Why the brutal Kokoda Track Campaign was a turning point in WWII

Jungle forest
Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/jungle-forest-trees-green-nature-601542/

The Kokoda Campaign was a significant event in WWII and marked the first time that the Japanese had been stopped on land since the beginning of the war.

 

Australian soldiers fought a brave retreat against overwhelming odds to slow the Japanese advance, and ultimately drove them back completely.

 

This campaign is also notable for the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels - Papuan tribesmen who assisted Allied troops during the fighting.

The Kokoda Track is now a popular tourist destination, and visitors can walk the same paths as the brave soldiers who fought there.

 

Eora Creek, Isurava and other locations along the track are significant sites of battle that are now preserved as part of Australia's heritage.

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Background

Following the fall of Singapore in February 1942, the Japanese advanced on Port Moresby by sea.

 

However, they were stopped by a combined American and Australian fleet at the Battle of the Coral Sea on the 4th-8th May 1942.

 

As a result, the Japanese sought to march troops across land to capture Port Moresby. 

 

On the 21st July 1942, around 3500 Japanese soldiers landed near Gona-Buna on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, and began marching south along a jungle track, knowns as the Kokoda Track, towards Port Moresby. 

 

The only available defenders in Papua New Guinea at the time were the 39th Militia  Battalion troops from Australia.

 

Militia were not regular soldiers, as they were volunteers who had only received basic combat training.

 

However, they were instructed to advance up the Kokoda track from the other end, to engage the Japanese and slow them down.

 

The Australian troops reached the village of Kokoda, halfway along the track on the 15th of July 1942. 


Japanese advance

The first contact with the Japanese forces occurred at Awala on the 23rd of July. However, the militia troops were significantly outnumbered and had to fight a series of battles while continually falling back. 

 

By the 14th of August, the 2000 militia troops had retreated to Isurava and prepared their defenses.

 

The first major battle of the campaign occurred here from the 26th-31st of August 1942 and is known as the Battle of Isurava.

 

Despite putting up fierce resistance, they lost 200 men, and the Australians had to fall back once more.

 

Allied airmen supported the soldiers by dropping supplies along the track. They also made repeated attacks on the enemy’s supply lines when they could.

 

By this stage, however, the Australians had retreated so far, that they were almost back at Port Moresby again.

 

They stopped at Imita Ridge, just 50 kilometres from the city on the 17th of September 1942, and prepared for their final stand.


Allied counter-advance

However, not all was well in the Japanese army. By the 24th of September, the Japanese had advanced beyond the range of their supply lines, and they were dangerously low on food and ammunition.

 

The Japanese commander decided that they could no longer survive another battle and ordered his troops to retreat back along the Kokoda Track to reconnect with his supplies.

 

It was not until Allied patrols explored the area on the 28th of September, that they discovered that the Japanese had gone.

 

As a result, the Australians decided to pursue them, and the roles of the two armies were now reversed.

 

The Japanese had to begin a fighting retreat, while the Australians, who now had fresh reinforcements, were chasing them.


Victory

By October, the Australians had recaptured the village Kokoda, and by November, they had captured Buna-Gona, which finally drove the Japanese off Papua New Guinea.

 

It is estimated that at least 600 Australians were killed during the campaign, with a further 1700 wounded.

Key allies

Even though much of the Allied fighting was done by the Australian militia troops, they were supported by a number of important groups. 

 

The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels were Papuan tribesmen who assisted Allied troops during the fighting. They acted as porters who carried food and supplies during the marching, and also as crucial guides through the thick jungle.

 

American troops and commanders also provided valuable military intelligence and, later in the fighting, provided troops and weapons to capture Japanese positions.