The battle of Kokoda is recognized as being one of the most celebrated and significant battle fought by the ANZAC'S because of the fear of the looming invasion by the Japanese at the time of Kokoda. Australian's were threatened by the Japanese after hearing about monstrosities such as Nanjing Massacre. 20sec (5)
The Nanjing massacre was in 1937 on December 13, the Japan's Central China Front Army, commanded by General Matsui Iwane, entered Nanjing the Chinese Ancient capital. Even before their arrival of the Japanese, the word had begun to spread of the numerous atrocities they had committed on their route through China, including killing contests. The Nanjing people were terrified. The Japanese soldiers hunted down Chinese soldiers and killed
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them by the thousands, and were then just left in mass graves. Entire families were massacred, and even the elderly and infants were targeted for execution. An estimated 20,000 women were also raped and most brutally killed afterwards. Bodies littered the streets for months after the massacre. The Japanese were so determined to destroy the city they looted and burned at least one third of Nanjing's buildings. This portrayed the Japanese's army's willingness to violate laws of war with extreme aggression and little care of what they did. The Australian's were scared. 1min (5) Just before 8 a.m.
on the morning of December 7th 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy unleashed a surprise attack on the United States at an American naval base known as Pearl Harbor, located near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese army with more then 350 aircrafts destroyed American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, more than 300 airplanes. Around 2,400 Americans soldiers and sailors were killed in the attack and another 1,250 were injured.
The attack was shocking to the western world and It also led to U.S entering the
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WWII. The Japanese also secured the Malay Peninsula with the fall of Singapore by February 1942. The Japanese were getting worryingly close to Australia and its assets. 14sec (6) the fear prevalent in the Australia people at the time of Kokoda is one of the reasons why Kokoda is so celebrated now. Australians thought they were on the verge of being invaded by an aggressive and hostile army. So Kokoda is remembered as the saving grace for our nationals but it now known though that they were no chance that Japan would have invaded Australia as the Prime Minister Hideki Tojo stated, as being unfeasible given Australia's geography and the strength of the Allied defenses. Invading Australia was never an option for the Japanese imperial Army so they decided to try and weaken the allied forces by overtaking Port Moresby to damage their form of communication from the united states to Australia. (7) The battle of the coral sea was a major naval battle in the pacific between the imperial Japanese navy and the naval and air forces from the united states and Australia.
The Japanese planned to take over Port Moresby by a seaward assault, but the battle of the Australian and American army prevented that with the battle of the coral sea.
(8) The Japanese changed their plan to land in the north of Papua and made their way overland through the Kokoda track and to capture Port Moresby on the Southern coast.
(9) Australia sent the 39th Battalion who were untrained and unprepared for war. Troops were deployed to aid in the building of an airstrip at Dobodura but who were forced into a series of short but critical engagement with the advancing Japanese
troops. The Australians travelled through 96 kilometers of dense jungles and over mountains along the Kokoda trail to meet with the Japanese Troops. Australia won some battles along the way but were forced to retreat towards Port Moresby by the threat of the Japanese. By early September 1942, the Japanese were within 48 kilometers of Port Moresby but they were far from their supply base and were weakening. Both sides were suffering from hunger and disease. American forces destroyed Japanese supply ships and Japan withdrew from the battle. But there is two sides to every story to many Australians Kokoda is remembered as The efforts of the Australian soldiers being critical to the defense of Australia against the threat of Japanese troops. But to some Australian’s such as the former senior historian at the Australia war memorial, DR Peter Stanley, has stated that the Japanese were not planning to make themselves masters of Australia in 1942 and that any Japanese threat to Australia in 1942 was greatly exaggerated by wartime prime minister John Curtin for his own political ends it is also known that Hideki Tojo the prime minster of Japan in 1942 stated, as being unfeasible to invade given Australia's geography and the strength of the Allied defenses. Invading Australia was never an option for the Japanese imperial Army. We need to remember Kokoda and the sacrifices of the Anzacs but not in the light as it is portrayed right now it is not as a significant battle as it stated and was never a saving grace for our nations.
