6TH ARMY (US)
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WWII

6th Army Insignia

The 6th Army was activated in January 1943, under the command of Lieutenant General Walter Krueger who established his headquarters at Camp Columbia at Wacol in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 6th Army Headquarters was located at the western side of Camp Columbia to the west of Camp Area No. 1 and comprised 7 two-storied administration buildings 108ft x 30 ft located in a man proof fenced compound. A 50 ft high flag pole and incinerator were also located inside this compound.

6th Army Headquarters (at left), Camp Columbia, Brisbane

The 6th Army, included in various combinations the following Corps at different times during WW2:-

• I Corps
• X Corps
• XIV Corps
• XXIV Corps

The operations of the 6th Army included:-

• Kiriwina and Woodlark Islands, July 1943
• New Britain, December 1943-February 1944
• Admiralty Islands, February-May 1944
• New Guinea, July-August 1944
• Morotai, September-October 1944
• Leyte and Mindoro, Philippines, October-December 1944
• Luzon, January-February 1945

Under the code name "Alamo Force", the 6th Army assumed control of the majority of US Army units involved in Operation Cartwheel, the campaign to isolate the neutralise the Japanese base at Rabaul in New Britain.

Following the successful completion of Operation Cartwheel, the Sixth Army joined forces with the Australian Army and other US forces on the north coast of New Guinea. Similar in conception to the island hopping operations of the central Pacific, the object of the attacks was to land, establish a garrison and airfield which could support the next strike, and then move on.

In September 1944, the Sixth Army was released from operations in New Guinea by the US Eighth Army.

On 20 October 1944, X Corps and XXIV Corps, under Sixth Army, invaded Leyte in the Philippines. By December 1944, Leyte was almost secure, and Sixth Army was relieved again by the Eighth Army to prepare for the invasion of Luzon.

Luzon itself was invaded on 9 January 1945 by I and XIV Corps. Sixth Army units fought southwards until they met up with the Eighth Army which was advancing from around Manila. The Sixth Army then continued to clear the area to the north of Luzon until the end of the war. Sixth Army was in preparation to provide the ground forces for the first phase of the invasion of Japan, but the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945 saw an end to that plan.

The 6th Army established itself at Honshu, Japan in September 1945.

The 6th Army was deactivated in January 1946.

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This page first produced 7 September 2008

This page last updated 19 January 2020