New Guinea is a large island just south of the Equator, lying to the east of the Indonesian archipelago and to the north of Australia. Spain laid claim to the island in the sixteenth century but did not establish any settlements. In the nineteenth century the Netherlands claimed the island as part of the Dutch East Indies.
During the Global War New Guinea was occupied by the Germanic Confederation in 1942 and turned into a base for their attack on Australia. However, the attack was driven off by the Australians, and by 1945 the Germans had withdrawn from New Guinea. The island became part of the newly-established Republic of Indonesia.