When the Japanese war machine swept through South-East Asia in early 1942, it was inevitable that conflict would reach Australian territory on the island of New Guinea. The ultimate Japanese target was Port Moresby. Conquering the capital would sever communication between Australia and her American ally and allow Japanese air power to threaten Australia’s northern cities. When a seaborne invasion was thwarted at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Nankai Shitai landed in Papua on 21 July and lunched an overland attack. Having captured the village of Kokoda with its vital airstrip, the Japanese headed for Port Moresby, traversing the treacherous Kokoda trail that winds across the might Owen Stanley Range. The Australian Army was ill prepared to confront the Japanese. Poorly equipped, undertrained, and unaccustomed to jungle warfare, the untested militia battalions were the first to face the battle-hardened invading forces. Later, when veteran AIF brigades were rushed forward to bolster the militia, they also fell in the path of the Japanese onslaught. But the over-extension of supply lines and disaster on Guadalcanal eventually cruelled Japanese aspirations and the Kokoda campaign became a bloody and protracted struggle as the Australian troops fought to drive the Japanese off the Owen Stanleys and out of Papua. While the front-line troops were engaged in a bitter fight for survival, a power struggle erupted at the top of the Allied command hierarchy resulting in a series of sackings, the competing ambitions of the Allied commanders clouding their judgement at a critical time. It was under these conditions, against a determined enemy and on one of the harshest battlefields on earth, that the Australian forces began to learn the crucial lessons that would be needed to break the back of the Japanese Army in New Guinea.

The fighting on the Kokoda Track in World War II is second only to Gallipoli in the Australian national consciousness. The Kokoda campaign of 1942 has taken on mythical status in Australian military history. According to the legend, Australian soldiers were vastly outnumbered by the Japanese, who suffered great losses in battle and as a result of the harsh conditions of the Kokoda Track. In this important book, Peter Williams seeks to dispel the Kokoda myth. Using extensive research and Japanese sources, he explains what really happened on the Kokoda Track in 1942. Unlike most other books written from an Australian perspective, The Kokoda Campaign 1942: Myth and reality focuses on the strategies, tactics and battle plans of the Japanese and shows that the Australians were in fact rarely outnumbered. For the first time, this book combines narrative with careful analysis to present an undistorted picture of the events of the campaign. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the truth of the Kokoda campaign of 1942.

One of the finest soldiers and most courageous leaders I have ever known. – Lt Doug McClean, D Coy, 39th Battalion If you have trekked Kokoda, then the campsite of Templeton's Crossing will be familiar. Discover the story of the man behind the name. Captain Sam Templeton was the first Australian Officer to be captured by the Japanese in the Kokoda Campaign. After being interrogated by his captors he was executed on the battlefield. Templeton had predicted his fate, telling a platoon commander, if ‘he went into action, he wouldn’t come back’. Having resigned himself to his destiny, Templeton misled his captors on the numerical strength of the Australian forces waiting in Kokoda and Port Moresby. Did Templeton’s misinformation slow the initial push by the Yokoyama Advance Force into the Owen Stanley Range, allowing the Australian Imperial Force to join the fight earlier? Did Templeton create doubt in the mind of the commander of the South Seas Force, influencing an operational change for the attack on Port Moresby? A quiet and often aloof character, Templeton’s name and actions became synonymous with Kokoda. Originally from Belfast, Templeton is reputed to have helped quash the Irish rebellion, served in submarines with the Royal Navy during the First World War and to have fought with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. Kokoda Legend goes beyond the myth to discover the real contribution Captain Sam Templeton made to stopping the Japanese advance over the Owen Stanley Range in 1942.

Kokoda: Beyond the Legend provides readers with a complete understanding of this major turning point in the Second World War.

