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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001143A
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00:25 This place is visited by thousands of Australian 00:28 pilgrims every 00:30 year. Yet it's not a church. It's forever consecrated in the 00:34 hearts of Australians, yet it's not Australian soil. It is 00:39 Australia's most important military victory yet it's 00:42 relatively unknown. This is Ower's Corner in the foothills 00:48 of the Ower Stanley Mountain range about 60 km from Port 00:52 Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. For many brave men 00:56 this was their last contact with civilization. Ower's Corner is 01:04 the southern end of the Kokoda Track. For almost 100 km it 01:09 winds its path through some of the most rugged and isolated 01:13 terrain on earth. Here a rag-tag group of young Australian men 01:19 fought a series of disparate and vicious battles. Many gave their 01:24 lives for the freedom of Australia. This is their story. 01:29 We're going to look at the importance and symbolism of the 01:32 Kokoda campaign and what we can learn from it personally. 01:39 ♪ ♪ 01:59 Today the Ower Stanley mountain range and the Kokoda Track look 02:04 peaceful and serene. It's hard to imagine that for Australia 02:09 this Track was the scene of one of the bloodiest campaigns of 02:12 World War II 02:14 and that what young Australians did here changed the course of 02:17 the war and probably saved Australia. In February 1942, 02:26 Japanese Prime Minister Tojo stated that the Japanese policy 02:29 was to crush Australia. The forces of Imperial Japan had 02:35 advanced victoriously through southwestern Asia and after the 02:39 fall of Singapore in February 1942, Australia was effectively 02:46 isolated. Japanese forces bombed Darwin and planned a naval 02:50 attack to capture Port Moresby and make Australia extremely 02:54 vulnerable. 02:55 But the American naval victories in the battle of the Corral Sea 03:00 in early May and at Midway in early June had broken the 03:04 dominance of the Japanese Navy in the Pacific. Japan's goal was 03:10 still to establish a stronghold in Port Moresby and if it 03:13 couldn't do it through its navy, it would do it through its army. 03:17 Marching over land along the Kokoda Track and across the Ower 03:21 Stanley Ranges from the northern shore of Papua New Guinea. 03:25 If they succeeded in this, and established the base in Port 03:28 Moresby the Australian mainland would have come under dire 03:33 threat. The Kokoda Track or trail with a precarious jungle 03:40 path that ran for about 100 km from here at Owen's Corner near 03:45 Port Moresby over the rugged Ower Stanley Mountain Range to 03:49 the small village of Wirupe on the north side of the mountains 03:52 linking a number of native villages along the way including 03:57 Menari, Efogi, Isuarava, Deniki, Gorari and Kokoda. 04:05 Well, we're on the Kokoda Track following in the footsteps of 04:10 the Marugra force and we're experiencing just a little of 04:15 the hellish conditions of the mud, rain, mosquitoes, leaches 04:21 and steep terrain that they endured. The members of the 04:25 Marugra force were called chocos or chocolate soldiers and that's 04:30 because they were undertrained conscripts and it was thought 04:34 that they would melt like chocolate in the heat of battle 04:37 or at the first sight of the Japanese. Unknown to them, the 04:43 Japanese had already landed on the 21st of July 1942 here in 04:48 the Garner Sanananda region on the northern coast of New Guinea 04:53 And here they established a strong defensive position. The 04:57 initial Japanese landing force consisted of 2300 men including 05:03 a crack company of marines. Their orders were to establish a 05:09 beachhead here and then move inland and secure Kokoda. More 05:13 importantly there was an aerodrome, the only one between 05:17 the north coast and Port Moresby Their orders were then to cross 05:21 the Ower Stanley Range along the Kokoda track while building a 05:25 road for the Japanese forces who would follow along behind. It 05:29 was an audacious plan and they were determined to carry it out. 05:34 But they hadn't counted on the toughness, bravery and fighting 05:40 ability of the Australians. Here near the village of Awala was 05:49 where the first clash occurred on the 23rd of July. Incredibly 05:53 here that a platoon from B company of the 39th Battalion 05:58 consisting of only 75 men engaged the advancing Japanese 06:04 force that was 2500 strong. B company was led by Sam 06:11 Templeton, a 41-year-old career soldier. Under his command B 06:17 company fought a variant defensive action. They ultimated 06:21 ambushing the advancing Japanese with strategically 06:24 retreating to the high ground and _. And they managed 06:29 to alert the rest of the 39th to the presence of the enemy. 