MacArthur is planning a bold operation. Our penetration of the Japanese codes has revealed Hollandia has virtually no land defenses. So, he is going to leap to Hollandia and bypass Wewak, cutting off a Japanese Army. Because the Navy can only spare its carriers for a brief time, Aitape will also be taken as a base for air support for the Hollandia operations. The operation is appropriately named Reckless.
The Japanese have caught on that we only leap as far as our air cover, but our carrier fleet has changed that calculus.
Finally, the long, slow slog across New Guinea is about to speed up.
For being such fans of a complex game like “Go,” the Japanese were chumps when it came to Pacific strategy. We have already shown a penchant for bombing the hell out of their forward bases, and then landing behind them. Like at Bougainville, the Admiralties, Kwajalein and Eniwetok.
The Japanese should start looking at what we are capable of doing, not what they think we will do. Or maybe they don’t really want to consider what we are capable of doing, because that thought is probably getting rather scary and depressing by now.
PS:
I have been reading about “Operation Reckless” in Nimitz’ war diary. I hadn’t bothered to look it up, and wondered what it was. Now I know; thank you.
I would imagine the carrier raids on Palau and Yap were meant to prevent the Japanese from staging any fleet or air units from those bases to interfere with Reckless. Makes sense now that you look at it, but again, either the Japanese are not connecting the dots, not wanting to connect the dots, or simply unable to do anything about it.
My Dad's 33rd Infantry Division is "now" guarding and training in Hawaii (yes, it was tough duty, but somebody had to do it. ;-) )
They will arrive in New Guinea on May 11, 1944.