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.
“After successfully executing operations in the Southeast and the Southwest Pacific by the spring of 1942, what should Japan have done next?”
The men rushed to enlist. In the first two weeks 7000 Victorian men volunteered for the first Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and 10,000 in Sydney.” It was a man’s duty to go to war. Most people who lived in Australia felt an obligation to England. England was at war, so Australians wanted to go and help them.
Japanese stood their ground and on December 7,1941.The surprise attack on the Americans that destroyed or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded at Pearl Harbor(document
December 7, 1941 was a day of great tragedy. At 07:48 in the morning the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. This attacked caused the destruction of seventeen ships and one hundred and eighty eight aircraft as well as killing two thousand four hundred and three Americans. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt took to the microphone to address congress and the American people. This speech by President Roosevelt was effective in convincing congress to declare war on Japan by using ethos, pathos, and also logos.
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.
General Hideki Tojo was the Premiere of Japan. He and other Japanese leaders did not like the fact that Americans were sending war supplies to China and other countries in Asia. A surprise attack was ordered by Japan on December 7, 1941. The target was the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 360 planes bombed the naval base killing about 3,000 people and destroying many warships, aircraft carriers, and submarines. This was a catalyst that brought the United States into World War II.
Beginning on June 4th 1942, the Battle of Midway took place six months after the United States became involved in World War two due to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After the French collapse in World War two, Japan seized the undefended territory of Indochina and also began moving into China. In response to these harsh moves, the United States and England placed oil embargos on Japan. Relying heavily upon imported oil, the embargos would ultimately cause Japanese industry to stop production. Japan’s response to these unwanted sanctions were moves to overtake various Pacific islands which could provide the mother country with oil. The Japanese knew that the American response to these actions would be war, so it initiated the impending war with an attack on Pearl Harbor in order to cripple the American fleet. As Japan gained ground in the Pacific early in the war, the Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto decided that the only way to win the war was to destroy the American aircraft carrier fleet. In order to destroy the American carrier fleet it would be necessary to draw the carriers into an all-out battle while staying away from the heavily fortified land defenses of most United States bases. The Japanese admiral decided that the island atoll of Midway would b...
The battle of Midway took place 4-7 June 1942. The US Navy and Imperial Navy of Japan fought near the Central Pacific island of Midway. The battle of Midway was a battle that occurred during WW II Pacific Theater of operations. There were two events that led up to this battle. The first major event was the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which took place six months prior to the battle of Midway ( 7 December 1941). The second event was the Battle of the Coral Sea. The Battle of the Coral Sea took place a month prior and it gave the Japanese Commanders courage to set a new objective. The Battle of the Coral Sea was a key factor that led up to the battle of Midway. The battle of the Coral Sea was Japans attempt to strengthen their defensive positioning
On December 7th 1941, Japanese Planes and submarines attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This event singlehandedly brought the U.S from its then neutral stance in World War Two to a fighting member of the “Allied Powers.” Pearl Harbor was the first of a long series of confrontations between the U.S and the Japanese in an effort to gain control of the Pacific. Unlike the “War in Europe” the Pacific strategy was dominated by naval and aerial battles, with the occasional land-based “Island Hopping” Campaign. As such, one of the most important factors in the war in the pacific was Fleet Size, the more ships a country could send to war, the better. Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s way of trying to deal with the massive U.S Pacific fleet. However, Pearl Harbor was not the turning point of the war. After December 7th the United States began work on numerous technological developments which would ultimately help them in one of the most important battles of WWII, the largest naval confrontation of the war, The Battle of Midway. The battle, which took place from June 4th to June 7th , 1942 is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater (James & Wells). Through the Post-Pearl Harbor desire for “Revenge” and various technological advantages including code breaking and radar, the U.S were able to outsmart the Japanese at Midway and ultimately win the battle, eventually leading to a victory in the Pacific.