06:34 In fact, the Australians resisted so strongly that the 06:38 the Japanese were convinced that they were facing a force of 1200 06:43 strong when in fact they were facing under 100 young 06:47 Australian men. 06:49 On the 27th of July Captain Templeton was reported missing 06:54 He'd been wounded, captured and about a week later he was 07:00 executed. However under interrogation before his death 07:04 Captain Templeton convinced the Japanese that there were 20,000 07:11 Australian and U.S. soldiers waiting for them at Port Moresby 07:15 although the reality was that there were far, far fewer. In 07:19 fact Captain Templeton was convincing enough that the 07:23 Japanese halted their advance for two weeks, which allowed the 07:28 Australians to rush more troops into the battle. Without Captain 07:32 Templeton's bravery and self sacrifice Port Moresby would 07:36 have been lost and Australia itself would have been in danger 07:41 The village of Kokoda on a plateau on the northeastern 07:48 foothills of the Owen Stanley Range is near the northern end 07:51 of the Kokoda Track. It's this village that gives its name to 07:55 track that runs through it. From Awala, the 39th began a fighting 08:02 retreat back here to Kokoda where they dug in and prepared 08:06 to defend the village together with its vital airfield. The 08:11 fighting over the Kokoda was fierce, but the Maroubra force 08:15 and what remained of the 39th and the Papua infantry battalion 08:20 were unable to hold it against overwhelming odds. But they were 08:26 so determined that even after they'd lost the plateau they 08:29 went on to recapture it. 08:31 But Japanese troops just kept pouring in and 08:35 the remaining Australians were eventually driven back. The 39th 08:41 had now been fighting continuously for a month and the 08:45 toll had been horrific. After the battles at Awala and Kokoda 08:51 the 39th battalion could only muster a fighting force of 08:56 around 30 men out of a nominal fighting force of around 700. 09:00 The rest were either dead, missing, wounded, or in hospital 09:06 suffering from disease and exhaustion. From Kokoda the 09:10 the Australians fell back into a long fighting retreat along 09:15 the Kokoda Track, across the Ower Stanley Range determined 09:20 to resist the Japanese advance as much as possible. The Kokoda 09:30 Track is a living, breathing, pulsating path surrounded by 09:35 seemingly impenetrable jungle of tropical rain forest, raging 09:40 rivers and stunning waterfalls. The track crosses deep into the 09:46 steep, brooding mist-covered mountains and then sweeps 09:50 down into 09:51 beautiful lush green mystical valleys. This sounds beautiful 09:56 but the reality on the ground is far different. It rained almost 10:01 every day and together with the heat that meant incredible 10:06 humidity. There are mosquitoes, leaches, and other parasites 10:11 everywhere. The jungle here is so thick with vegetation 10:14 and often mist, 10:16 but in many places you can't see a person standing a 10:20 meter away from you. Those who fought here remember spending 10:26 most of their time waste deep in mud or clawing through the 10:29 jungle. Those same veterans told how they were so short of food 10:36 that they used to throw grenades into the river and then 10:38 dive in to grab the stunned fish so they could get a proper meal. 10:42 These days hundreds of Australians walk the single file 10:49 Kokoda Track every year. Except they do it in the dry season and 10:56 walking might be quite the right word to use to describe progress 11:00 across the track. You have to pick your way along the track 11:04 sometimes the climbing is so tough that you have to use your 11:09 hands as well as your feet. The average human walking speed is 11:17 around 5 or 6 km/hr. But the speed along the track is 2 km/hr 11:23 and in the worst sections it gets as low as 1 km/hr. Those 11:30 Australians who walk the track each year find it heavy going. 