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Ethical Dimensions: The level of pugnacity found in the battles along the Kokoda Trail was unprecedented in the experience of Australian soldiers in WW2. It is estimated that there were 625 Australian fatalities and over 1600 injured men. Casualties due to sickness were well over 400.

Ethical Dimensions: Ethically, no sides were in the right during this war. The Battle of Isurava fought between a young, poorly equipped Australian army against a superior in numbers Japanese Army took place between the 26th and 31st of August 1942. After the 2/14th Australian Infantry Battalion was defeated, a Japanese soldier recalls witnessing “so much gear and weapons lying under the long tents which belonged” to the deceased Australian soldiers. For the first time, he “thought of [the Australian soldiers] and realised how cruel the war was”.

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Cause and Consequence:

The Australian force couldn’t hold back the Japanese even with the steady support by the battalions of the 30st and 21st Brigades. This was mainly due to a severe lack of any jungle warfare tactics, being poorly equipped and the long and difficult supply line behind them. The Australians eventually were forced to withdraw along the Trail. They ultimately stopped on the 17th of September at Imita ridge, where there was just 8km between the Australians and Port Moresby.

This location gave the Australians a clear tactical advantage, the Australian artillery was in range, and their supplies could be easily trucked to them. The Japanese, however had to transport their supplies all the way from the north coast of the Papua. The Japanese were hit by large losses on Guadalcanal once the Americans landed there. The South Seas Detachment was eventually told to retreat to the north coast for defensive purposes. Then the Australian 25th Brigade edge forward from Imita ridge on 23 of September causing the Japanese to retreat even further. The Japanese were slowly chased back to the north coast where the last fighting occurred at Gona, Buna and Sanananda.

Cause and Consequence: The emotional impact of Kokoda was immense. One soldier recalled that “each time the Commander called a soldier’s name, I had to repeat ‘he was killed in action’. As I spoke I couldn’t hold back my tears”. Japanese veterans had no chance to talk about their experiences, causing a vast emotional consequence which is obviously still felt today, evident through the emotion visible on the faces of the soldiers. A third soldier recalls how hard it was “leaving wounded friends behind and running away”.

Cause and Consequence: The Japanese wanted to attack through Southeast Asia to take possession of raw materials. Japan defeat in the battle of the Coral Sea. As a second attempt to successfully capture the objective, the Japanese decided to execute a military attack on land over the Owen Stanley Ranges through the Kokoda Track. Australia won

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The Tide Turns in the Pacific (1942-1943) (Vol. 6). (2006). Danbury, Ct.: Grolier.

Lindsay, P. (2006). The spirit of Kokoda then and now. Sydney: Vision Australia Information and Library Service.

Macinnis, P. (2007). Kokoda track: 101 days. Fitzroy, Vic., Australia: Black Dog Books.

H. (2008, September 15). Retrieved August 28, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc1G2pEzLl8

The Anzac Portal. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/history/conflicts/kokoda-track

Kokoda Trail Campaign. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E291
Kokoda Trail Map. (n.d.). Retrieved August 31, 2018, from https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiMj-WtwJbdAhWCQN4KHfJbBjkQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https://hellopapuanewguinea.weebly.com/blog/category/assignment&psig=AOvVaw23ugfiAhXSxXhQDKeZ6GBp&ust=1535777775229569

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Perspectives: According to one soldier, the Japanese were told to destroy the “Australians no matter what it takes”. The Japanese were told that “Australia is the home of British criminals. So be careful, they are going to be cruel”, so evidently that was the soldiers perspectives of the Australians before heading into battle.

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The Australian War Memorial is a government website therefore the information it possesses will be credible and well researched.

Kokoda Trail Campaign. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E291

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Significance: The Kokoda Trail was a path that linked the tiny village of Wairopi, on the north side of the Owen Stanley mountains and Ower's Corner, roughly 40 km north-east of Port Moresby. From Wairopi, a crossing point on the Kumusi River, the Trail was joined with the villages of Sanananda, Gona and Buna on the north coast. Its name comes from the village of Kokoda that stood on the northern side of the main range and was the site of the single airfield between the north coast and Port Moresby.

The first Japanese attempt to take Port Moresby by sea was disrupted by the battle of the Coral Sea, because of this the Japanese decided to attack by land, by advancing along the Kokoda Trail. On the 21st of July 1942, Soldiers of the South Detachment landed at Gona, intending to test whether the Kokoda Trail could be use as a means for advancing via land. Soon a full-scale offensive developed, leading to the first fighting which occurred on the 23rd of July at Awala between the 39th Australian Infantry Battalion and part of the Papuan Infantry Battalion.

Even though Japanese control of Port Moresby would never be a precursor to an attempt to invade Australia, the Allies eventual victory on the Kokoda Trail guaranteed that bases in northern Australia, were not seriously threatened by the Japanese.

Significance: It was well known within the Japanese army that “New Guinea is where no one come back alive”. The documentary about the Japanese perspective on Kokoda was created to educate Australians about the other side of the Kokoda story. The Japanese were taught that the “Japanese were being very evil”, but there is always another side to the story.

Significance: Firstly, the Kokoda Campaign saved Australia from possible invasion, or more precisely from being isolated from the United States of America. Scendly, Kokoda was the battle that lead to victory in the Second World War, as well as to improvement of Australia’s post-war practices and military operations.

Significance: The Kokoda Trail inflicted horrid consequences on both Allied and Japanese soldiers.The infamous “trail” was nothing more than a track that link villages and towns in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. The trail is over 154km in length, joining the northern and southern coasts of the island, as well as passing through the village of Kokoda on the northeastern slopes of the Owen Stanley mountain range. The trails is infested by fast flowing rivers, rough mountain passes, some rising almost vertically. The risk of diseases such as malaria and scrub typhus were exceedingly common. During the horrendous campaign, both the Japanese and the Allied forces suffered more casualties from the rough environment than from the battle itself.