division that led the Salawaket Crossing was one of four ill-fated reinforcement divisional forces of the Imperial Japanese Army that, by the order of Imperial Headquarters in late 1942, proceeded from the China theater to help stem the tide of the Allied counter-offensives. Instead, the division lacked logistical support, and as a result, many died from starvation and disease.

The Salawaket Crossing lasted from September to October 1943, roughly two and a half months after the Allies’ launch of “Operation Cartwheel,” a major two-prong offensive against the Japanese strong points in the central Solomons and the eastern coastline of New Guinea.