Kokoda Trail Essay

During the early days of war in the pacific in World War 2 the Japanese and Australian armies were locked in bitter fighting along the 96 km Kokoda trail in Papua New Guinea. The Kokoda trail is viewed today as an icon of Australian spirit and history, as well as the forming of a strong relationship between Papua New Guinea and Australia. The trail passes through rugged mountainous country of rainforest and jungles, and is a treacherous passage from Buna on the North coast to Port Moresby (the Capital) on the South. It was the site of the Battle of Kokoda, which resulted in the restored safety of Australian shores, after a brave victory.

The reason for Australian involvement-

In 1942 Australia was under threat of invasion. During World War

2, the Japanese armies came very close to invading Northern Australia. The Japanese air force bombed Darwin in February 1942. The Northern cities of Townsville, Broome and Wyndham were also bombed. Japanese submarines entered Sydney Harbour in May 1942, managing to sink a converted Ferry and damage surrounding buildings. The Australian Protectorate of Papua New Guinea had already been invaded by Japanese troops in 1941. It was widely believed that Australia was Japans next target.
After a Japanese attempt to invade Port Moresby by sea had failed due to the battle of the Coral Sea, they decided to take Port Moresby by land.

They had already invaded Northern PNG, and planned to advance towards Port Moresby along the Kokoda trail. They planned to set up a base on the plateau where the village of Kokoda was situated. When Australian intelligence learnt of this plan, the only troops on hand at the time were sent immediately to Port Moresby to meet the enemy head on. The Australian troops were not prepared for what lay ahead. They only had three months of basic training and knew little or nothing about jungle warfare. They were also grossly out numbered. On the 23rd of July 1942 the battle of Kokoda trail

began.

Conscription-
The Australian army was made up entirely of volunteers at the outbreak of war in 1939. Conscription was introduced in 1940, requiring all young men between the ages on 20 and 29 to register for military service. However, only volunteers could serve outside Australia, until November 1942. Prime Minister John Curtin forced an act through Parliament that allowed conscripts to serve outside Australia. In the end, only a few conscripts were sent overseas. Australia had the largest volunteer army fighting outside their home nation in World War 2. With the average age of soldiers being 18- 19 years old.

Propaganda-
During wartime, civilians do not always understand what is going on overseas as even first hand reports from war correspondents can be subject to censorship by the government in order to prevent panic amongst the Australian public. Ordinary Australians were under the impression that Australian troops had the battle of Kokoda under control; which was a stretch of the truth.
After the fall of Singapore, Australian began to fear the Japanese, as it now appeared that they were an unbeatable super force. The Japanese military played on the fears of the Australian public with propaganda radio broadcasts, which were beamed into Australian homes from outside the country.
“Tragic: that is the word that best describes Australia’s plight. No help from the country to which she has given all. All the islands around her are under Japanese control. Invasion is likely. Australia’s fate is isolation, and to this fate she is rushing with terrible speed. An isolated Australia, with limited manpower, limited resources, limited war industries, will, if she continues to wage war on Japan, inevitably collapse.”(Broadcast in February 1942) (Hillman pg. 13)

Conditions for Soldiers-
Australian troops were fighting desperately with no respite. The fighting along the Kokoda trail was Jungle warfare, very different from the trench warfare of World War 1. The Kokoda trail fighting was much stealthier, troops would conceal themselves behind trees and logs and fire at the enemy and then advance a few paces into the next cover. The Japanese were an extremely tough enemy, on the ‘29th of October 1942, General Allen said ‘that he would rather have his men fight 1000 Germans then 500 Japanese. The Japanese didn’t fear being killed.’ (Hillman pg. 21)

The Japanese were not the only enemy the Australian troops had to contend with.

The rugged terrain presented huge difficulties. Every time there was rain, torrents of mud would flow down the mountain track, keeping the troops soaked for days or even weeks, which lead to sickness and disease. Malaria was very common among Australian troops, as the humid condition were a perfect breeding ground for the mosquitoes that carry the disease. ‘At times, half a battalion would be shivering and shaking with malaria.’(http://www.battleforaustralia.org.au/kokoda1.html)

It was very much a medical war. Many Australians were injured or killed in the fighting on the Kokoda trail, but disease put even more Australians in hospital than the fighting did. In the humid jungle, malaria and dengue fever thrived, and poor sanitary conditions meant that there were frequent outbreaks of dysentery. It was reported that at one stage 52% of Australian troops were off their feet, and a further 15% were fighting with malaria. Malaria drains a person of energy, to a state where sitting upright becomes difficult. To fight along the Kokoda trail must have required super human

strength.