Far Side of the World: Fortress Rabaul & the Battle for Southwest Pacific | Military Aviation Museum

Join author and historian Bruce Gamble for a look at the strategically vital harbor town of Rabaul, New Britain, the focus of intense and costly fighting from 1941 until the end of World War II, based on his well-regarded Rabaul Trilogy.
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[@ppumpkin3282]

Great lecture on this part of the war. Given the allied priority on the war in Europe, the allies in the Pacific did a good job of stopping the Japanese aggression, by strategically using their resources in a few areas based on good intelligence.

[@Wombat-gm4ne]

Thank you for a great presentation.
A few comments
A very interesting TV drama series "Sisters of War" based on Australian Army and catholic nurses that were captured by the Japanese in January 1942. This TV drama can be watched online via the ABC iview App (Australian broadcasting corporation).
In 2014 at the age if 58 I walked across New Britain on the Lark Force Trail from Rebaul to White Bay where over one hundred Australian troops were masacared. This track was very tough very mountainous through thick jungle and a multitude of streams, not to mention very hot and humid five days, mud and more mud, I fell over hundreds of times, started each day putting on wet clothes and wet boots we were so tired when we got to streams we just lay in streams fully clothed to cool off. Rebaul is an amazing town on a magnificent harbour with tremendous scuba diving with magnificent coral and fish and dozens of ship wrecks.
We were in Rebaul for Australia's and New Zealand's memorial day being ANZAC day the local 11:00 AM remembrance service was very well attended by locals at the Commonwealth War Graves Cementry which was magnificently maintained and was like a beautiful botanic gardens, the cementry included graves of Australian soldiers killed in 1914 WW1 and was in the main hundreds of Indian POW's transported from Singapore after their capture there. We stayed at a beautiful very comfortable four star resort right on the beach on Rebaul Bay.
Reabaul is a beautiful town that has recovered from half the town being smothered by volcanic ash, Japanese fortifications everywhere.
For ANZAC DAY dawn service I'll never forget attending the memorial service at 5:00AM with the little memorial surrounded by volcanic ash with the Australian naval officer conducting the service getting dressed in the dark into his naval dress whites with the help of his wife standing on the little memorial to avoid the Ash - the naval officer conducted a very moving memorial service.
Rebaul an incredibly interesting place to visit.

[@Wombat-gm4ne]

I don't think there was any mention of the epic kakoda trail battle in 1942 to stop the Japanese getting ac
across New Guinea to Port Moresby largely fought by Australian poorly trained militia battalions in atrocious mountainous jungle.
I believe little mention of the 1942 Battle of Milne Bay in New Guinea being first time Japanese troops were defeated in the Pacific war.

[@Wombat-gm4ne]

When did WW2 start.
Peal Harbour December 1941.
Poland September 1939
I'd suggest 1937 when the Chinese Nationalists decided they'd had enough of years of Japanese provocation and in effect launched a full scale war against Japan starting at the Marco Polo bridge just outside Peking. It could be rightly suggested the Chinese played a huge part in defeating Japan holding down over half a million Japanese troops.