... includes the islands of New Britain and New Ireland, and is separated from mainland New Guinea by the Bismarck Sea. The islands were annexed in 1884 as part of the German protectorate of German New Guinea, and named in honour of the Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
Following the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, the Bismarck Archipelago was included in the Territory of New Guinea, which was administered by Australia. It gained independence in 1975 along with the Territory of Papua, and the two territories merged to form Papua New Guinea. (Papua is the south–eastern part of the island of New Guinea; from 1920 to 1975 the north–eastern part was included in the Territory of New Guinea.)
The archipelago was heavily involved in the New Guinea campaign of World War II, which began with the Japanese invasion of New Britain in January 1942.
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