Kokoda Front Line!
From the Archive
•
9m 7s
In July 1942, Japanese forces made landings at Gona on the north coast of modern Papua New Guinea, as part of a wider plan to defend the naval base of Rabaul. Having been unable to land at Port Moresby in May - a move that resulted in the Battle of the Coral Sea - they now planned to reach the capital on foot, taking the Kokoda Track over the Owen Stanley Mountain Range. Australian troops arrived on the Kokoda Track two weeks prior to the landings, having been warned of an imminent attack. The subsequent Kokoda campaign would last four months and strike a deep impression in the hearts and minds of the Australian people. This emotional documentary was filmed by the Australian war photographer Damien Parer and shared the Academy Award for best documentary in 1943. Parer was killed in September 1944 on the island of Peleliu. Please note: This film may contain distressing scenes and contemporary language no longer considered appropriate.
Up Next in From the Archive
-
Okinawa and Victory
The final of five episodes documenting the history of the US Marines in the Pacific theatre of WW2. This episode tells the tale of the Marines during, and after, the Okinawa campaign at the end of World War Two.
-
Mariana Islands: Saipan
Documentary charting the US campaign on the island of Saipan in the Marianas in June and July 1944. The film draws attention to the high number of civilian casualties - sadly a feature of the Pacific island campaigns. Saipan was also among the first occasions where American forces witnessed mass ...
-
Untold Stories of World War One
Dan Snow introduces four projects funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council over the last four years, highlighing underexplored aspects of First World War history, from German wartime photography to miltary training in Northern Ireland.
