Australian soldiers unloading transport planes at an airfield near Wau, in mid-1943.

The Battle of Wau, January 29-31, 1943 was a battle in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian forces at Wau were attacked by Japan. January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II. Fighting in the Australian mandated Territory of New Guinea (the north-eastern part of the island of New Guinea and surrounding islands) and Dutch New Guinea, between Allied and Japanese forces, commenced with the Japanese... Combatants Allied Powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Axis Powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33... Wau is a town in Papua New Guinea, in the province of Morobe. ...