History of Kokoda

A little bit of history - a snapshot of Australia's military efforts 

Before the start of World War II it had been recognized that if Japan were to strike into South-East Asia to secure much needed raw materials, it would need to do so when Britain was preoccupied by a European War.  The opportunity was taken at the end of 1941 and the advance of the Japanese shocked the western world.  The Japanese attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour in December 1941 and had secured the Malay Peninsula with the fall of Singapore by February 1942. 

The next advance was the capture of Port Moresby as this would facilitate the capture of other centres, and weaken the Allied line of communication from the United States to Australia.   The Battle of the Coral Sea spoiled Japan’s plans to take Port Moresby by seaward assault and changed the advance to take place by a military attack over the Owen Stanley Range via the Kokoda Track.

On July 21, 1942 Japanese troops landed in the Gona-Buna area and Australia’s 39th Militia Battalion (untrained and untried troops who were initially deployed to PNG to assist with the eventual building of an airstrip at Dobodura) were forced into a series of short but critical engagements with the advancing Japanese troops as they are pushed back along the Kokoda Track.   After fighting to hold and then retake the village of Kokoda and its airstrip, the 39th Battalion withdrew to Isurava.

Reinforcements were sent from Port Moresby:  First the 53rd Battalion, which protected a side-track behind Isurava, and then the veteran 2/14th and 2/16th Battalions, which had previously served in the Middle East.

At Isurava, in the last days of August, the 39th and the 2/14th Battalions, with support further back from the 2/16th and 53rd Battalions, were able to temporarily hold the Japanese during an intense five-day action. Three days into the battle, on 29 August, in the face of yet another enemy assault, Private Bruce Kingsbury, 2/14th Battalion, was killed as he rushed forward with his Bren gun, driving back the enemy in a determined counter-attack. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the first VC awarded during the New Guinea campaigns.

Throughout September, the Australian units withdrew down the Kokoda Track, being joined by the 2/27th Battalion. They made further stands against the Japanese at Eora Creek, Templeton’s Crossing, Efogi, Mission Ridge and Ioribaiwa. Allied airmen dropped supplies and made repeated attacks on the enemy’s supply lines. During those gruelling days, the Papuan men employed as carriers played a vital role in the battle. They carried supplies forward for the troops and then, as the number of troops who were wounded or fell sick increased, carried back to safety those who were unable to walk.

By 16 September, after more troops had come forward from Port Moresby and dug into a defensive position at Imita Ridge, the Japanese were exhausted. They had been forced to fight hard to cross the mountains and had run out of many supplies. Following setbacks on other battlefields against Australia, which robbed them of further reinforcements, the Japanese on the Kokoda Track were ordered to withdraw. As Australian patrols pushed forward of Imita Ridge on 28 September, they found that the enemy had slipped away.

During the next six weeks, the Japanese fell back over the mountains. They were pursued by troops of the 25th Brigade – comprising the 2/25th, 2/31st and 2/33rd Battalions – and the 16th Brigade – comprising the 2/1st, 2/2nd and 2/3rd Battalions – along with the 3rd Battalion and men from medical and supply units. Significant actions were fought at Templeton’s Crossing, where it took more than a week of hard and costly fighting for the 25th Brigade to push back the enemy, and at Eora Creek where the 16th Brigade also doggedly attacked enemy strongpoint’s to slowly make ground.

The Australians were plagued by supply shortages that increased the difficulties of jungle warfare. Finally, on 2 November, Kokoda was retaken. The Australians had one more tough battle to fight at Oivi-Gorari, where the Japanese were determined to make another stand, before they were able to finish the advance over the mountains. By 18 November the Australians had reached the Kumusi River. The battle for the Kokoda Track was over.

However, the Australian military was assigned the task of advancing further and capturing the coastal villages of Gona and Sanandana, and for a further two months what was left of the 21st and 25th Brigade, along with the remaining 39th Milita joined forces with the 18th Brigade from Milne Bay.  They fought in oppressing conditions and suffered further casualties until the final defeat of the Japanese in Papua on January 23, 1943.

More than 600 Australians were killed and some 1680 wounded during perhaps the most significant battle fought by Australians in World War II.  The crucial triumphs along the Kokoda Track stemmed the Japanese tide of conquests and the bloody beachside battles signalled the enemy’s final and irreversible loss of military initiative.  By the end of January 1943, the path of future conflict stretched away from Australia – not towards it.

Some recommended reading:

Kokoda by Peter Fitzsimons

Kokoda by Paul Ham

Ragged Bloody Heroes by Peter Brune

Spirit of Kokoda by Patrick Lindsey

The Field Guide to the Kokoda Track by Bill James

The Silent Men by Peter Dornan