In my humble opinion, Bert Kienzle did more than any other single man to make Australian victory possible.' Peter FitzSimons, author of Kokoda In 1942, when the Japanese had invaded Papua New Guinea and the Australian soldiers sent to hold them back thought victory was impossible, one man, Bert Kienzle, changed the course of history. This charismatic man, well known in Papua for having run gold mines and plantations there, was charged with the seemingly impossible task of establishing a trail across the forbidding Owen Stanley Range in just a few short months. Out of jungle and mud, Kienzle carved a working transport route that his handpicked teams of native bearers, the now famous Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, would work on alongside the Australian troops ensuring that the men got the food, munitions and medical support they needed. The feats that these men performed were heroic, and their endurance as they transported supplies along the Trail unparalleled. Bert Kienzle lived an amazing life and the transport route he established – the legendary Kokoda Trail – made Australia’s victory possible. This is his story.

Everything you need to know about the Kokoda Trail and its place in Australian history Interest in the Kokoda Trail is growing rapidly among many Australians, both for its attraction as a hiking destination and for its historical significance. Kokoda For Dummies offers a fast track tool for learning everything you need to know about this unique thoroughfare, in one concise volume. Part history book, part practical guide, Kokoda For Dummies is perfect both for those considering following our Diggers’ footsteps along ‘the track’ or armchair travellers who want to learn about its history. Covering the full history of the Kokoda Trail, from its beginnings as an overland mail route to the fierce battles between the Australians and the Japanese that took place along its length during World War II, the book also includes important information on walking the trail yourself. From the steps you need to take to get ready to what to bring, Kokoda For Dummies is the definitive resource for anyone looking for a comprehensive overview of this significant landmark. Focuses on walking the track as a pilgrimage and a history lesson for history buffs and hiking enthusiasts alike Covers the health and safety concerns involved with walking the track, including a basic Kokoda itinerary Contains eyewitness accounts of the Kokoda battles gleaned from interviews conducted with Australian and Japanese war veterans A comprehensive but accessible history of the Kokoda Trail and its significance to Australia, in one volume.

‘an engrossing narrative, beautifully controlled by a master storyteller' Michael McKernan, Sydney Morning Herald The bestselling, acclaimed, authoritative account of one of the most famous battles in Australian military history – now established as a classic. For Australians, Kokoda is the iconic battle of World War II, yet few people know just what happened – and just what our troops achieved. In his bestselling book, Peter FitzSimons tells the Kokoda story in his distinctive gripping style. Conditions on the track were hellish – rain was constant, the terrain close to inhospitable, food and ammunition supplies were practically non-existent and the men constantly battled malaria and dysentery, as well as the Japanese. Kokoda was a defining battle for Australia – a small force of young, ill-equipped Australians engaged a highly experienced and hitherto unstoppable Japanese force on a narrow, precarious jungle track – and defeated them.

The author of the bestselling Darwin Spitfires casts a forensic eye over the role that Allied air forces played – or failed to play – in crucial World War II campaigns in New Guinea. This is the story of the early battles of the South West Pacific theatre – the Coral Sea, Kokoda, Milne Bay, Guadalcanal – presented as a single air campaign that began with the Japanese conquest of Rabaul in January 1942. It is a story of both Australian and American airmen who flew and fought in the face of adversity – with incomplete training, inadequate aircraft, and from poorly set up and exposed airfields. And they persisted despite extreme exhaustion, sickness, poor morale and the near certainty of being murdered by their Japanese captors if they went down in enemy territory.

Japanese Major General Horii Tomitarô, commanding the South Seas Force, had the Australians on the back foot. Australia was holding the last defendable ridge in the Owen Stanley ranges, Imita Ridge. Horii to his distress was then given orders from Imperial Headquarters in Tokyo that he was to fall back across the mountains to the Japanese beachheads at Gona, Sanananda, and Buna, leaving a force between Templeton’s Crossing and Eora Creek to stop any Australian advance through the mountains. The Japanese, unknown to the Australians evacuated Ioribaiwa Ridge just before they launched their attacks and to their amazement on storming the heights, the Australians encountered no resistance – the Japanese had gone. This, however, did not mean the fighting on the Kokoda Track was over, far from it. Three more desperate actions would be fought by the Australians and Japanese, before the decisive battles for the Japanese beachheads could be decided – the battles for Templeton’s Crossing, Eora Creek, and finally the Oivi-Gorari positions on the northern lowland plains. Just 15-kilometres east lay the Kumusi River, the last geographical barrier before reaching the strongly fortified Japanese beachheads themselves.