Quiz #22
After the American landings on Bougainville on 1 Nov 1943, which led to the
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay (see Quiz #7),
a major group of Japanese cruisers was moved from Truk to Rabaul.
To stop their interfering with the beachead, Adm. Halsey despatched TF38,
including aircraft carriers USS Saratoga and Princeton,
under R.Adm. Sherman to make a surprise airstrike. They hit Rabaul the
morning of 5 Nov 1943. No Japanese ships were sunk, but heavy cruisers
Atago,
Mogami,
Maya, and Takao, and light cruisers Agano
and Noshiro were all hit or damaged by near misses. The cruisers
were forced to withdraw to Truk, removing any major threat to the American
landings. TF38 withdrew undetected.
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