The Major Players
Weapons, supply and conditions
The Location of the Track:
Papua New Guinea
Simple Kokoda Timeline
General Information about Kokoda
- Prime Minister John Curtain made an alliance with the USA
- General Mc Carther from USA and General Blamey from Australia were overseeing the campaign but for most of the campaign didn't step foot in PNG, when they did they told the soldiers that their effort was poor and they were cowards. They weren't popular among the men.
- The Australia 39th Battalion were a militia of poorly trained soldiers called 'The Chocco Soldiers'. Average age was 18. They arrived in PNG Jan 1942.
- The Australian 2nd/14th Battalion were well trained AIF troops , they came to PNG August 1942. They looked large, healthy and well armed some of the 39th thought they looked like gods.General Horii was commanding the Japanese troops
- General Blamey and Mc Carther put the blame for retreat on the soldiers. They said that the Aussie soldiers must have run away from the fight. The soldiers were very angry.
- It takes 52 hours to walk the 96km trail under good condition. The track is steep, muddy and went from Port Moresby to Gona.
- More than 600 Australian Troops were killed and 90% of the Japanese never made it home.
- Much of the fighting was close range using bayonets
- Supplies were dropped by air. Only 40% of the supplies were recovered.
- Japanese troops turned to cannibalism as supplies ran out.
Why was Kokoda important to Australians?
- Fear of invasion by the Japanese was strong in Australia as you can see in the propaganda poster. Australian military were not considered strong enough to fight off the Japanese and win. However, they did win and this helped Australians to gain confidence.
- If Papua New Guinea fell to the Japanese, it is possible that the air field at Port Moresby would have been used to invade Australia.
- Before Kokoda, England had been seen as the protector of Australia. However, when the British lost Singapore to the Japanese Prime Minister Curtain made a new alliance with the United States of America. This was shocking to the Prime Minister of England. This marked a step away from the reliance on England for protection.
- It is the major battle of WW2 for Australians, similar to Gallipoli in WW1. The difference is that in Kokoda, the Australians WON!
- The legend of the Digger or ANZAC Spirit carried on.
The Japanese and Australian viewpoints: A 9 part series on Kokoda with interviews and overview of the conflict
IN CLASS ACTIVITY: Watch the 9 part video ' The bloody Track' on you tube and take notes. After each segment, imagine you are one of the 'choco soldiers' (39th battalion militia, write a diary entry including the date, where you are (specific location), what the conditions are, who is around you, what has happened so far, and how you are feeling. You will have 9 entries at the end of this activity. You need to include details that show your in-depth knowledge of the time and the Kokoda conflict not just talking about missing home etc.
NOTE: When you get to the end of the video part one it will show you the next video.
NOTE: When you get to the end of the video part one it will show you the next video.