Kokoda

Many Australians regard Kokoda as the defining battle of the Second World War, but few can name the soldiers who fought along the track or describe what took place there. More Australians lost their lives during those months of fighting in Papua than in any other campaign of the war. Peter FitzSimons, a well-known Australian author, sets out the story for a general readership, seeking to bring the campaign to life while keeping it grounded in the record.

The account centres on a small, poorly equipped force of young Australians who met a seasoned Japanese army that had not yet been defeated. On a narrow and treacherous jungle path, the outnumbered troops repeatedly took great risks to halt the Japanese advance toward the Australian mainland.

The conditions were brutal. Rain fell almost without pause, the ground was nearly impassable, and food and ammunition were scarce. Malaria and dysentery afflicted the men as much as enemy fire did. Wounded and worn down, the soldiers kept fighting, sustained in part by the assistance of local Papuan people.

FitzSimons combines careful historical authority with the pace of a narrative story, making the book suited to readers who want an accessible but thorough account of this campaign.