In 1942 the Battle of Kokoda was fought by thousands of brave Australians. Amongst them the 39th Battalion fought with raw ANZAC Spirit and were pivotal to the success of the battle. However, with essential field leadership and care from the native bearers, the 39th won the Battle of Kokoda for Australia and now are remembered as heroes.
The 39th Battalion was an inexperienced battalion, but brought with them a strong sense of mateship. They landed on the shores of Papua New Guinea as naïve young men, and without any knowledge of what’s to follow in the coming weeks. They boarded the ship ‘Aquitania’ and left for Papua New Guinea not knowing how to shoot a rifle, fight a war and had tennis rackets in their bags. Although the inexperience left
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them unprepared for the battle, the ANZAC Spirit of the 39th Battalion compensated, and was a reason why they won the Battle of Kokoda for Australia. Arriving on the shores of Papua New Guinea, they were feeling “Scared, Excited, Hopeful” with no real desire to return home. After realising that it was indeed a war, the strength of the mateship and the seriousness of the situation struck them. The 39th fought with a powerful motive, using their awareness of the legacy of the original ANZAC’s to win the battle. The mateship of the 39th Battalion was strongly shown throughout the whole battle, but more specifically on 28th August at Isurava, after the 39th were relieved by the 2/14th Militia, “The battalion was in trouble, so twenty-seven out of the thirty went back. The three who didn’t were: minus a foot, had a bullet in the throat, had a forearm blown off.” The field commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner had a major positive impact on the mental stability of the soldiers and encouraged the mateship further. Strong leadership by Australian field commanders in the face of overwhelming chances saved Australia from the 39th Battalions terrible odds, and compensated for poor judgement of senior commanders in Australia.
The 39th suffered from a shocking ratio of 10 Japanese to every 1 Australian, along with suffering malaria and dysentery killing thousands of the soldiers whilst also dealing with low ammunition and food supplies “We were exhausted, utterly exhausted, completely exhausted.” They were young soldiers and “warn out by strenuous fighting and exhausting movement, and weakened by lack of food, sleep and shelter, many of them had literally come to a standstill” After the death of their first field commanding officer, Colonel Owen, they were resilient and made a strong withdraw to Isurava and met their new field commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner. Honner displayed outstanding leadership towards the battalion and knew that their terrible odds were going to be a struggle, but he kept them focused and determined on the task ahead, including the outstanding field leadership, the senior commanders in Australia, General Thomas Blamey and Douglas Macarthur had poor management and understanding of the battle and put immense pressures on Honner and the 39th. They were in charge of keeping what experienced soldiers we had, in Australia, although the Japanese were advancing, neglecting the needs and desperation of the 39th Battalion. Nevertheless Honner ignored the suicidal …show more content…
commands from Blamey and Macarthur, and fought alongside the 39th saving the lives of many Australians. Whilst waiting for their relief militia, the 500 of the 39th battalion that were left, held back 13,000 of the Japanese and Honner set up a strong natural defensive position. After the 2/14th came to relieve the 39th, Honner thanked them and on that same day, General Macarthur stated that “Aggressive leadership is lacking” but, he was wrong. Honner and the 39th Battalion fought with such hostility and courage, that they made sure that the 39th be allowed to stay with the 2/14th and fight, and that they were remembered as the “Rugged bloody heroes.” Despite the pressures from the leadership in Australia, Honner displayed fine leadership throughout the battle and fought with the 39th battalion through to the final stages of the battle producing a successful result. Fine leadership from the field commanders were not the only thing that won the battle for Australia, the Native Bearers, otherwise known as the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels were there in desperate times of need “They were fantastic.” The Fuzzy Wuzzy’s were laborers, carriers and scouts to the Australian troops, carrying wounded soldiers back to Owens Corner for treatment.
They had no reason to be loyal to them because they were often mistreated, but still protected our troops as no living soldier was ever abandoned by the carriers, not even during heavy combat, it was “…like the care of a nurse and the love of a mother”. The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, dragged the dead off the battlefield, carried the desperately wounded and walked with the able wounded, like Keith Norrish who struggled along for five days, with four bullets in his chest . The Angels of the track have been given the blessing of eternal gratitude from Australian Soldiers and many commemorative medals have been given to their family members in recognition of their service to Australian Servicemen. The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels protected the 39th Battalion during all of the fighting and added to the success of the
battle. Often mocked by the regular Australian forces, the 39th faced elite Japanese forces in the initial stages of the battle, but what they lacked in military training, was overcome by the qualities of mateship, courage and endurance. The 39th Battalion won the battle of Kokoda with their incredible mateship and stubbornness to fill the shoes of the previous ANZAC’s. However fine leadership on the field along with guided care from the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels also defeated the terrible odds that faced them, and resulted in the Japanese being pushed back into the sea, away from Kokoda and the shores of Australia.
3 September 1939 when Australia joined the war playing a significant role in World War 2, winning a lot of their campaigns. Almost million Australians, both men and women helped win WW2 all over the world. The war started for Australia when Great Britain declared war on Germany. This lead to Australia fighting in Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, Japan in south-east Asia and other parts of the Pacific. Australia was involved in one of the most important battles in WWII, Kokoda track campaign in 1942. There are several reasons why this battle was so significant. Firstly, Kokoda track campaign stopped the invasion of Australia. Secondly, the Kokoda track campaign lead to the victory of WWII with the defeat of Japan. Lastly, the conditions that all the troops at the Kokoda campaign had to go through was atrocious and against the ally troop’s odds. This battle leads to the development of the nation. This is why Kokoda was the most important battle fought by the Australian’s in WWII.
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.
388 were decorated (seven Military Medals were awarded to Australian Nurses for their courage under fire).
The soldiers are remembered for maintaining courage and determination under hopeless conditions. The ANZAC legend owes much to wartime correspondents who used the Gallipoli landing to generate a specifically Australian hero. Among the many reports, which reached Australia, were those of Ashmead-Bartlett. His Gallipoli dispatches described Australians as a 'race of athletes ... practical above all', whose cheers, even in death, 'resounded throughout the night'. Ashmead-Bartlett helped in...
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.
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anzacday.org.au. (2000). Being a historian: Investigating the Battle of Long Tan. Retrieved May 29th, 2014, from anzacday.org.au: http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/activities/longtan/longtan01.html
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