The 163rd Infantry Regiment was a Montana National Guard regiment federalized at Billings on September 16, 1940 and assigned to the 41st Infantry Division. It reached Australia in April 1942 and moved to Port Moresby on December 27. Within days it was committed to the Papuan campaign under Australian control. At Sanananda the regiment relieved exhausted troops around the roadblocks, took over positions at Musket, Fisk, and Rankin, and attacked through swamp, jungle, and bunker defenses along the Soputa-Sanananda road. By January 22, 1943 it had helped break the final organized Japanese resistance in the Sanananda area.
After further New Guinea patrolling and a return to Australia, the 163rd reentered combat in 1944. As the major combat element of PERSECUTION Task Force, it landed at Wapil near Aitape on April 22 and quickly secured the Tadji bomber and fighter strips with few casualties. The regiment then pushed west to Aitape and Rohm Point and guarded the flank while engineers prepared the airfields. In May it formed the infantry core of TORNADO Task Force at Wakde-Toem. The regiment landed at Arara on May 17, seized the mainland beachhead, and the next day the 1st Battalion assaulted Wakde Island. Fighting through mutually supporting bunkers, airstrip defenses, and coconut-log positions, the battalion cleared organized resistance by May 20, enabling rapid repair of the airfield.
The 163rd then reinforced the division on Biak and moved to the Philippines in 1945. It landed at Zamboanga on March 10, secured Zamboanga City and San Roque airfield, and advanced inland toward Mount Pulungbatu as the division broke the Japanese defenses overlooking the coastal plain. Elements landed on Sanga Sanga on April 2, and the regiment then assaulted Jolo on April 9. With guerrilla and air support, it reduced the Mount Daho defenses by April 22, ending organized resistance on the island.
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