Kokoda Track campaign

The Kokoda Track campaign was a 1942 campaign in which Australian and Japanese forces fought across Papua New Guinea’s Owen Stanley Range. Its outcome helped prevent a Japanese overland advance toward Port Moresby.

Battle of Isurava: A major battle fought near Isurava in August 1942 between Australian and Japanese forces. Australian resistance at Isurava slowed the Japanese advance toward Port Moresby.
Battle of the Coral Sea: A May 1942 naval battle between Allied and Japanese forces in the Coral Sea. The battle halted the Japanese seaborne invasion plan for Port Moresby, redirecting the advance overland.
Ralph Honner: An Australian Army officer who commanded the 39th Battalion during the Kokoda campaign. His leadership at Isurava became closely associated with the battalion’s stand.
Battle of Buna–Gona: A series of battles from November 1942 to January 1943 in which Allied forces captured Japanese coastal strongholds in Papua. After the Japanese retreat over the track, the fighting continued at Buna, Gona, and Sanananda.
Battle of Milne Bay: A 1942 battle in which Allied forces defeated a Japanese amphibious landing in Papua. The Allied victory secured a base that supported operations during the Kokoda campaign.
Japanese invasion of Papua: Japan’s 1942 landing at Buna and Gona, which opened its overland advance toward Port Moresby. The landing created the northern front from which Japanese troops moved onto the track.
Stanley Savige: An Australian Army officer who commanded formations in New Guinea during the Second World War. Savige led Australian forces during the campaign’s later advance toward Buna.
New Guinea campaign: A series of Allied operations against Japanese forces in New Guinea during the Second World War. Kokoda was one phase of the wider campaign to drive Japanese forces from New Guinea.
Owen Stanley Range: A rugged mountain range in Papua New Guinea, separating the northern coast from the Port Moresby region. Its steep ridges and passes shaped the campaign’s route and pace.
Port Moresby: The capital of Papua New Guinea, located on the country’s southern coast. Japan sought to capture Port Moresby, while Allied forces defended it as a strategic base.

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