Four Marines defend a position in Cape Gloucester, during a Japanese counterattack. Three of them are carrying a Thompson, a M1 Carabine and a browning M1917. Note the shovel at the left side. The Battle of Cape Gloucester was the most important battle during the New Britain Campaign, and part of the Allied Operation Dexterity. Fought between 26 December 1943 – 22 April 1944, implied the second World War II landing of the U.S. 1st Marine Division, after Guadalcanal. The Marines, under the command of Major General William H. Rupertus, were opposed by the Japanese 17th Division, commanded by Major General Iwao Matsuda, which was augmented by "Matsuda Force" . In a nutshell, the most relevant goals of the New Britain actions were to isolate and harase the major Japanese base of Rabaul. This later permitted the Allied victory, as the route to the Philippines was free from Japanese aircraft. The official caption to this photograph was «Retreating at first into the jungle of Cape Gloucester, Japanese soldiers finally gathered strength and counterattacked their Marine pursuers. These machine gunners pushed them back.»

??/01/1944