I have been buying a few books of late, as seen by the bedside table, but have read very little,

I have just completed the D-Day New Guinea by Phillip Bradley who is an excellent scholar and writer on the Australian War in the Pacific.

The book includes bibliographical references (Pages 307-314) and index which is a great plus for me, and this little quote:

“Java is heaven, Burma is hell, but you never come back alive from New Guinea”- A Japanese military saying.

The capture of Lae was the most complex operation for the Australian army in the Second World War. In many ways it was also a rehearsal for the D-Day invasion of France with an amphibious landing combined with the first successful large scale Allied airborne operation of the war. The 7th Division being hastily trained for their role to capture the airfield of Nadzab some 20k inland from Lae on the Markham river.

The 9th Division was also put through extensive training for their landings at red and yellow beach, some 20k to the East of Lae.

These two operations together with the 5th Division’s advance from Salamwould isolate the Japanese garrison at Lae.

But this is not just a book about a successful military campaign that changed the course of the war in New Guinea. It also brings together the extraordinary stories of the Australian, American and Japanese participants in the battle, and of the fight against the jungle, the raging rivers and mountain ranges that made New Guinea such a daunting battlefield.

Phillip Bradley tells a great story of THE crucial Australian battle of the Pacific War but does not the neglect the pathos of the individual stories of the participants of both sides.

As an Australian it makes you proud to see the versatility of the 5th, 7th and 9th AIF divisions and the fine work of the Australian Commandos who helped pave the way for them.

I could not put this one down and finished it in two nights. Thoroughly recommend this one.