This is a story of forgotten Australian heroes, the soldiers of two battalions–the 2/3 Machine-Gun battalion and the 2/2 Pioneer battalion–who were on their way home from action in the Middle East to defend Australia from the Japanese when they found themselves diverted to Java to face the vastly superior Japanese army sweeping through the Dutch East Indies.

Condemned, for political reasons, by Churchill and the Allied leadership–and by the Australian prime minister, Curtin–to a hopeless battle alongside Dutch forces bent on capitulation, the outnumbered Australians fought heroically in desperate conditions, displaying extraordinary courage and resilience. The clash of wills became more than a mere skirmish; it transformed into a testament of their unwavering commitment to their homeland and their fellow soldiers.

Despite their valiant efforts and strategic ingenuity, they were ultimately outmatched, leading to the heart-wrenching order from the Allied high command to join the Dutch surrender. While their compatriots from the Middle East campaign reached Australia under the embrace of safety, the men of the 2/3rd and the 2/2nd were marched into captivity, stripped of their dignity, and sentenced to three and a half years of hell as prisoners of the Japanese. As they endured brutal treatment and deplorable living conditions, their resilience was tested daily.

For nearly a year, their families in Australia did not know whether their missing fathers and sons were dead or alive, living with the constant torment of uncertainty and despair. Scraps of information began to trickle out, via radio broadcasts and the Red Cross, about the fate of the prisoners, many of whom ended up on the infamous Thai-Burma railway, where they faced back-breaking labor and malnutrition, while others endured atrocious conditions as prisoners in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, battling diseases and starvation in a desperate fight for survival. Several hundred never returned, their names etched in the memories of loved ones who awaited their homecoming in vain.

The full horror of what the men endured only came to light after the wasted survivors were brought home at the end of the war, their bodies and spirits scarred yet resilient. Some of these men would be key witnesses in war crimes trials against the Japanese, courageously recounting their experiences to ensure that the injustices they faced would not be forgotten and that history would remember their sacrifices in the struggle for freedom and justice.

As an Australian this book clearly demonstrates to me how Australian mateship can overcome man’s humanity to man. A powerful though not always enjoying read.