To What Extent Was Kokoda A Disaster For Australian Soldiers

To what extent was the battle for Kokoda a disaster for Australian soldiers?

To some extent the battle for Kokoda was a disaster for Australian soldiers. The initial recruitment sent to Kokoda were young, “dragooned” kids off the street with no training. They were extremely undersupplied and outnumbered by the Japanese. The conditions and terrain in which they were fighting in were horrendous and overrun with diseases. Despite all this, the Australians were victorious; pushing the Japanese back to the north coast – and finally defeated them at Sanananda.

The recruitment for Kokoda were young kids off the street, forced to be in the army with little to no training or fighting experience. To the AIF, they were known as ‘chocolate soldiers’ or ‘chocos’; because they thought they would “melt under pressure”. The Militia weren’t allowed to fight outside of Australia – but at the time, Papa New Guinea was technically Australian land. They were told they were going over to build and defend a runway, they did not expect to face any combat. It was no surprise that their first battle was disastrous; They were outnumbered by the Japanese – only 77 Australians to 400 Japanese troops. They were undersupplied

The Kokoda track is a narrow path through tropical jungles, covered with mud and thick vegetation. Stretching 200 kilometres across the Owen Stanley Range the track has many steep ascents and descents – reaching 3000 metres at the highest point. The troops endured torrential rain, very high humidity and scorching hot and freezing temperatures, all with little to no shelter. As well as running through creeks and rivers, the track is covered in tree roots and fallen logs. The final Battle of Kokoda was through 15 kilometres of swampland along the coast. These swamps were full of mosquitos and Malaria. More men died from malaria than in all the battles