Battle of Piva Forks

rdf:langString Battle of Piva Forks

rdf:langString Battle of Piva Forks

rdf:langString First phase of the battle

rdf:langString Harukichi Hyakutake

rdf:langString Masatane Kanda

rdf:langString George W. McHenry

rdf:langString Roy Geiger

rdf:langString Battle of Piva Forks

rdf:langString the Bougainville campaign of the Pacific Theater

rdf:langString Bougainville in the South Pacific

rdf:langString Allied victory

rdf:langString The Battle of Piva Forks, also known as the Battle of Numa–Numa Trail, was an engagement that took place during the Bougainville campaign in World War II. Occurring between 18 and 25 November 1943 on Bougainville Island in the South Pacific, the battle involved troops from the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army fighting against Imperial Japanese Army forces and took place amidst the context of the expansion of a beachhead that US forces had established around Torokina on the western side of the island. In response to the US forward movement, the Japanese placed road blocks along the main axes of advance to delay the Americans; finding their way towards the Piva River checked near the junction of the Numa–Numa and East–West Trails, the US forces sought to remove the obstacles by force. After the initial US attack was repulsed, the Japanese counterattacked before the US Marines overcame this and continued their advance towards two forks in the Piva River. By 26 November the battle had subsided following the capture of a knoll overlooking the East–West Trail by US forces. This represented the last of the significant features west of the Torokina and the conclusion of the battle marked a temporary end to significant Japanese opposition to the US beachhead around Torokina.