The
New Guinea campaign of the
Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the
Empire of Japan invaded the
Australian-administered territories of the
New Guinea Mandate (23 January) and
Papua (8 March) and overran
western New Guinea (beginning 29/30 March), which was a part of the
Netherlands East Indies. During the second phase, lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender, the
Allies cleared the Japanese first from Papua, then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony.