Kokoda Campaign Essay

In 1942, Australia and PNG were involved in the battle of Kokoda against the Japanese. The involvement of Australia in the Kokoda campaign was significant as the threat the Japanese imposed, the hardships the Australian endured and the characteristics the troops displayed all held impact on the nation of Australia. The tactics of the Japanese Aggressive Foreign Policy was a threat to Australia with its plans of invasion or isolation to gain Australia's resources. Australia's involvement in the Kokoda campaign was an experience of hardship and difficulty which required them to endure tricky terrain and harsh warfare. The characteristics of the Australians that fought in WWI, which helped build the ANZAC legend, was evident and displayed immensely in the …show more content…
The terrain of the Kokoda track was mountainous and hard. The temperature would have been very high due to the geographical location of PNG, it is near the equator. This would have been a challenge for the troops as they try to navigate around the battle field (source 9). The Australian troops that entered the Kokoda Campaign were according to source 6, ‘Ill-equipped and poorly trained young soldiers’ this would be because most of the Australian soldiers fought and died in WW1, meaning that a new army would have to be created. The experience of the troops would have been very poor as the majority of them were 18 and never have fired a rifle in anger (source 6). Also the troop would have been severely out numbered as the Australian population would have been quite small as it was still a newly developing country. Also the opposing side were equipped with better technology, technology the Australian lacked which would have made it a harder fight. Although the Australian troops faced many hardships, the characteristics they displayed in their battles contributed to the ANZAC