Originally Posted by
4bee
But Mick, who knew that back then? That thinking only came later after it was all over red rover.
All of Oz was in a level of turmoil/panic & householders were digging air raid trenches in their back yards even down here in SA
Did they really get to the ridge overlooking Morseby? I'm not sure about that but I have read somebody's comment that is what happened as I didn't think they ever got to the Southern end of the Kokoda Track at Owers Corner & you can't see Morseby from there & there would have been a right old 'skirmish' if they had.
Well, you couldn't the last time I looked & you can't even see Bomana War Cemetery. As far I can gather they were stuffed/knackered further back along the Kokoda Track & never made it that far.
In the early stages of the Kokoda campaign, most Australians were complacent about the War. To quote Paul Ham, in his book Kokoda , they were " too interested in political faction fighting and industrial disputes and fights to realise their country was in danger " [ Professor Clunies-Ross, on his return from London. ] Also " They congratulate themselves on having a record crowd at the Melbourne Cup, resist petrol rationing , the control of civilian spending , anything in fact that that interferes with the ordinary life of the community. " At the Sydney rugby league Grand Final, September 1942, 26,000 people watched the game while the Japanese Army stood at Ioribaiwa and gazed on the Coral Sea.
The early tactics of the Australians , who were heavily outnumbered , under the command of Brigadier Arnold Potts, was to carry out a fighting withdrawal over the Owen Stanleys. Inflicting as many casualties as possible, and retiring to fight again. To stand and fight would have resulted in annihilation. Blamey and MacArthur , both of whom had never been in New Guinea, insisted they stand and fight. They sacked Brigadier Potts, and sent him home in disgrace. Blamey's 'Rabbit ' speech to the troops who had fought the Japanese to a standstill, was perhaps the most disgraceful moment in the Australian Army's history. The fact that the first US Army unit to fight in New Guinea, at Buna, [ a poorly trained National Guard unit] dropped their rifles and ran at first contact with the Japanese, didn't help the mood, either.
That Pott's tactics were the correct ones was bought home by the fact the Japanese were starving, when they reached Ioribaiwa, their supply lines were too long, they had no aircraft for resupply [ Guadalcanal need all the Japanese aircraft available] they had no reinforcements available, and were ordered by their Emperor to retreat. The state of the Japanese soldiers rations is recorded by LT. Sakamoto, at Ioribaiwa. " Not a single grain of rice left. Taroes sufficient for only another day. From tomorrow we will have to chew grass or bark. "
Order issued by Eighteenth Army to Japanese troops, 10 December 1944, to clarify official position on cannibalism. " Those who have consumed human flesh --- EXCLUDING THAT OF THE ENEMY-----will be sentenced to death for committing the worst possible crime against humanity " Excluding that of the enemy. Australian troops came across Australian bodies that had been cut up to eat. It was from this point no Jap prisoners were taken. And the stage was set for the next part of the campaign, in Papua. It was to be one of the bloodiest and terrible campaigns of the War.
I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food
A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking
No not the Japs, more like the smell of school kid ****.
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