Kokoda Trail Essay

1. Which countries were involved in WW2 in Papua New Guinea and when?

Japan, Australia, America and fuzzy wuzzies of Papua New Guinea were involved in WW2 in Papua New Guinea.

They were involved in the war from January 1942 to August 1945.

2. Copy a map of a Papua New Guinea and referring to the map discuss Australia’s involvement in WW2 there. You could use annotations.

After Japanese failed to capture Port Moresy by sea, they decided to cross Owen Stanley Range. The Militia was sent to Papua New Guinea. Australian mission was to stop Japanese from capturing Port Moresby. The Aussies fought well and forcing Japanese to go back. They kept them away from Australia and their people. Comparing to the ground Campaign, Allied control

of air was also vital. Finally, the Australians retook Kokoda on 2, November, 1942 and bombed the Japanese at Buna. After 5 months of losing control of Kokoda, they finally got Kokoda back.
3.

Collect three facts that have interested you about WW2 and the Kokoda campaign and describe each one in its own paragraph.

1. "Kokoda Trail" or "Kokoda Track”?

There has been a debate about whether the path should be called the "Kokoda Trail" or the "Kokoda Track". Both "Trail" and "Track" have been used commonly during the war. "Trail" is probably of American origin but has been used in many Australian history books and was recognized by the Australian Army as an official "Battle Honour". "Track" is from the language of the Australian bush. Both terms are correct, but "Trail" is used more widely.

2. The Japanese army considered invading Australia in early 1942, but canceled the plan in February. The coral-sea naval battle in May 1942 ruined the Japanese in their first try to capture Port Moresby. A month later, the Japanese lost more aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway, reducing the possibility of the Japanese naval launching a large war in the South Pacific even further. The Japanese army then changed overland to Port Moresby, and if the Japanese did so early in February, it would most likely to be succeeded with little fought

back.
3. After the war, the military experts reviewed the general trend of the Pacific War and found that the battle of Kokoda track was the key battle between the United States and Japan. If the Japanese military managed to cross and took over the Kokoda Track, took Port Moresby and entered Australia, the U.S. counterattack might have to start from the American coast, and made it much harder for the allied in future battles. It was really a significant battle.
4. Describe the conditions the soldiers experienced during the Kokoda campaign. Write a short paragraph stating how you would have felt fighting in those conditions. (150 words min)
I would feel tired, hungry, but hopeful and had the faith in winning the war at the same time.

The kokoda track was super rough and narrow as well. Also, since the weather was quite humid, hot, I could easily get diseases, for example, malaria which I could simply die from. Moreover, when fighting in the track, I needed to be really concentrated so that I could avoid slips, falls and rocks. The conditions could be even worse if it’s raining because it could be fairly muddy. Additionally, even just walking, I had to be brave and careful enough to steeping up and down, climbing over fallen tree logs and stepping in 2 feet wide slippery dirt trails. It was just mud, mud, and mud. However, on the other hand, I would believe we could win the battle because we had the help of those kind fuzzy wuzzies who helped us carry supplies and injuries which were both extremely vital. It made sure that we had more supplies than the Japanese and better medical conditions. As supply routes of the Japanese were cut from our and American air force, those Japanese soldiers had to deal with much more problems than us. We also had better weapons and armies than the Japanese because a large percentage of them were militiamen. By considering all these factors, I would think one day we could win this

war.
5. Australian troops were involved in significant battles at Kokoda during WWII. Explain their role in one battle and why their role was important. (200 words min)
Their role was fighting against Japanese in order to stop them from taking Port Moresby. By doing this, they could keep the Japanese away from their land to make Australia safe. After the first fighting on 23 July, 1942 at Awalla which the Australians lost, this militia chose to stay and did their best to fight with the Japanese rather than giving up and quitting. In September, after the best trained Australian troops coming back from Middle East and North Africa, they began to perform better and better in the battle. They had better weapons, for example mortars. Their supplies could be trucked, while most of the Japanese were starving since their supply routes were cut by that brilliant Australian air force. Eventually, Australian troops successfully stopped Japanese from capturing Port Moresby and the Pacific Region. Their role was important because after these battles, it smashed the dream of Japanese taking control of the pacific region and changed the trend of the Pacific War. Since then, the allied had had advantages in winning the war. To Australia, this kept the Japanese out of Australia. This was a solid foundation for allied in winning WW2. If Australian troops didn’t win, it might make it pretty hard and took more time for the allied to win the war.
6. Write a series of diary entries from someone involved in the Kokoda campaign, Include daily duties, food, expectations, their sufferings and life before the war, (300 words min)
25, August, 1942
It’s been a month since the I started fighting in Papua New Guinea, and the weather was just so bad that I still could not stand it. I woke up really early in the morning, and I started looking around our campsite carefully so that No Japanese were near us. Luckily, we were not as starving as the Japanese. Although we didn’t receive much food and they didn’t taste good, still better than nothing. I really hope one day we can beat those Japanese and let them go back to their home. Every day, I was praying that the war could stop very soon. All of us suffered a lot from the weather, bugs, and diseases here. Moreover, I was thinking about my family even in dreams.
15, September, 1942
Another Month! Fortunately, those well trained Australians joined us and helped us a lot in these battles. I had a strong feeling inside my heart that we were going to win! I fought in a battle today and helped those Fuzzy Wuzzies to carry injuries. I also look after some injuries today after we came back the war. We were talking about our life before the war today after dinner. Not surprisingly, a lot of them were like me. I joined the army after the war started because my brother also joined. I didn’t receive a lot of training as I came from a small town which meant we didn’t have those facilities. I was brought up in a happy family although we weren’t really rich. I enjoyed the time spent at my hometown. However, the war just changed everything. I had to leave my hometown so as to fight for people and my country. Still, even now, I didn’t regret this. As the war went on, many of my friends died. I was suffering from this now.
5, November, 1942
I was pretty sure in the near future, we would win the war. These days, I just witnessed thousands of Japanese died. I still walked around our campsite every day and fought back Japanese, but conditions were better as everybody was talking about the battle was going to end and we would be the winner