In order to get more accurate results, our search has the following Google-Type search functionality:
If you use '+' in front of a word, then that word will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry +Potter will return results with the word 'Potter'.
If you use '-' in front of a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry -Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
If you use 'AND' between two words, then both of those words will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry AND Potter will return results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'OR' between two words, then bth of those words may or may not be present in the search results.
ex: Harry OR Potter will return results with just 'Harry', results with just 'Potter' and results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'NOT' before a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry NOT Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
Placing '""' around words will perform a phrase search. The search results will contain those words in that order.
ex: "Harry Potter" will return any results with 'Harry Potter' in them, but not 'Potter Harry'.
Using '*' in a word will perform a wildcard search. The '*' signifies any number of characters. Searches can not start with a wildcard.
ex: Pot*er will return results with words starting with 'Pot' and ending in 'er'. In this case, 'Potter' will be a match.
Japanese troops seized and brutally occupied New Guinea's capital, Lae, for 18 months - until 16 September 1943. That day Australian soldiers retook the town against fierce resistance. Defeated, and after suffering huge losses, 8000 Japanese soldiers fled across the formidable 4000-metre mountains behind the town ; 2000 died on the nightmare trek.
'Operation Postern', the recapture of Lae from the Japanese, was a turning point in the Pacific War of 1941-1945. Until then, the Japanese believed they could retain the New Guinea mainland, yet after 'Postern' they retreated continually, making possible the success of all subsequent Allied campaigns in the South-West Pacific theatre.
The Allied victory came at a high price - over 2000 casualties within a fortnight. Japanese losses were almost four times that many. How many Papua New Guinean village people died during the fighting is unknown, but very many did.
Previous military histories have marginalised the Papua New Guineans, rarely referring to the horrific impact of the war on their villages. Typically, the campaign histories depict the Pacific War as a two-sided contest between the Allies and the Japanese. Dr Howie-Willis breaks new ground, amply demonstrating how the village communities on whose lands the campaign was fought were always an essential 'third party' to the conflict.
Eight decades later, Operation Postern retells and reinterprets the crucial battle that was codenamed 'Operation Postern'.
Japanese troops seized and brutally occupied New Guinea's capital, Lae, for 18 months - until 16 September 1943. That day Australian soldiers retook the town against fierce resistance. Defeated, and after suffering huge losses, 8000 Japanese soldiers fled across the formidable 4000-metre mountains behind the town ; 2000 died on the nightmare trek.
'Operation Postern', the recapture of Lae from the Japanese, was a turning point in the Pacific War of 1941-1945. Until then, the Japanese believed they could retain the New Guinea mainland, yet after 'Postern' they retreated continually, making possible the success of all subsequent Allied campaigns in the South-West Pacific theatre.
The Allied victory came at a high price - over 2000 casualties within a fortnight. Japanese losses were almost four times that many. How many Papua New Guinean village people died during the fighting is unknown, but very many did.
Previous military histories have marginalised the Papua New Guineans, rarely referring to the horrific impact of the war on their villages. Typically, the campaign histories depict the Pacific War as a two-sided contest between the Allies and the Japanese. Dr Howie-Willis breaks new ground, amply demonstrating how the village communities on whose lands the campaign was fought were always an essential 'third party' to the conflict.
Eight decades later, Operation Postern retells and reinterprets the crucial battle that was codenamed 'Operation Postern'.