Aussie Culture & History
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Module 6 - Dust Storms
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Module 7 - The Hills Hoist Clothesline
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Module 8 - Australian Seals
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Module 9 - The Australian Frontier Wars
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Module 10 - The Bombing of Darwin
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Module 11 - The Dingo
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Module 12 - Australian Flies
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Module 13 - The Blue-Ringed Octopus
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Module 14 - Bush Fires
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Module 15 - Feral Cats
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Module 16 - Shark Attacks in Australia
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Module 17 - The History of Australian Money
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Module 18 - Australia's Worst-Ever Cyclone
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Module 19 - Mining in Australia
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Module 20 - The Snowy Hydro Scheme
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Module 21 - The Port Arthur Massacre
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Module 22 - Cane Toads in Australia
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Module 23 - Oysters in Australia
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Module 24 - The Dreamtime
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Module 25 - The Bathurst Races
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Module 26 - Gambling in Australia
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Module 27 - The Tasmanian Tiger
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Module 28 - Australian Medical Inventions
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Module 29 - Australian Climate & Weather
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Module 30 - Coffee in Australia
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Module 31 - Migration & the Gold Rush
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Module 32 - Australian Bats
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Module 33 - Convict Life
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Module 34 - Banjo Paterson
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Module 35 - The Aussie Ute
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Module 36 - Akubra & the Slouch Hat
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Module 37 - Surf Lifesaving
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Module 38 - Bees in Australia
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Module 39 - The Kokoda Trail Campaign
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Module 40 - The Sydney-to-Hobart Yacht Race
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Module 41 - Sir Douglas Mawson1 Topic
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Module 42 - The Burke & Wills Expedition
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Module 43 - Push Gangs in Australia
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Module 44 - Australian Rodeos
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Module 45 - History of Australian Pies
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Module 46 - Australian Coffee Culture
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Module 47 - John Gould
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Uluru (a.k.a Ayre's Rock)
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The Emu Wars
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Bush Medicine
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Australia's Worst Introduced Species
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Deadly Brain-Shrinking Fungus
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Surfing History and Australia
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Bushfires & Climate Change
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Climate Change & Australia's Future
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Pemulwuy
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Bushrangers
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Mapping Australia
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Capital & Corporal Punishment in Australia
Transcript of Module 39 – The Kokoda Trail Campaign
The name Kokoda (1) truly ascended into the collective psyche (2) of Australia between the months of July and November in the year 1942, during the Pacific War (3) of World War II (4). Throughout the five-month period, a series of battles took place between the Japanese and Allied forces, later named the Kokoda Track campaign (5). The Kokoda Track campaign was primarily a land battle (6) between the Japanese South Seas Detachment, led by Major General Horii Tomotaro (7), and the Australian and Papuan Land Forces under the command of New Guinea Force (8).
Ultimately, the Japanese objective was to seize control of (9) Port Moresby (10) from the Allied Forces via an overland advance (11) from the north coast, which followed The Kokoda Track over the mountains of the Owen Stanley range (12), with the aim of (13) isolating Australia from the United States.
On the 21st of July 1942, Japanese forces landed and established beachheads (14) near Gona and Buna. They quickly overcame the opposing Maroubra force (15) and advanced to capture Kokoda and its strategically vital (16) airfield on the twenty-ninth of July. Numerous battles took place (17) throughout August and September, and despite receiving reinforcements (18), the Australian forces were continually pushed back (19) by the Japanese.
The Japanese advanced to within sight of Port Moresby only to be ordered to withdraw (20) on the twenty-sixth of September after outrunning their supply line (21). From the 11th to the twenty-eighth of October, the Australians pursued the Japanese back through the mountains, but encountered strong opposition (22) from well-prepared positions around Templeton’s Crossing (23) and Eora Village (24).
The Australians recaptured (25) Kokoda unopposed (26) and were then faced with a major battle around Oivi (27) and Gorari (28), fought from the fourth to the 11th of November, which ultimately resulted in a victory for the Aussies. By the 16th of November, two brigades of the Australian 7th Division had traversed (29) the Kumusi River (30) at Wairopi (31) and advanced on the Japanese beachheads in a joint US-Australian operation (32).
However, the Japanese forces held out (33) at Buna and Gona until the 22nd of January 1943. Although it has since been accepted that an invasion of Australia was not possible, nor an objective of the Japanese at the time, there was a very real belief that this battle saved Australia. As a result, the Kokoda Track campaign has become a key part of modern notions of the Anzac (34) legend. What most people don’t appreciate about the Kokoda Track Campaign are the horrendous conditions (35) under which both the Japanese and Allied forces fought.