In December of 1941, the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, pulling the US into WWII. The Japanese commander in charge of the Navy, Admiral Yamamoto, was looking for an opportunity to pull the US Navy into a battle in which he could decisively engage and destroy its carriers. He decided that the best target available would be Midway. However, as a distraction, in June of 1942, Yamamoto opened up a second front by attacking the Aleutian Islands.
Because Papua was incredibly close to auustralia, this meant the Kokoda campaign was Australia's last line of defense. Meaning that the allies were more afraid of failure than they were of the Japanese this meant that they would not engage in confrontation unless absolutely necessary if they thought that it could be a defeat. The allies had two main commanders, general MacArthur from America and general Blamey from Australia however they both where in Brisbane, hundreds of miles away from the action because they thought they should fortify Australia rather than stop Japan. Unlike Australia Japan actually had a commander on Papua overseeing the campaign personally, this gave them a huge strategic advantage over the Australians. The Japanese came within visual distance of Port Moresby when the context of the war going on around them caught up with them. The American leadership had decided that it was time to take the fight to Japan. Since invading Japan it's self was not fiesable they decided to use a leapfrog stratigie, systimatically invade Japanese held islands, each island would be a launch point for the invasion of the next. Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima where just 2 of this overall master plan this meant that the Japanese forces in Papua where in danger of being encircled, this caused the Japanese high command to order them to retreat. The effect of this order of the Japanese troops was devastating there moral fell through the floor, there will to fight was shot some accounts say that the japanese had only got as far as they did because of pure pride, and when the order came in to retreat they felt they had lost. Also the japanese soldiers where trained and there culture was such that if it became public kwnolage that they had retreated then the public would view this as a total falour this is what the troops where afraid of and this is what
With the outcome of the Battle of Pearl Harbor not accomplishing Japans ideals and retaliation was for certain. The island of Midway started preparing for a battle, “After the somewhat shaking events of 7 December, Midway, no less than Pearl Harbor, prepared for the worst with full anticipation that it would come” (Heinl, 16). Within two weeks new shipments of aircrafts and US troops to the island had arrived to stockpile resources. The United States was preparing to defend their fleet and resources involved. The attack on Pearl Harbor opened up the idea to American that the war had already started whether people kne...
Literally, in the glorifying opening shot in the mesmerizing Kokoda, there’s a re-enactment of the footage made by the famous photographer, Damien Parer. It consisted of armed australian soldiers ‘...plodding up a steep incline as their feet sank into mud...’ (Kokoda- Film Reviews), signalling from the get go that the film payed much attribute to the experience. Throughout the experience, the rugged terrain and rough climate were shown to be unforgiving and quite treacherous at times, making movement sluggish and definitely exhausting. On top of that, soldiers had to battle the stealth of the Japanese invaders in the jungle and their notorious combat skills. They were accurately displayed to be better trained to some extent than the militiamen, though, the enemy never really was shown to the audience. Nonetheless, this was acceptable as it highlighted the fact that fighting in those circumstances was like playing hide-and-seek. The Japanese soldiers were very well camouflaged with the help of the dank undergrowth, emerging from the shadows. They were ‘...everywhere but hard to spot, appearing like ghosts of light...’ (Kokoda- Film Reviews) reigning down terror on the enemy front. Above all, this evidently illustrates the extremities that the war volunteers encountering in
The Rape of Nanking, also known as the Nanking Massacre was a six week period when mass numbers of Chinese men and woman were killed by the Japanese. Embarrassed by the lack of effort in the war with China in Shanghai, the Japanese looked for revenge and finally were able to win the battle. The Japanese moved toward the city of Nanjing also known as Nanking and invaded it for approximately six months. Even though the people of Nanjing outnumbered the 50,000 Japanese, they were not as masterful in warfare as their opponents. Chinese soldiers were forced to surrender to the Japanese and the massacre began in which around 300,000 people died and 20,000 women were raped. The Japanese leaders had different methods of killing that were instructed to the soldiers. However, the prisoners of this “City of Blood” soon found their liberation and their justice was served.