The Battle of Kokoda was a four-month struggle which began with the Japanese landing in Papua in July 1942. Approximately 625 Australians were killed fighting along the Trail, while at least 16 000 were wounded and more than 4000 suffered from serious illnesses. The experience of Australian soldiers during the Kokoda in World War II affected people around the world and in Australia. As Kokoda was a turning point in Australia’s history and boosted Australia’s national identity. The battle was fought extremely well through the unbearable conditions. Port Mosby prevented Japan from invading Papua New Guinea as the soldiers held a strong position. Through this the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angles travelled through the Kokoda trail to receive wounded soldiers …show more content…
Much of the Track was covered by a “canopy of dense rainforest, dripping with moss and leeches and, after each exhausting climb, the troops would find rocky creek beds and mosquito-infested swamps. Constant tropical downpours and searing heat and humidity meant the soldiers were almost permanently wet. Then, at night, temperatures would plummet at the higher altitudes.” (Kokoda Track Foundation) This lead to higher risks of tropical diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, malaria, pneumonia and tinea. As well as the soldiers were given limited necessary supplies and the limited information available to them. However through this they fought extremely well against the odds. As a soldier describes “There is nothing to eat. Everybody is in a weak and staggering state … Without food, having become terribly thin and emaciated; the appearance of our fellow soldiers does not bear reflection. How could the people at home understand this state of affairs, it must be seen to be believed?” – Unknown Soldier (Ukessays.com) This extract explain how the condition in Kokoda from a soldiers interpretation. Significant
They were packed into ships so tight you could barely turn yourself around. On top of that, many people were dying of disease because they were forced to live among their own filth, and the dead and diseased. It was all just on continuous circle of death and suffering and disease. They were all oxygen deprived and the air below deck was so incredibly rank it was basically impossible to breathe. They were beaten mercilessly, and tortured with the prospect of food and water, but hardly received any of either. As Olaudah said, the white men aboard the ship once caught too many fish for themselves, and instead of feeding them to the Africans, they just tossed them over board. Most of them died along the way, mainly the sick, young, and very old. Those people aboard the ships had to endure the hardships that today, people only read
The Kokoda track campaign stopped the invasion of Australia and the Japanese advancing any further in WW2. Australian’s believed that Australia was going to be invaded, but it is now mostly believed that Japan was not going to invade. Australia thought they were going to be invaded because of the multiple attacks by the Japanese already, including the bombing of Darwin, Townsville and Broome and also the findings of midget-submarines in Sydney Harbour. The battle started on June 1942, in Papua New Guinea, on the Kokoda Track. The Japanese were planning to take Port Moresby so they could get access to the Port and airstrip to invade Australia. It is estimated that 6000 Japanese troops landed on the beaches of Papua New Guinea,...
Kokoda was arguably Australia’s most significant campaigns of the Second World War. The track crosses some of the most rugged and most isolated terrain in the world, and is only passable by foot. Being poorly equipped, and having not developed effective jungle warfare tactics, troops had to manoeuvre through the rough terrain. “In these moss forests, where you couldn't see the sun, the roots of the trees are all covered in moss and the track was only root from root. Further along, where it was not quite so high, you would spend three hours climbing up a small pad through the jungle.” (Simonson, 1995) Australia’s involvement through this jungle-enclosed pathway was the last resource Australian troops needed to conquer to defend the mainland from dire threat. Through nightmare conditions like torrential rain, leeches, malaria horrific fighting and more Australia managed to push the Japanese back to where they came from. Despite the relatively small size of our armed forces, Australians fighting in the Kokoda campaign made a significant outcome to world war two.
The soldiers lacked basic necessities such as clothing and food. In Document B it Dr. Albigence Waldo states, "There comes a Soldier, his bare feet are seen thro' his worn out Shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tatter'd remains of an only pair of stocks". In other words, these soldiers clothing were very worn out due to being used so often and were not provided with brand new attire. Since there were many mouths to feed, food became scarce, which left many soldiers starving. Around the camp soldiers cry
The Kokoda Campaign, also known as the Battle that saved Australia, was a series of battles in which the Japanese fought the Australian and Americas for control over Port Moresby. Had the Japanese been successful in taking over Port Moresby, Australia would have been under serious threat. This was a significant event in Australian History because it was the first time the Australian Nation had been threatened by invasion. This was a significant event in Australian History because as it was a time to reflect upon those who put others lives before theirs for the safety of this Country.