11:34 But each Australian soldier who walked the track to the battle 11:38 had to carry 30 plus kilos of personal equipment, weapons 11:43 and ammunition. By now the Australians had been reinforced 11:49 by the 53rd battalion, the 21st brigade and the headquarters of 11:53 the 30th brigade. However, there were now 10,000 Japanese pouring 11:59 down the track and the Australians were outnumbered 12:02 outgunned and out equipped. Painfully the Australians 12:07 continued their fighting withdrawal until they reached 12:11 Isuarava. Among the many acts of self-sacrificing valor and 12:16 heroism that took place during this campaign some of the 12:19 greatest took place at Isuarava. The Japanese were 2500 strong. 12:25 And the Australians numbered only 400. It was a real David 12:30 and Goliath battle of almost Biblical proportions. When they 12:35 When they reached Isuarava the decimated 39th had been 12:39 ordered to withdraw. As they were doing so, the battle for 12:44 Isuarava began. A party of 30 wounded soldiers from the 39th 12:50 were withdrawing and they were already some distance away from 12:53 the front line, but when they heard the noise of battle and 12:57 knowing that their mates and friends were in strife they just 13:00 turned around and came straight back to the battle. On the 26th 13:07 of August, the fourth day of the battle, Japanese General Hori 13:12 decided to launch a final massive attack on the Australian 13:17 position at dawn. From sunrise to sunset the Japanese attacked 13:21 in overwhelming numbers. In places the battle had descended 13:27 into hand-to-hand combat. In one of the key Australian positions 13:32 the situation seemed hopeless. The Japanese were ready to 13:36 overrun the whole battalion. The Australians were falling 13:41 everywhere. The fire was so heavy that the undergrowth had 13:45 been completely destroyed in five minutes. Corporal 13:49 Lindsey Bailey 13:51 was manning a Bren machine gun and was weak from blood loss 13:55 Because of his wounds, Corporal Bailey passed the gun to the man 14:01 next to him, Private Bruce Kingsbury, of the second and 14:04 and 14th Australian infantry battalion. They were about to be 14:08 annihilated. Private Kingsbury saw that drastic action was 14:13 needed to save his mates, his friends and so he took the Bren 14:19 gun and calmly leapt up and firing the Bren gun from 14:22 his hip he 14:24 charged the Japanese positions through a storm of machine gun 14:27 fire. He cleared a path of 100 meters through the Japanese 14:33 lines before being shot by a sniper. Later his mates said 14:38 that he'd thrown his life away to save theirs. Today this place 14:46 is called Kingsbury's rock, the rock next to which Kingsbury 14:49 died. Today part of the Isuarava memorial. Private Kingsbury's 14:55 actions stopped the Japanese breakthrough. He single handedly 14:59 saved his battalion and he gave renewed courage to the 15:04 Australian 15:05 forces. Kingsbury was awarded Australia's highest medal for 15:10 bravery, the Victoria Cross, the first person to ever receive 15:13 this honor on what was then technically Australian soil. 15:18 The Australians had been fighting nonstop for four days 15:21 at Isuarava and over 500 Japanese had been killed. 15:25 But yet again 15:27 they were forced to withdraw in the face of overwhelming numbers 15:32 The withdrawal to a place in nightmare conditions of mud, rain 15:36 and total darkness. The modern day bush walker can walk the 15:45 same distance in an hour that the exhausted Australian 15:47 soldiers carrying their wounded took all night to do. During 15:53 this withdrawal, Captain Ben Butler and the 41 men whom he 15:58 led were cut off from the main Australian force. For six weeks 16:02 he led them through the rain forest and because they were 16:06 behind enemy lines Butler decided that the best option was 16:11 to lead his men towards the northern coast. They were 16:15 carrying a number of wounded men but there weren't enough 16:18 fit men to carry all the wounded One of the wounded was Corporal 16:24 John Metson. He had been shot through both ankles but he 16:27 didn't want to slow