Papua NG Anzac Day 2014

[CINDERS]

I know this is not the forum but this is where the hub is at milsurps so here are some pics my Nephew took whilst he is on tour as a SGT with the AFP.
As my father went through NG and beyond during WWII

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[Colonel Enfield]

Great pics and very poignant - thanks for sharing them!

[Peter Laidler]

Never realised that there were that many causalties on PNG

[CINDERS]

Peter it was a very near thing with the Japanese the 39th Battalion which was not the regular AIF battled the Japanese our regular and trained soldiers were otherwise positioned elsewhere overseas and this scratch mob made the difference from us being invaded it really was a war of attrition and they beat the JIA at their own game jungle warfare but by cripes it was a near run thing.
I am not going to go into the politics but get hold of a book called The Great Betrayal By David Day and no offence intended but Britain left us to our own devices after we answered the call and sent troops to Singapore as per request and the rest is history please note I am not starting an argument just what David Day wrote about agreements.

Thanks for the replies guys and yes the Australian Army did cop a fair bit of stick in PNG to begin with, just on another tangent as I so often do in the Battle of Britain air war Australia lost 18 out of 21 pilots the highest loss rate from the book "Few of the Few" Newton

[Peter Laidler]

It's well known and accepted that we left you/Aust. (and NZ don't forget) on your own and truly in the lurch but we simply didn't have anything else to give! But it all worked out in the end.

We have a saying in England. When we were a Kingdom, we were ruled by Kings. When we had an Empire we were ruled by Emperors. Now that we are merely a Country, we are ruled by ccccccc, er......., conservatives!

[lee_enfield223]

All I can say is god bless America !!!!! lucky they saved us(not saying that because my grand father was an American Marine during WW2), as was said before the UK was in deep trouble and couldn't even save themselves at the time and because of the USA's huge industrial and manpower base I think they turned the tide against the axis powers(not forgetting the battle of Britain,air war)which buggered Hitlers plans for invasion, I love the conservatives comment it reminds me of politics in Australia, nothings changed

[Gil Boyd]

Great photos......LEST WE FORGET................... the sacrifice in that theatre IMHO has ALWAYS been underrated, and a big THANK YOU to all those that paid with their lives and the tragic knock on effect their loss ot life had at home and the future!!!!!!!!!!!!.

That photo could have been taken at the American Cemetery at Madingley just outside Cambridge here in the UK where I live. Same layout and, again what a tragic loss, when you look at the mess we are all in today.
Was it really worth it??

As an ex British soldier I have to examine my conscience carefully.......mother German, dad Irish meeting on Luneburg Heath when the end of the war in Europe was signed and they married....the rest is history.

How different things would have been had Australia/New Zealand/ America and the rest of the world not fought tyranny at both faces of the German and Japanese Empires and stood proud beside us??
The word Freedom is a funny word and worth pondering for a moment, as I watch heavy rain fall outside my window and equate that to the constant rain in many of those tropical theatres like PNG and Malaya where I served................no comparison

[Ridolpho]

While we're at it, lets not forget the "minor" contribution by the Soviet Union (gotta say it as an SVT and Mosin fan!).

Ridolpho

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The "trick' with the New Guinea / Kokoda campaign was one of logistics.

As the Japanese pushed inland (and steeply uphill), their supply lines became longer and more exposed.

The Australians, conducting a "long, tactical withdrawal", had progressively shorter lines to move reinforcements and stores forward, AND to evacuate wounded.

Air-dropping was carried out on a large scale by US and Australian aircraft, but more often than not, the "goodies" ended up in Japanese hands, or lost forever in the jungle.

Once the allied air and sea power had destroyed the Japanese ability to deliver men and supplies in via their northern landing points, just feeding the invasion force became a nightmare, especially as EVERYTHING travelled on the backs of soldiers or "contracted" local labour.

As General Sir Peter De La Billiere bluntly stated at the time of the 1990 Kuwait Kaper: "Amateurs talk tactics; professionals talk logistics." (No bullets, bombs and beans; no battle).

[Aussie48]

Hi Cinders,

Another good book worth a read is "Fear Drive My Feet" by Peter Ryan, makes you think what they went through.