By late 1943, the fighting in New Guinea had turned in the favor of the Allies after a period of hard fighting. The Japanese drive on Port Moresby during 1942 and early 1943 had been defeated during the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Kokoda Track campaign. The Japanese beachhead at Buna–Gona was subsequently destroyed, albeit with many casualties. The Japanese had been forced to abandon their efforts on Guadalcanal and the Allies had secured the Salamaua region. The Allies then seized the initiative and implemented Operation Cartwheel, a series of subordinate operations aimed at the reduction of the Japanese base at Rabaul and the severing of lines of communication in the South-West Pacific Area, as the Allies advanced towards the Philippines where operations were planned for 1944–1945. The Australians had secured Lae by 16 September 1943 and operations to capture the Huon Peninsula had begun in earnest shortly after, to secure Finschafen before a drive on Saidor. A secondary effort pushed inland from Lae through the Markham and Ramu Valleys, with the two drives eventually aiming towards Madang. As Allied forces began to make headway on the Huon Peninsula, Allied attention then turned to securing their seaward flank on the other side of the Vitiaz and Dampier Straits.