Give the Bastards Hell

The Battle for Milne Bay, New Guinea 1942

David W Cameron

Published by Big Sky Publishing
RRP $34.99 in paperback
ISBN 9781923300040

By mid-August 1942, Imperial Japanese forces dominated the Southeast Asian and Pacific theatres, seemingly unstoppable in their advance. While the Japanese South Seas Force pushed north toward Port Moresby along the Kokoda Track, they launched an operation against Milne Bay at the eastern tip of New Guinea.

Their objective: to seize the crucial Allied airfields under construction, which would pave the way for capturing Port Moresby and consolidating their hold on the region.

For two intense weeks, Japanese marines, supported by tanks and naval bombardments, battled through the jungle-covered strip of land between the beaches and mountains.

Facing them was a determined and diverse Allied force—Australian militia, 2nd AIF troops, American engineers, and, critically, Australian fighter pilots—who fought the Japanese to a standstill near the partially completed Air Strip No 3.

Cameron reconstructs the battle through the words of those who were there.

It is an extraordinary achievement to piece together the story in this way. It is a story of the bravery and determination of one-time civilians, plucked from their peacetime jobs, to defend Australia against attack.

Would today’s civil servants, salesmen and farmers be so willing?

Despite desperate attacks by the Japanese, the Allies held their ground.

When the smoke cleared, the Japanese had suffered their first significant land defeat. But the threat across the Kokada Track remained.

By my count, this is Cameron’s eighth book on the New Guinea campaign. Once again, he’s captured the very nature of the battle through the words of those who were there. First-hand accounts are like gold to such an undertaking as this.

VERDICT: A highly readable account of a vital battle in the Pacific War.