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Buka Island was occupied by Japanese troops during World War II, [4] and it was the site of important Japanese airfields that were considered strategic by the allies. Although the island was bombed by allied air forces and warships, allied armies never fought in Buka. After holding out for years on poor supplies, the Japanese surrendered in ...
Buka Island is volcanic formation measuring 35 miles by 9 miles (56 km by 14 km), with a total land area of 190 square miles (492 km²). The elevation reaches to 1,634 feet (498 metres) in the hills in the southwest, and the interior of the island is densely forested. [1] Rainfall is abundant, with more than 100 inches (2,500 mm) annually.
Traditional canoe paddle from Buka Island. The earliest known site of human occupation in Bougainville is Kilu Cave, located on Buka Island. [1] The bottom-most archaeological deposits in the cave were radiocarbon-dated to between 28,700 and 20,100 years ago. [2]
Bougainville has been inhabited by humans for at least 29,000 years, according to evidence obtained from Kilu Cave on Buka Island. [11] Until about 10,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum, there was a single island referred to as "Greater Bougainville" that spanned from the northern tip of Buka Island to the Nggela Islands north of Guadalcanal.
After the occupation of Buka and Bougainville, the Japanese began constructing airfields across the island. [1] The main airfields were on Buka Island, on the nearby Bonis Peninsula, and at Kahili and Kieta, [1] while naval bases were also constructed at Buin in the south and on the nearby Shortland Islands. [2]
Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: Bogenvil) [1] is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is 9,300 km 2 (3,600 sq mi). The highest point is Mount Balbi , on the main island, at 2,715 m (8,907 ft).
Kilu Cave is a paleoanthropological site located on Buka Island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.Kilu Cave is located at the base of a limestone cliff, 65 m (213 ft) from the modern coastline. [3]
The Americans had landed Marines from the 3rd Marine Division around Cape Torokina on Bougainville Island on 1 November 1943. [4] Judging the landings a ruse, and that the real Allied objective was the airfields around Buka Island to the north of Bougainville, the Japanese delayed launching a concerted counterattack on Cape Torokina, and instead determined to reinforce Buka. [5]