battle, First World War

Battle of Bita Paka

Name: Battle of Bita Paka
Start: 1914-09-11
Location: Bita Paka, Papua New Guinea

Battle of Bita Paka was a battle fought on 11 September 1914 at Bita Paka, in what is now Papua New Guinea. It was part of the Asian and Pacific theater of World War I, which ran from 1914 to 1919. The recorded result: Australian victory. Recorded strength: 500; 1 battlecruiser; 1 light cruiser; 1 protected cruiser; 3 destroyers; 2 submarines against 61 Germans; 240 Melanesian police.

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AWM Caption: SYDNEY, NSW, 1914-08-14. HER SOLDIER SON. THE FIRST BATCH OF AUSTRALIAN TROOPS, 1 AUSTRALIAN NAVAL AND MILITARY EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (AN&MEF) TO LEAVE AUSTRALIA FOR RABAUL. THEY ARE SE. Sydney Mail, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fought11 September 1914

WhereBita Paka, Papua New Guinea4.407S, 152.299E

OutcomeAustralian victory

BelligerentsAustraliaagainstGerman Empire; German New Guinea

Part ofAsian and Pacific theater of World War I1914 to 1919

Where it sits in the Asian and Pacific theater of World War I

4 placed engagements of the Asian and Pacific theater of World War I in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date	11 September 1914
Place	Bita Paka, Papua New Guinea 4.407S, 152.299E
Kind	Battle, First World War
Strength	500; 1 battlecruiser; 1 light cruiser; 1 protected cruiser; 3 destroyers; 2 submarines	61 Germans; 240 Melanesian police
Casualties and losses	7 killed; 5 wounded	31 killed; (1 German, 30 Melanese police); 11 wounded; (1 German, 10 Melanese police); 75 captured
Commanders	Hans Wuchert

The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Siege of Toma 1914, 15 km W
Battle of Karavia Bay 1944, 18 km NW
Operation Cartwheel 1943, 27 km NW
Battle of Rabaul 1942, 27 km NW
Battle of Blackett Strait 1943, 73 km S

In the same war

Before: Siege of Tsingtao 27 August 1914
After: Siege of Toma 14 September 1914
All 4 engagements of Asian and Pacific theater of World War I

Elsewhere in 1914

First Battle of the Marne France
Battle of Tannenberg Poland
Battle of Liège Belgium
Battle of the Falkland Islands Argentina
Battle of Sarikamish Turkey

Battle of Bita Paka is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 54 in present-day Papua New Guinea.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4741179, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Bita Paka, revision 1376306240, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.