Black Cat Track
Encyclopedia
The Black Cat Track or Trail is a rough overland track in Morobe Province
, Papua New Guinea
. It runs from the village of Salamaua
on the coast of the Huon Gulf
, south into the mountains to the township of Wau.
seeking to get rich on the gold
in Wau. They traveled from the port Salamaua on a treacherous 3 to 4-day hike through leech
-infested territory, a trail that has been described as "suitable only for masochists and Israeli Paratroopers".
Before Errol Flynn
(who grew up in Australia
and New Guinea) became an actor in 1933, he hiked this trail and commented that it was a rigorous march through leech-infested jungle, in constant fear of ambush, and lying awake at night wondering "whether that crawly sound you heard a few feet away might be a snake, a cassowary
or maybe only a wild board razorback
... I have seen Central Africa
, but it was never anything like the jungle of New Guinea."
, the Town of Salamaua was captured by the Japanese. They had tried to take Port Moresby by sea, but were defeated in The Battle of the Coral Sea. Now they were going to take it by land. They tried to take the capital by going over the Owen Stanley mountain range, by the Kokoda Trail, basing the operation out of Salamaua. They almost made it this time but were pushed back 30 miles short of the city, in a series of bloody battles. After this they converted Salamaua into a major supply base. After a few months had passed, they made their final attempt at Port Moresby, the Black Cat Trail. If they could capture the Allied Air Base in Wau, they could launch an offensive on the capital that would have overwhelmed the Australians, Americans, and Papua New Guinea Militia stationed there.
The Japanese attacked in force, but the Australian 17th Brigade, under Major-General Stanley Savige
, held out until reinforcements (The three independent companies 2/3rd, 2/5th and 2/7th) arrived. Then on 23 April, the allies struck back along the trail, taking it until the hills called The Pimple, and Observation Hill. The Japanese were firmly entrenched there. The 2/7th attacked The Pimple, with mortar
support, after it had been strafed by four aircraft, but the Japanese were too firmly entrenched, and the Australian advance was halted. The next day, they attacked again, supported by aircraft and the 1st mountain battery, limited to fifty rounds a gun, but again the attack failed. On 7 May, they attacked again, but again were driven back. Then on 9 May, the Japanese launched their own attack in the Pimple area. They surrounded the foremost Australian Company and started closing in. The Australians were not relieved until the afternoon of 11 May. By this time they had withstood eight attacks from parts of two Japanese battalions. The following day, they took The Pimple, supported by field guns, where before there had been only two mountain batteries.
The 2/3rd battalion had been pressing along while the 2/7th tried to take The Pimple, and in early May, they came to the Bobdubi Ridge. Seeing that it was only lightly held, they attacked it, and captured it on 4 May. They then held off all Japanese trying to retake it. From Bobdubi, the 2/3rd battalion severely harassed the Japanese. Their tactics were so successful that Major-General Savige had to tell them not to attempt too much, as “premature commitments in the Salamaua area could not be backed at present by an adequate force.” Then on 14 May, the Japanese launched a full-scale attack, supported by guns and mortars, forcing the Australians to withdraw. On the 15th, over 100 Japanese planes attacked Australian positions in three raids, and on the 17th and 18th they raided the Wau airdrome.
In late May the 2/6th battalion arrived to relieve the 2/7th, and the 15th brigade headquarters and another battalion of that brigade started arriving in Savige's area. In mid June, the allies started acting as if they were going to attack Salamaua, but really the target was Lae, on the other side of the Huon Gulf. The Japanese fell for this and on the 19th and 20th, they seemed to anticipate an attack, and started patrolling aggressively. The plan worked as planned, but the allies didn't attack until early September. On 26 August, General Milford relieved Savige, with his 5th division headquarters. Salamaua was captured on 11 September 1942, a week after the Lae offensive began. Five days later Lae
was taken.
Morobe Province
Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital, and largest city, is Lae. The province covers 34,500 km², including 719 km² maritime area, with a population of 539,725...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. It runs from the village of Salamaua
Salamaua
Salamaua was a small town situated on the north-eastern coastline of Papua New Guinea part of Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland...
on the coast of the Huon Gulf
Huon Gulf
Huon Gulf is a large gulf in eastern Papua New Guinea, at . It is bordered by Huon Peninsula in the north. Both are named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. Huon Gulf is a part of the Solomon Sea. Lae, capital of the Morobe Province is located on the northern coast of the...
, south into the mountains to the township of Wau.
Gold Rush
The track started out in the 1920s and 30s as a trail for prospectorsProspecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
seeking to get rich on the gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
in Wau. They traveled from the port Salamaua on a treacherous 3 to 4-day hike through leech
Leech
Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...
