Kokoda

[Denny]

A new Australian movie on the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea, where Australians were fighting Japanese advancing to Port Moresby along a 100 km long trail in the jungle. 625 died, 1055 wounded during 5 months of fight.
Kokoda movie preview ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Kokoda plaques ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Regards,
Denny

[joette]

A new Australian movie on the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea, where Australians were fighting Japanese advancing to Port Moresby along a 100 km long trail in the jungle. 625 died, 1055 wounded during 5 months of fight.
Kokoda movie preview ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Kokoda plaques ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Regards,
Denny
True story?

[Denny]

The movie is based on the battle which Australians had to fought in the Papuan jungle against Japanese. The exact story as it is depicted in the movie is however made up to suit its purpose.
See the mud, mud, glorious mud ... ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Denny

[Denny]

Yes, early 1942 the Japanese were at the apex of their power. Port Moresby was the last base to defend Australia offshore. So its base was vital for Australia - and for Allied.
From Wikipedia:
On March 12 the Prime Minister of Japan, General Hideki Tojo, said:
Australia and New Zealand are now threatened by the might of the Imperial forces, and both them should know that any resistance is futile. If the Australian government does not modify her present attitude, their continent will suffer the same fate as the Dutch East Indies.
Moresby was vital to Allied strategy, and could not have been defended by the ground forces then stationed there. Without a toehold in New Guinea, the subsequent Allied advance, difficult though it was, would have been much harder still. As a result of the Coral Sea battle, the Japanese were forced to attempt taking Moresby overland. The consequent delay was just long enough to permit the arrival of veteran AIF soldiers to fight the Kokoda Track campaign and the Battle of Milne Bay, which in turn relieved pressure on US forces at the Battle of Guadalcanal. (End of citation.)
The year of 1942 was a turning point in the Pacific and Japanese lost its initiative and never gained it again. And Kokoda battle played a significant role in it.
It would be interesting to walk the Kokoda trail today - it is a bushwalking destination - has anybody been there?
Thanks,
Denny

[herald]

Only recently has the Australian governments plans if invaded came to light. The plan was to leave the northern half of Oz to its fate and defend from NSW down. Infact, and they dont like to be reminded, the Japanese actually did land in Darwin and had , possibly, Oz at its mercy. The Japenese also regularily sailed in and around oz in mini - subs. On one occation sailing under the harbour bridge in Sydney and launched an attack on the ship yard nearby (forget the name)

[Coinnach]

And what a hell of a job they did in one of the the worst enviroments of the war -hats off
TG
There is an excellent book that I read about 10 years ago about an Aussie bloke that was sent up into the Papua New Guinea jungle and highlands to make contact with the local tribes and recon the Japs. These guys generally lived n their own and endured some of the harshest conditions I have ever heard described. The book was an excellent read, the amazing thing about these guys was that most of them had little or no jungle training - just basic military.

I for the life of me can't remember the guys name or the title of the book, I tried doing a search for it in amazon last night but there are 700 books covering the war in the Pacific and its search functionality is crap.

Has any one else read a book like I described? I just remember it was a great read, took a couple of days.

[Ozzy]

Only recently has the Australian governments plans if invaded came to light. The plan was to leave the northern half of Oz to its fate and defend from NSW down. Infact, and they dont like to be reminded, the Japanese actually did land in Darwin and had , possibly, Oz at its mercy. The Japenese also regularily sailed in and around oz in mini - subs. On one occation sailing under the harbour bridge in Sydney and launched an attack on the ship yard nearby (forget the name)

It was Sydney Harbour and they did manage to cause a right nusiance including sinking a ferry. When I left Australia Japanese was being taught as a second language in most schools much as in the same way you can learn french in English schools

[Denny]

A reference to the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney Harbour:
Midget Submarine attack ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) or Fact Sheet ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) and also Japanese air raid on Darwin:
Darwin under air raid ([Only registered and activated users can see links]).
The air raid on Darwin made a big impact on Australian public. When the soldiers from Kokoda returned home, public did not even noticed, the headlines were still on Darwin atack. As the movie preview says: "It may be a couple of decades overdue but the legend of the Kokoda Trail finally has the film it deserves." Thanks for those who fought and died there in the jungle.

[Kaycee]

There is an excellent book that I read about 10 years ago about an Aussie bloke that was sent up into the Papua New Guinea jungle and highlands to make contact with the local tribes and recon the Japs. These guys generally lived n their own and endured some of the harshest conditions I have ever heard described. The book was an excellent read, the amazing thing about these guys was that most of them had little or no jungle training - just basic military.

I for the life of me can't remember the guys name or the title of the book, I tried doing a search for it in amazon last night but there are 700 books covering the war in the Pacific and its search functionality is crap.

Has any one else read a book like I described? I just remember it was a great read, took a couple of days.

That sounds very much like Green Armour by Osmar White. If that is indeed the book you mean, Amazon says it's out of print - limited availability.
Kaycee

[Coinnach]

That sounds very much like Green Armour by Osmar White. If that is indeed the book you mean, Amazon says it's out of print - limited availability.
Kaycee

Not sure Kaycee, I don't think this guy was a Kiwi, nearly 100% sure he was an aussie. He did a lot of recon work on Lae and was eventually hunted out the village he stayed in by the Japs and he set off to try and climb the major mountain range in Papua but had to turn back because of conditions. I read it nearly 8 years ago and I think it is either still in London or at home in Ireland. For the life of my I can't remember the name.

Any aussie military book sites?

[Kaycee]

None that I know of but here is an internet site that is very useful:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Kaycee

[Coinnach]

None that I know of but here is an internet site that is very useful:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Kaycee
Not remembering the name of this book is buggin the hell out of me. The reason I don't think it is Green Armour is because I picked it up in an airport book store so therefore it would be farely common place.

[Kaycee]

It's possible your man may have been a member of ANGAU (Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit). There is a book published in 2003 about this unit, which was mostly made up of ex-pat Aussies living in New Guinea when the war broke out. Their main job was intially to recruit a labour force, but they did a lot of single soldier and small group recon as well. Its title is The Third Force, by Alan Powell.

It is listed on Amazon and if you search it for references to ANGAU, you might strike it lucky. ANGAU had close links with a militia called the NGVR (New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, later PNGR or Papua New Guinea Rifles), by the way. Hope this may be of some help.
Regards,
Kaycee