The Kokoda Track Campaign


July to November 1942

Some battles, like those on the Kokoda Track, were fought on land many kilometres from any obviously important location. The ferocity of the fighting, the importance of a victory on the morale of the fighting nations and the change of direction a victory or a defeat would have on the overall war strategy made some smaller battles very important. The Kokoda Battle was fought between Australians and Japanese soldiers. The outcome changed the Japanese plans for the conquest of New Guinea.

The Kokoda Track campaign, a critical series of engagements during World War II, took place between July and November 1942 along the rugged and precipitous Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. This grueling campaign was fought between Japanese forces aiming to seize Port Moresby via an overland route and Australian troops tasked with defending it. The capture of Port Moresby would have given the Japanese control over Papua and posed a direct threat to Australia. The battle began when Japanese forces landed on the northern coast of Papua and advanced across the daunting terrain of the Owen Stanley Range, characterised by dense jungle, steep slopes, and frequent, torrential rains which created exceedingly harsh and muddy conditions.

The Australian forces, primarily composed of young and inexperienced militia soldiers from the Australian Imperial Force, engaged in a fighting withdrawal, utilizing the challenging terrain to their advantage while under constant threat of encirclement and annihilation. Despite initial setbacks and being pushed back through the track, the Australians managed to delay the Japanese advance long enough for reinforcements to arrive. With the aid of fresh troops and improved logistics, the Australians eventually began a counter-offensive in September 1942. By November, they had pushed the Japanese back to their original beachheads at Buna, Gona, and Sanananda, inflicting substantial casualties and preventing the strategic threat to Port Moresby. The Kokoda Track campaign not only marked a turning point in the Pacific War by blunting the Japanese thrust towards Australia but also exemplified extraordinary endurance and camaraderie among Australian forces under extreme conditions.

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The Kokoda Track Campaign
The Kokoda Track Campaign
Sources

Source: (Department of Veterans’ Affairs) (2022)