Those Ragged Bloody Heroes [Standard Large Print 16 Pt Edition]

To Australians, the battles along the Kokoda Trail in 1942 were objectively far more vital to the existence of their nation than Gallipoli in the Great War. 1942 was a grim and terrible year for all the Allies, who were basically fighting a rearguard action while the Americans mobilised. The Kokoda Trail is little known outside Australia, but at least Aussies should appreciate this definitive account. From fading records and interviews with the few survivors, the book explains the bloody retreats by the outnumbered diggers. Where the skies were often dominated by Zeros and the seas by the Japanese navy. We see how the rugged mountain and jungle terrain helped in savage defensive bouts. Where the diggers soon learned to fight in jungles as ably as the Japanese, and even, on occasion, to better them in staged ambushes. Ultimately, the book describes a retreat by the Australians. Yet the retreat was not in defeat. The sacrifices bought precious time for Darwin and the rest of Australia to fortify to the best they could. Arguably, it helped stave off an invasion of Australia.