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The Japanese were still struggling on Bougainville Island in the Solomons almost 1,400 miles to the rear, still held the battered and all but useless base of Rabaul on New Britain. Battle still flared in the Wakde-Sarmi area and the Japanese had many troops on the south side of Netherlands New Guinea. Nevertheless, MacArthur's milestone statistics were impressive. Since Rendova the Allies had:
¶Captured 344,780 square miles of territory.
¶Neutralized (by isolation) the Japanese Eighth, Eighteenth and Seventeenth Armies—approximately 250,000 men, by MacArthur's reckoning.
¶Destroyed 272 ships, 2,317 barges, 5,245 planes.
¶Taken 1,659 prisoners, released 836 Allied prisoners.
The Jap stood inside his island chain and wondered what would happen next.