Where was Cibik Ridge in WWII?

Cibik Ridge was on Bougainville during World War II, in the northern Solomon Islands.

The ridge became notable during the American campaign to secure a beachhead at Cape Torokina in late 1943. Bougainville was then part of the Australian-administered Territory of New Guinea, although geographically it belongs to the Solomon Islands chain. Japanese forces held the island and built defensive positions across its difficult jungle terrain.

On November 20, 1943, Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, identified Cibik Ridge as important high ground near the Piva River. A Marine unit moved to occupy it, and the position was attacked repeatedly by Japanese forces. Its height and location helped Allied observers direct artillery against Japanese positions.

Cibik Ridge is sometimes confused with better-known Bougainville battle sites such as Piva Ridge, Hellzapoppin Ridge, or Pearl Ridge. Those were separate features in the same wider campaign, which lasted from November 1943 until the Japanese surrender in August 1945.