The Battle of Munda Point was fought from 2 July to 5 August 1943 as American forces attempted to capture the Japanese airport at Munda Point on New Georgia amid the New Georgia campaign of World War II.
The Japanese airbase at Munda Point protected the southern approaches to Rabaul on New Britain, and, following the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Americans planned to capture Munda Point to enable further assaults on Vila, Kolombangara, and Bougainville. American forces secured Rendova Island on 30 June, and, on 2 July 1943, Major General John H. Hester's 43rd Infantry Division crossed over from Rendova to New Georgia. The 43rd Infantry Division's two-week advance was hampered by unfavorable climate, ambushes by the Japanese, and both exhaustion and hunger. On 17-18 July, the Japanese halted the American advance with a major counterattack.
On 22 July, Major General Oscar W. Griswold issued orders to renew the offensive against Munda airfield, replacing the 43rd Infantry Division with the 37th Infantry Division and 25th Infantry Division. Aided by naval gunfire, artillery, and US Marine Corps tanks, the Americans faced heavy resistance from Japanese pillboxes, but they utilized flamethrowers to clear out the Japanese troops. On 30 July, Sasaki ordered a withdrawal closer to the airfield, and his communication lines with Rabaul were soon severed. On 3 August, the US divisions converged around the eastern edges of the airfield and cleared out the Japanese troops who did not heed Sasaki's evacuation order. On 5 August, the Americans finally captured the airfield, and the Japanese troops on New Georgia were redeployed to defend nearby Kolombangara. Munda airfield would become the most important airfield used to support the Allies' Bougainville campaign in late 1943.
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