September 1942 marked the high-point of Axis conquest in World War II. In the Pacific, Japan's soldiers had seemed unstoppable. However, the tide was about to turn.
On Sunday, 6 September 1942, Japanese land forces suffered their first conclusive defeat at the hands of the Allies. At Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea, a predominantly Australian force - including 75 Squadron (fresh from their action in 44 DAYS) - fought for two weeks to successfully defend a vital airstrip against a determined Japanese invasion. The victorious Australian army units were crucially supported by two locally-based squadrons of RAAF Kittyhawks.
The Battle for Milne Bay and victory for the Allies was a significant turning point in the Pacific War, but while it received worldwide publicity at the time, it has since been largely forgotten... It deserves to be remembered.
Michael Veitch, actor, presenter and critically acclaimed author, brings to life the incredible exploits and tragic sacrifices of these Australian heroes in another fast-paced and thrilling tale.
This book is remarkably easy to read for such a difficult subject-matter
Milne Bay was the campaign which finally turned the tide for Australia and for the allies in WWII, initially in Papua, but also - sooner rather than later - well beyond New Guinea, throughout South East Asia & the South Pacific, more generally. Although MacArthur was reluctant to give credit to the Australians for prevailing in this hellish campaign, but the Field Marshall in charge of the of the British Army in Burma said that it was the Australians who had given heart to the allied troops throughout the region, when they turned the Japanese back on land for the very first time in WWII, and who had thus 'broken the spell of Japanese invincibility' and helped to eventually win the war much further afield. General Sir Sydney Rowell who was in charge of the Kokoda campaign also gave credit much more freely than MacArthur, and especially to the RAAF Kittyhawks for playing a role which he called 'the decisive factor' in the form of the vital air-to-ground support they added to the Australian Army's ferocious defence, where the intensity of both their input was almost unprecedented in military history (let alone Australian military history).
PB, 22/08/2019