Troops found themselves in hot, humid conditions, with heavy rainfall leading to steep tracks that became incredibly muddy and hard to traverse. They were perpetually battling, not just each other, but staying clean and dry in an effort to fight off the often-deadlier diseases such as malaria (36), dengue fever (37), scrub typhus (38), as well as tropical ulcers, dysentery (39), and a range of fungal infections.
The Allied Campaign was further hampered (40) by the very poor and limited intelligence (41) available, including antiquated maps (42), a complete lack of familiarity with (43) the terrain, and limited aerial photography. Senior military commanders, including MacArthur (44) and Blamey (45), were effectively fighting blind (46), being unaware of the extraordinarily difficult terrain and the extreme conditions in which the battles would be fought. And orders given to commanders were often unrealistic given the conditions on the ground.
At the end of the day (47), however, the strategy used against the Japanese in Papua paid off (48) and led to an eventual, though costly, victory. The American official historian Samuel Milner (49) suggested that “the only results strategically speaking of The Kokoda Track Campaign and subsequent fighting in Papua was that after six months of bitter fighting and some 8,500 casualties, including 3,000 dead, the South West Pacific area was exactly where it would have been the previous July had it been able to secure the beachhead before the Japanese got
Vocab Glossary:
- Kokoda – A significant location in Papua New Guinea, central to the Kokoda Track Campaign during World War II.
- Collective psyche – The shared unconscious thoughts and memories of a group.
- Pacific War – The theatre of World War II fought in the Pacific and Asia.
- World War II – The global war fought from 1939 to 1945, involving many of the world’s nations.
- Kokoda Track campaign – A series of World War II battles between Japanese and Allied forces in Papua New Guinea.
- Land battle – Combat on land between armed forces.
- Major General Horii Tomotaro – The leader of the Japanese South Seas Detachment during the Kokoda Track campaign.
- New Guinea Force – The Australian-led military command responsible for defending New Guinea during World War II.
- Seize control of – To take possession or control of something by force.
- Port Moresby – The capital city of Papua New Guinea and a key strategic location during World War II.
- Overland advance – Movement forward via land routes.
- Owen Stanley range – A mountain range in Papua New Guinea, a significant barrier during the Kokoda Track campaign.
- Aim of – The purpose or goal of an action.
- Beachheads – Defended positions on a beach taken from the enemy by landing forces.
- Maroubra force – An Australian force tasked with defending the Kokoda Track during World War II.
- Strategically vital – Critically important for the success of a military campaign.
- Took place – Happened or occurred.
- Reinforcements – Additional troops, equipment, or resources sent to support military forces.
- Pushed back – Forced to retreat or give up ground.
- Withdraw – To retreat or pull back from a position.
- Outrunning their supply line – Moving too far ahead of the resources and supplies needed to sustain a military force.
- Encountered strong opposition – Met with significant resistance from the enemy.
- Templeton’s Crossing – A location on the Kokoda Track where fierce battles were fought.
- Eora Village – Another key location along the Kokoda Track where battles occurred.
- Recaptured – Took control of something again after losing it.
- Unopposed – Without resistance or opposition.
- Oivi – A village where the Australians fought a major battle during the Kokoda Track campaign.
- Gorari – Another key battle location during the campaign.
- Traversed – To travel across or through a difficult area.
- Kumusi River – A river in Papua New Guinea, significant during the Kokoda Track campaign.
- Wairopi – A crossing point over the Kumusi River during the campaign.
- Joint US-Australian operation – A military action involving forces from both the United States and Australia.
- Held out – Resisted or survived under difficult circumstances.
- Anzac – A term referring to Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers, particularly during World War I and II.
- Horrendous conditions – Extremely difficult or unpleasant circumstances.
- Malaria – A disease transmitted by mosquitoes, prevalent in tropical regions.
- Dengue fever – A viral disease spread by mosquitoes, causing severe flu-like symptoms.
- Scrub typhus – A disease spread by mites, causing fever, rash, and other serious symptoms.
- Dysentery – A severe intestinal infection causing diarrhea and dehydration.
- Hampered – Hindered or made progress difficult.
- Limited intelligence – Restricted or insufficient information available for planning or action.
- Antiquated maps – Old, outdated maps that are no longer accurate.
- Familiarity with – Close knowledge or acquaintance with something.
- MacArthur – General Douglas MacArthur, the American commander in the Pacific during World War II.
- Blamey – General Sir Thomas Blamey, the Australian commander during World War II.
- Fighting blind – Engaging in combat without sufficient knowledge or information about the enemy or the terrain.
- At the end of the day – Ultimately; in the final outcome.
- Paid off – Produced successful results.
- Samuel Milner – An American historian who analysed and wrote about the Kokoda Track campaign.
