New Guinea Force

Created as part of General Sir Thomas Blamey's reorganisation of the AMF in April 1942, New Guinea Force absorbed the 8th Military District and the troops serving in it. As with Northern Territory Force, it absorbed coastal defence, anti-aircraft and garrison units which normally came under the Lines of Communications Area headquarters. Its initial commander was Major-General B. M. Morris, a regular soldier whose experience thus far in the war had been in India and as commander of the Australian Overseas Base in the Middle East. It was assigned to General Douglas MacArthur's South-West Pacific Area in the middle of the same month. Morris was replaced by Lieutenant-General S. F. Rowell in late July. New Guinea Force was responsible for driving the Japanese out of south-eastern New Guinea and Papua, and at various times had command of Australian and American units, and also assumed responsibility for Milne Force, under Major-General Cyril Clowes, during the fighting at Milne Bay in which the Japanese offensive there was defeated. It experienced a certain amount of command turbulence in August when Blamey relieved Rowell of his command and replaced him with Lieutenant-General Sir Edmund Herring. By April 1943, with Papua cleared of the enemy, New Guinea Force had six Australian brigades in three militia divisions under the acting command of Lieutenant-General I. G. Mackay. The latter was succeeded by Lieutenant-General Sir Leslie Morshead in November 1943, and the force continued to exercise administrative responsibility for Australian operations in New Guinea. Its responsibilities were assumed by the First Australian Army on 1October 1944.