The Japanese landed on the north coast of Papua New Guinea at Gona, with a force of 1500 men on July 21, 1942. The Japanese required a forward base at Kokoda. This they would use for their drive over the ranges along the "Kokoda Trail" to Port Moresby. The Japanese plan was to cross the Owen Stanley Range. The Japanese would then attack and occupy Port Moresby. From here, the Japanese would have a staging post to attack Australia. Kokoda is a small plateau on the north-east slopes of the Owen Stanley Range. A small Australian force known as "Maroubra Force", arrived at Buna on July 21st, 1942. The first engagement between the Australian and Japanese troops was on the 23rd. The Australians were completely outnumbered and were forced to begin a long fighting withdrawal over the next two months. September 1942. 25-Pounder guns of B Troop, 14th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, being pulled through dense jungle in the vicinity of Uberi on the Kokoda Track. They are being assisted by the 2/1st Australian Pioneer Battalion. However, things changed when the Australians recieved 25-pounder guns brought from Moresby to Imita Ridge. Soon, the Japanese were on the run. The Japanese were finally completely beaten in November 1942. The Japanese General, on the Kokoda Trail, was drowned crossing a fast flowing river near Kokoda. The Australians had inflicted the first and only defeat, on land, of the Japanese. Out of a force of about 20,000 the Japanese had lost 13,000, most of whom had fought to the death rather than surrender. The campaign cost Australia over 6000 casualties. Tropical diseases, as much as the fighting, had taken their toll on both armies. Imita Ridge, Papua, 1942. Two native carriers and a member of 2/4th Field Ambulance slowly climb the so-called ‘Golden Stairs’ - on the Kokoda Track - towards Ioribaiwa. Each step was battened at its edge by a rough log which was sometimes broken and often slippery with a coating of mud. In climbing the stairs, soldiers had to lift their leg over the log and put their foot down on the step behind in what was frequently a puddle of mud and water up to six inches deep. Australian War Memorial
