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Allied occupation of German New Guinea

The Australian occupation of German New Guinea was the takeover of the Pacific colony of German New Guinea in September – November 1914 by an expeditionary force from Australia, called the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force.

Aftermath[edit]

Organized and completed with remarkable speed, the occupation of German New Guinea was significant as the first independent military operation carried out by Australia and the second one for Japan.[10]


Lieutenant Hermann Detzner, a German officer with some 20 native policemen, evaded capture in the interior of New Guinea and managed to remain free for the entire war. After the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, the victorious Allies divided all German's colonial possessions among themselves. German New Guinea became the Territory of New Guinea, a League of Nations Mandate Territory under Australian administration.[11][12][13]

Australian occupation of German New Guinea order of battle