Operation FS
1942 Japanese planned military offensive in the South Pacific
Operation FS was the Imperial Japanese plan to invade and occupy Fiji, American Samoa, Samoa, and New Caledonia in the South Pacific during the Pacific conflict of World War II. The operation was set to be executed in July or August 1942 following Operation MO, Operation RY, and Operation MI.
FS was to be a joint effort between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Imperial Japanese Army. The primary goal of Operation FS was to, following the completion of MO, RY, and MI, cut the supply and communication lines between Australia and the United States, with the goal of reducing or eliminating Australia as a base to threaten Japan's perimeter defenses in the South Pacific.
Operation FS was postponed following the Japanese setback at the Battle of the Coral Sea, then cancelled after the Japanese defeat at the Battle of Midway, following the losses of four Japanese fleet carriers. The land forces originally dedicated for Operation FS, namely the 17th Army, were instead reassigned to a subsequently unsuccessful reattempt to take Port Moresby, part of the original goal for Operation MO, and to defend the Solomon Islands from Allied offensives.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Operation FS”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Pacific War Japanese Advances.jpg by MacArthur's General Staff, Public domain
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