down the group, so each morning he would 16:31 have his hands and knees bandaged and would set off 16:34 before the main party crawling and every night he would arrive 16:40 in the dark at that night's encampment. This amazing and 16:44 continual self-sacrificial behavior allowed his mates to 16:48 escape the Japanese patrols and continue their incredible six 16:52 week trek towards safety. But eventually Captain's Butler's 16:57 group became so weak that they couldn't carry all of the 17:01 wounded. The decision was made to leave seven wounded soldiers 17:05 at Saniveach while the rest of the party went for help. A 17:10 medical officer, Tom Fletcher, volunteered to stay with the 17:15 wounded. When the rescue party eventually returned they found 17:19 that the Japanese had discovered the wounded men and shot them 17:22 all dead in their stretchers and that Fletcher's body was next to 17:26 them. He could have saved himself, but Fletcher stayed to 17:31 protect his friends. The desperately tired but 17:36 determined force 17:38 kept continually defending, retreating and then counter 17:42 attacking. The men were wracked by malaria and dysentery but 17:46 they kept on fighting ferociously until they came to 17:51 Imata Ridge. It was here that the Australians absolutely 17:55 had to make a final stand because they were virtually 17:58 overlooking Port Moresby itself. It was the last natural 18:03 defensive position before defeat. There was nowhere else 18:07 to go. The Japanese held the opposite ridge at Ioribaiwa This 18:14 was the final showdown. But here at Imata Ridge the Australians 18:18 had prepared a last-ditch surprise for the Japanese. The 18:24 Australians had laboriously dragged 25 powder guns up from 18:28 Port Moresby and suddenly they opened fire on the Japanese 18:33 positions. That was the turning point of the Kokoda campaign. 18:39 The Australian shelling smashed the Japanese barricades and the 18:43 Australians started patrolling aggressively. Ioribaiwa was as 18:48 far as the Japanese advanced. From that time on the Japanese 18:54 began a long retreat back along the Track, back to Kokoda and 18:59 back to the sea with the Australians pursuing them and 19:03 attacking them the whole time. Now it was the turn of the 19:07 Japanese to experience what the Australians had experienced 19:10 during the preceding months. The Australians drove the Japanese 19:16 back to the northern shore of Papua New Guinea and by the 19:19 22nd of January 1943 all organized resistance by the 19:25 Japanese in Papua, New Guinea had ceased. In the fierce, 19:32 disparate battles along the Kokoda Track approximately 625 19:36 Australians were killed and 1600 wounded. Six thousand Japanese 19:41 soldiers were killed. Australian casualties due to 19:46 sickness numbered more than 4000 In fact, more Australians died 19:51 in the month of fighting in Papua, New Guinea than in any 19:54 other campaign of World War II. The Kokoda campaign with it's 20:03 blood, sweat and tears, with its heartbreak and its horrors 20:05 and with its self-sacrifice and victory forever changed the 20:10 destiny of Australia. The Australian victory on the Kokoda 20:14 Track was the first time in the second world war that the 20:18 Japanese army was defeated and turned back. It was also the 20:22 first and only military victory by the Australian army on what 20:27 was technically Australian soil. The Kokoda campaign was 20:32 certainly one of the most heroic defensive actions in history. 20:36 Those who fought there have been called the men who saved 20:42 Australia. Lieutenant Colonel Honer, that commanded the 20:46 39th in the campaign later wrote of those men who survived, They 20:52 have joined the immortals. And about those who did not survive 20:56 Honer wrote... 