New Britain is an island located in the Bismarck Archipelago region of Papua New Guinea. The island is located off New Guinea and to the southwest of New Ireland, and New Britain's capital is Rabaul; the island is roughly the size of Taiwan. In 1920, the island was transferred from the German Empire to Australia, which renamed the island from "Neupommern" ("New Pomerania") to "New Britain". Japan took over Rabaul on 23 January 1942, and the island was used as a base for operations on New Guinea. In 1944, the US Army took over the rest of the island and encircled Rabaul, which was besieged until 8 August 1945, when the garrison surrendered.