Following the outbreak of the Pacific War in early December 1941, Darwin's defences were reinforced . In line with plans developed before the war, s...
The day to day life for the regular soldier was not glorious. Many times the regiments were low on supplies such as food and clothing. They lived in the elements. Medical conditions were grotesque because of the lack of advanced equipment and anesthesia. “Discipline was enforced with brutality” as if all the other conditions were not bad enough.
Soldiers faced diseases like measles, small pox, malaria, pneumonia, camp itch, mumps, typhoid and dysentery. However, diarrhea killed more soldiers than any other illness. There were many reasons that diseases were so common for the causes of death for soldiers. Reasons include the fact that there were poor physicals before entering the army, ignorance of medical information, lack of camp hygiene, insects that carried disease, lack of clothing and shoes, troops were crowded and in close quarters and inadequate food and water.
The soldiers in the Australian camp were not mistreated. On the contrary, they were well cared for. Despite their treatment by the Australians, a Japanese soldier would follow his leader's orders regardless of the final outcome. The idea that being captured meant dishonor to a soldier and his family was enough to drive him to die needlessly.
The Australian participation in WW2 was similar to that of WW1 in many ways. After the British declared war on Germany on September 3rd 1939, an Australian declaration of war was automatic. Aussie troops were soon sent to different parts of the world to help the British and other allied countries. It was not until late 1941 that they were recalled in order to defend the homefront. Darwin had been suddenly attacked by Japanese planes and small enemy submarines had snuck into Sydney Harbour. Darwin was repeatedly bombed by Japanese planes until July 1941, when along with American troops, the Aussies managed to drive them out of the Solomon Islands and northeastern New Guinea and eliminate a strong Japanese base at Rabaul. Without General MacArthur's troops, the enemy may very well have invaded Australia. This illustrates the importance of alliances.
The Kokoda Battle occurred from the 21st July 1942 to 16th November in 1942, during World War II. It was a campaign which resulted in an aggressive fight between the Japanese and the Allies. I believe that, based on my research, the Kokoda Battle in World War II was a significant battle for Australians to a great extent. I believe this for three reasons: firstly, the battle was culturally significant to Australia: secondly, the battle was strategically significant to Australia: and thirdly, the battle was of military significance to Australia. I will argue that these reasons are three strong reasons.
Port Moresby. Kokoda was an important turning point for Australia as it was the battle that ended Japan’s dominance and permitted the Allies to go on the offensive. Kokoda, although not the first triumph against Japan, it marked the first major retreat of Japanese ground forces during the Pacific War allowing American forces to ‘island hop’ and fundamentally win the war. The conditions suffered by both Japanese and Allied forces were abhorrent. Although
There were a vast array of people from different regions that were involved in the Kokoda campaign. The two that had the biggest impact on Kokoda were the Japanese and Australians. The Japanese had a plan to capture Port Moresby to protect their base at Rabaul and this is what caused Australians to fight back, as Port Moresby was Australia’s territory. Papuan’s and American’s were also involved in the campaign, fighting against the Japanese and with the Australian’s. 18,000 Papuan’s, also known as The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels were involved in the Kokoda campaign. Majority of the 18,000 were carries of supplies for the troops and they played a vital role in this battle. As the number of sick and/or wounded troops increased, Papuan men also carried
One fourth of the men had either been left at Tampa or had died of malaria and yellow fever. Yet they quickly unloaded from the steamship they traveled on and set up a camp on Cuban shores. The next day more supplies came in, consisting of food and very few horses. Theodore Roosevelt would later say, “The great shortcoming throughout the campaign was the utterly inadequate transportation. If they had been allowed to take our mule-train, they could have kept the whole cavalry division supplied.
Ray Lawrence’s daunting film Jindabyne was a name of a town known for being flooded in order to make dams, power plants, and Lake Jindabyne. Tens of thousands of immigrants came from different parts of the world in order to have enough workers to run the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power scheme but building this power station led to the loss of social and spiritual sites that belonged to the Indigenous Australians. In white-dominated parts of Australia racism negatively impacted Indigenous Australians since they were more likely to be discriminated against in employment, housing, and education. Several characters in the film Jindabyne commit acts of violence or experience some form of being violated. The town Jindabyne was given a second chance after being flooded and became one of the most complex hydro-electric power electric schemes the characters in Jindabyne