-infested territory, a trail that has been described as "suitable only for masochists and Israeli Paratroopers".
Before Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
(who grew up in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Guinea) became an actor in 1933, he hiked this trail and commented that it was a rigorous march through leech-infested jungle, in constant fear of ambush, and lying awake at night wondering "whether that crawly sound you heard a few feet away might be a snake, a cassowary
Cassowary
The cassowaries are ratites, very large flightless birds in the genus Casuarius native to the tropical forests of New Guinea, nearby islands and northeastern Australia. There are three extant species recognized today...
or maybe only a wild board razorback
Razorback
Razorback is an Americanism, loosely applied to any type of feral pig or wild boar in North America. The term has also appeared in Australia, to describe said animals in that country.-Introduction to the Americas:...
... I have seen Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
, but it was never anything like the jungle of New Guinea."
World War II
On 8 March 1942 in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Town of Salamaua was captured by the Japanese. They had tried to take Port Moresby by sea, but were defeated in The Battle of the Coral Sea. Now they were going to take it by land. They tried to take the capital by going over the Owen Stanley mountain range, by the Kokoda Trail, basing the operation out of Salamaua. They almost made it this time but were pushed back 30 miles short of the city, in a series of bloody battles. After this they converted Salamaua into a major supply base. After a few months had passed, they made their final attempt at Port Moresby, the Black Cat Trail. If they could capture the Allied Air Base in Wau, they could launch an offensive on the capital that would have overwhelmed the Australians, Americans, and Papua New Guinea Militia stationed there.
The Japanese attacked in force, but the Australian 17th Brigade, under Major-General Stanley Savige
Stanley Savige
Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, KBE, CB, DSO, MC, ED , was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in World War I and World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant general....
, held out until reinforcements (The three independent companies 2/3rd, 2/5th and 2/7th) arrived. Then on 23 April, the allies struck back along the trail, taking it until the hills called The Pimple, and Observation Hill. The Japanese were firmly entrenched there. The 2/7th attacked The Pimple, with mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
support, after it had been strafed by four aircraft, but the Japanese were too firmly entrenched, and the Australian advance was halted. The next day, they attacked again, supported by aircraft and the 1st mountain battery, limited to fifty rounds a gun, but again the attack failed. On 7 May, they attacked again, but again were driven back. Then on 9 May, the Japanese launched their own attack in the Pimple area. They surrounded the foremost Australian Company and started closing in. The Australians were not relieved until the afternoon of 11 May. By this time they had withstood eight attacks from parts of two Japanese battalions. The following day, they took The Pimple, supported by field guns, where before there had been only two mountain batteries.
The 2/3rd battalion had been pressing along while the 2/7th tried to take The Pimple, and in early May, they came to the Bobdubi Ridge. Seeing that it was only lightly held, they attacked it, and captured it on 4 May. They then held off all Japanese trying to retake it. From Bobdubi, the 2/3rd battalion severely harassed the Japanese. Their tactics were so successful that Major-General Savige had to tell them not to attempt too much, as “premature commitments in the Salamaua area could not be backed at present by an adequate force.” Then on 14 May, the Japanese launched a full-scale attack, supported by guns and mortars, forcing the Australians to withdraw. On the 15th, over 100 Japanese planes attacked Australian positions in three raids, and on the 17th and 18th they raided the Wau airdrome.
In late May the 2/6th battalion arrived to relieve the 2/7th, and the 15th brigade headquarters and another battalion of that brigade started arriving in Savige's area. In mid June, the allies started acting as if they were going to attack Salamaua, but really the target was Lae, on the other side of the Huon Gulf. The Japanese fell for this and on the 19th and 20th, they seemed to anticipate an attack, and started patrolling aggressively. The plan worked as planned, but the allies didn't attack until early September. On 26 August, General Milford relieved Savige, with his 5th division headquarters. Salamaua was captured on 11 September 1942, a week after the Lae offensive began. Five days later Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
was taken.
Forgotten history
The Black Cat Trail is rarely remembered today, except as a hard hike through unforgiving terrain, and seldom then. The historical side of it is almost forgotten. Most hikers know that there is World War II history behind it, and that is about it. It is sad that a place where so many men lost their lives defending their country, and ultimately the world, from the Japanese Empire would be forgotten so quickly. The glory was already taken by the men on the Kokoda Trail. All these men that lost their lives there are being forgotten.External links
- "http://www.pngtrekkingadventures.com/detail/black_cat_track_battlefield_tours"
- Black Cat
- The Barbarians - A Soldier's New Guinea Diary by Peter Pinney, 2nd edit 2008 publ. by lulu.com ISBN 978-1-84799-605-3
- 3rd. Australian Division AASC