Sattelberg

The Saddle Mountain (also Satelberg ) is a 896 m high mountain in Papua New Guinea, Morobe Province on the island of New Guinea to the northwest of Finschhafen, with an evangelical mission.

From 1885 to 1914, the Saddle Mountain belonged to the colony of German New Guinea. The German missionary Johann Flierl built in 1892 on Saddle Mountain a mission station of the Neuendettelsauer mission. On the vast, almost always veiled with clouds mountain today commemorated by a church because the saddle mountain began the Protestant mission history of Papua New Guinea.

1914 German New Guinea were conquered by Australian troops and administered after the war as a League of Nations mandate of Australia. During World War II the saddle mountain was the scene of fierce military confrontations between Japanese and Australian troops. Japan had occupied the area around Finschhafen and the Saddle Mountain on March 10, 1942. In September 1943, the reconquest of New Guinea by the Australians began. After the landing of the 9th Australian Division on 22 September 1943 Finschhafen, the Finschhafen and the surrounding area had the main part of the Japanese garrison of 4,000 men, retired to the saddle mountain, dominated. On October 16, 1943, the Japanese took to land and sea a coordinated counterattack. The Australians were the end of October 1943 gain and could go on the offensive again on 7 November 1943. After a month of difficult battles succeeded in the Australian Army on November 25, 1943 to take the saddle mountain.