In 1942 the Australian 16th and 25th AIF Brigades, supported by militiamen of the 3rd Battalion, forced the Japanese back over the Kokoda Trail and into a narrow strip in the Buna-Gona-Sanananda area along the northern New Guinea coast. It was decided the Australians would clear the Gona-Sanananda area; the Americans would attack Buna. The inexperienced 32nd U.S. Infantry Division gathered south of Buna, and on 19 November 1942 the confident main American assault began. The veteran Japanese jungle fighters, recently reinforced, were ready. They had constructed an elaborate defensive system of dirt-covered coconut-log bunkers; swamps; flooded rivers, rain, mud and the kunai hampered the Americans; thickly-foliaged trees made air strikes nearly impossible, and faulty intelligence reports gave a totally inaccurate assessment of the Japanese strength. By December the attack on Buna had halted. Poorly trained and equipped, discipline gone, hungry, dirty and ill, the Americans were reluctant to move. Lieutenant-General Eichelberger, sent in by the impatient Supreme Commander, General MacArthur, ordered a major reorganisation, and new attacks were mounted. But the bloody Buna battle again ground to a stalemate. Australia's 18th Brigade and other troops, equipped with long overdue tanks and artillery, joined in whilst other Australian forces pressed on with their task at Gona-Sanananda. The Japanese fought with fanatical resolve but the weight of the Australian-American attacks finally told, and on 2 January 1943 the Americans took Buna government station to end one of the most desperate campaigns of the entire Pacific war.
This copy is in Acceptable condition. There is coloring of the pages. There is heavy marking of the dust jacket, with faded spine and small tears. There is shelf wear. As always, the photos are of the book you will receive.