Kokoda track

"In the Kokoda battle their qualities of adaptability and individual initiative enabled them to show tremendous ability as fighting men in the jungle. They were superb." Lieutenant-General Tsutomu Yoshihara, chief of staff of Japan's South Seas army

In World War 2, the Japanese forged a reputation of invincibility with a string of monumental victories over the major powers. At Pearl Harbour, the Japanese disabled the American fleet. At Singapore; the English had reinforced the island citadel with heavy artillery and proudly boasted that it could never fall. It fell and 140,000 English troops were taken prisoner. However in Papua New Guinea, the Japanese locked horns with the Australians and it was here that like they had at Tobruk in northern Africa, the Australians broke the spell of invincibility that the axis powers had cast over the allied nations.

In 1942, the Japanese had built up a force of some 13,500 men in the Gona area of Papua with the intention of attacking Port Moresby, which would in turn be their stepping stone to Australia. The key to the offensive was an overland track across the Owen Stanley Ranges. The seldom used track started in the small village of Buna on the north coast of Papua and easily led up the slopes through Gorari and Oivi to Kokoda. The track was 100 miles long, crumpled and folded into a series of ridges, each rising higher and higher until 7,000 feet is reached, then declining again to 3,000 feet. It was covered in thick jungle, short trees and tall trees tangled with vines.

On the 29th August the Japanese broke through the Australian lines forcing the Australian Battalions to withdraw towards Alola and then to withdraw to Templeton's Crossing. This was followed by a further withdrawal to the major supply point of Myola. News of the withdrawals reached Australia and the hierarchy expected the Japanese to soon claim victory. Preparations were under way to form a defensive grid across central Australia where the next attempt to stop the Japanese would be made.

But back in Papua New Guinea, the Diggers despite being down for the count, had refused to surrender. Despite two months of retreats up and down ridges that were knee deep in mud, starvation, suffering jungle sicknesses and being soaked by constant rain, they persevered.

At Ioribaiwa they halted the Japanese advance. For the next few weeks the Australians employed the "offensive-defence" tactics that had been used by the Diggers in Tobruk. Japanese forces would be concentrated by holding positions as long as possible, minor counter attacks destroyed or delayed them and it was then it was set up to do it all again and then again.

As the Japanese weakened, they began to withdraw and suffered what the Australians had suffered in the preceding two months. They faced constant retreats up and down ridges, starvation, dying comrades, jungle sickness, soaked by constant rain and all this whilst they were trying to defend themselves against an attacking force.

The Japanese didn't seem to cope with the conditions quite as well and the Australians took little time to seize the initiative. Village after village was recaptured until finally, on the October 29th, Australian troops moved out of the dank rain-forest to halt and gaze at the distant sun-warmed village of Kokoda.

A final push to retake the beachheads at Buna and Gona saw the Japanese not so much defeated, but annihilated. It has been estimated that of their total force of 13,500 men only about 700 survived the fighting, disease and starvation. The Australian troops forced the few survivors out of Oro on the 23rd January 1943. The tide of the war had turned.

With the battle won, the ethic of 'take-no-prisoners' came to an end, and Australians showed some mercy where they had previously shown none. Starving Japanese were given water and food. Often, this was only possible when the Japanese were so weak that they couldn't hold guns anymore.

In the aftermarth of the battle, the soldiers gave honest opinions on their enemy. On the Australian side, it seems that after overcoming their initial shock, they had some respect for the fighting abilities of the Japanese, but a little contempt for their treatment of prisoners of war.

Jack Manol, Pte 39th Militia:
"We thought of them as, you know, as gods, people from another land. They were fit and tanned, oh, you know and er, I'm looking around at the boys, at my mates and, oh Jesus, their eyes were sunk back in their heads...they were dirty and unshaven, and that was then that I thought we, we'll survive."

Jack Manol, Pte 39th Militia:
"I struck this, this Japanese officer and uh, well he rode through the kunai, we were face-to-face with each other and I think he was just as bloody scared as I was, and I was just lucky that I could bloody pull the trigger first. Anyway, uh, that was an experience that uh, I wouldn't like to uh...ever handle again, because that haunted me for years. When I went through this bloke's equipment and that, part of my job, I found he had photographs of himself and his wife and three little kids."

Jack Manol, Pte 39th Militia:
"They were savages. But, you know, they were still good bloody soldiers. But they were savages, there's no doubt about that."

Lindsay Bear, Lt 2/14th AIF:
"I'm not sure they expected any difference from us. I'm not sure."

Jim Moir, Pte 2/16th AIF:
"We heard all this screaming and yelling going on, which I often wonder whether they did this to boost their own spirits or to frighten hell out of the blokes that they're going to have a go at.
Bu, um, one of our blokes responded with a Tarzan call. It was even funny at the time. As he did, they opened fire and they cleaned the lot of them up."

Jim Moir, Pte 2/16th AIF:
"I mean, we know what they did to a lot of the others -- they beheaded them or tied them up to a tree and used them for bayonet practice."

On the Japanese side, there was respect for the fighting abilities of the Australians, but also some bemusement about Australia's informal behaviour, such as fighting without a shirt.

Pt Shigenoi Doi, Pte 144th Regiment:
"On the day we attacked, we had advanced and there was less than 200 metres between us and a young Australian soldier. He was naked on top wearing only his shorts, holding a grenade, ran towards us and threw the grenade. Even the Japanese army would not have the courage to commit such an act."

Lieutenant-General Tsutomu Yoshihara, chief of staff of Japan's South Seas army:

"In the Kokoda battle their qualities of adaptability and individual initiative enabled them to show tremendous ability as fighting men in the jungle. They were superb."

Kokoda: Movie

The fuzzy wuzzy angels

600 Australian lives were lost in the campaign. This would have been far greater had it not be for the help of the native Papua New Guineans; affectionately known as the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. As one Digger wrote:

"They carried stretchers over seemingly impassable barriers, with the patient reasonably comfortable. The care they give to the patient is magnificent. If night finds the stretcher still on the track, they will find a level spot and build a shelter over the patient. They will make him as comfortable as possible fetch him water and feed him if food is available, regardless of their own needs. They sleep four each side of the stretcher and if the patient moves or requires any attention during the night, this is given instantly. These were the deeds of the "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels"-for us! "

No known live casualty was ever abandoned.

Up North
by David Campbell
Written in 1949.

Oh, Bill and Joe to the north have gone,
A green shirt on their back;
There are not many ewes and lambs
Along Kokoda track.

There are not many ewes and lambs,
But men in single file
Like sheep along a mountain pad
Walk mile on sweating mile;

And each half-hour they change the lead,
Though I have never read
Where any fat bell-whether was
Shot, in the mountains, dead.

The only sheep they muster there
Leap through the mind at night;
'Twould be as red as marking time
To change green shirt for white.

And though Bill dreams of droving now
On the drought-coloured plain,
There's little need to tap the glass
Or pray for it to rain.

They have no lack of water there
But there is a stinging tail,
For men lie dying in the grass
Along Kokoda trail.

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