21:07 Many of them lie here at the Bomana war cemetery just near 21:12 Port Moresby. For that reason the legacy that those men have 21:18 left us today is much more than simply an Australian nation that 21:22 remained free. They embodied what Aussie mateship friendship 21:27 is all about. These men were just regular blokes who became 21:34 legends. And the legend of Kokoda is all about a nation of 21:38 people who don't leave their mates, their friends, behind, 21:41 who stay with them till the end, and who are willing to put up 21:46 their hand and say, Pick me, and calmly walk out to give their 21:50 lives for their mates, their friends. It's about real courage 21:55 It's about self-sacrifice so that others can be free. 22:02 All men at Kokoda represented the very best of not just Australian 22:06 values, but the highest values of humanity as well. For that 22:11 reason in that ancient but always relevant book, the Bible, 22:14 the following words were spoken by Jesus and found in 22:19 John chapter 15 and verse 13: 22:29 And you know, this is precisely the theme that is at the very 22:35 heart of the Christian message. The Bible tells us about someone 22:39 who was our best mate, our best friend, who when we were all in 22:46 danger sacrificed his life so that we could be free. The 22:50 danger which we're all in is the danger of sin. The Bible tells 22:55 us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and 23:00 that the wages of sin is death. But God couldn't leave us alone. 23:06 And so sent someone to be our mate, our friend. Someone who 23:11 wanted to put us first and who ended up giving us the ultimate 23:15 demonstration of what self sacrificing love is all about. 23:19 And so the Bible explains that here in Romans 5:8 23:34 That's the kind of friend, the kind of mate that Jesus is. When 23:41 the odds were overwhelming Jesus fought for us and he sacrificed 23:46 his life for us 23:47 and because of that listen to what the Bible tells us in 23:51 Romans chapter 8 verses 37-39: 24:21 We all walk on a track and for us it's not the Kokoda Track. 24:26 It's the track of life. We honor the heroes of the Kokoda 24:32 campaign so how much more should we honor Jesus. But after all 24:38 he's done so many people won't even give him a chance in their 24:40 lives. But that doesn't have to be true for you. You can get to 24:46 know Jesus as your best friend, your best mate of all. Why don't 24:51 you give him a go and invite him into your life now as we pray. 24:56 Heavenly Father, thank you for those brave men who sacrificed 25:02 their lives long ago so that we might be free. But most of all 25:07 we thank you for Jesus. Thank you because you sent Jesus 25:12 Christ to this world when we were in danger, to look out for 25:16 us, to be by our sides and to sacrifice his life so that we 25:21 might live. Thank you for the freedom and friendship he offers 25:26 Please help us to realize that our deepest need is for Jesus 25:31 and help us to acknowledge what he's done and to recognize him 25:36 as our best friend of all. I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. 25:42 The inspiring story of the young Australian soldiers who fought 25:47 along the Kokoda Track stands today as one of the most heroic 25:53 defensive actions in history. They embody what true friendship 25:58 mateship is all about. Their story is all about self 26:03 sacrifice so that others can be free. It's also a reminder of 26:09 the kind of friend that Jesus is How when the odds were 26:13 overwhelming Jesus fought for us. If you're battling with the 26:19 challenges along the track of life and would like to 26:22 experience the peace, hope and freedom that Jesus offers, then 26:26 I'd like to recommend the free gift we have for all our viewers 26:31 today. It's the inspiring booklet Getting Off the Mountain 26:35 This book is our gift to you and is absolutely free. There are no 26:40 costs or obligations whatsoever. Many have been blessed by this 26:46 book so please make sure you take this opportunity to receive 26:49 the gift we have for you today. Here's the information you need. 26:54 Phone or text us at 0436333555 in Australia or 0204222042 in 27:07 New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's 27:15 free offer and we'll send it to you totally free of charge and 27:19 with no obligation. Write to us at: 27:40 Don't delay. Call or text us now. If you have enjoyed today's 27:47 journey along the Kokoda Track in Papua, New Guinea, then be 27:51 sure to join us again next week. Until then remember the ultimate 27:57 destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new 28:00 earth. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 28:04 There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall 28:08 be no more pain. For the former things have passed away. 28:14 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-12-01