Maroubra Force was the name given to the ad hoc Australian infantry force that defended Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from the Japanese, and was involved in the Kokoda Track Campaign of the Pacific War, World War II. The force was established by the Allies under the codename "Maroubra", referring to the troops in the forward area, it was one of many units forming the body of the New Guinea Force, the main Allied army formation in the South West Pacific Area during 1942.
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was primarily a land battle, between the Japanese South Seas Detachment under Major General Tomitarō Horii and Australian and Papuan land forces under command of New Guinea Force. The Japanese objective was to seize Port Moresby by an overland advance from the north coast, following the Kokoda Track over the mountains of the Owen Stanley Range, as part of a strategy to isolate Australia from the United States.
The 36th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1916 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Throughout World War I the battalion served on the Western Front as part of the 9th Brigade, attached to the 3rd Division. Due to heavy casualties amongst the AIF and a decrease in the number of replacements arriving from Australia in 1918, the battalion was disbanded before the war ended in order to reinforce other units in France. The 36th Battalion was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Militia based in Sydney. During World War II the battalion was attached to the 14th Brigade and was initially used in a defensive role as a garrison unit in Australia before being sent to New Guinea in 1942. The 36th Battalion spent most of the 1942–45 period overseas in New Guinea and New Britain where they undertook operations against the Japanese. In June 1945 they were returned to Australia and shortly afterwards the battalion was disbanded.
The 39th Battalion was an infantry unit of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in February 1916 for service during World War I as part of First Australian Imperial Force, with personnel being drawn mainly from the state of Victoria. Making up part of the 10th Brigade, it was attached to the 3rd Division and served on the Western Front in France and Belgium before being disbanded in March 1919. Following the re-organisation of the Australian Army in 1921, the battalion was raised again in Victoria as a unit of the Citizens Force, becoming known as the "Hawthorn–Kew Regiment". In 1937, it was amalgamated with the 37th Battalion to become the 37th/39th Battalion. Later, in August 1939 it was delinked with the 37th and amalgamated with the 24th Battalion to form the 24th/39th Battalion, before being raised again as a single unit in October 1941.
The 3rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I, the battalion formed part of the 1st Brigade, attached to the 1st Division. It was formed shortly after the war broke out and was among the first Australian units to be sent overseas, arriving in Egypt in December 1914. In April 1915 the battalion participated in the Landing at Anzac Cove, coming ashore in the second and third waves. In December 1915 the 3rd Battalion was evacuated from the Gallipoli peninsula and withdrawn to Egypt again, where it took part in the defence of the Suez Canal before being sent to France to fight on the Western Front in March 1916. For the next two and a half years the unit would serve in the trenches in France and Belgium and would take part in many of the major battles fought during that time. In May 1919, following the end of the war, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel repatriated back to Australia.
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, United States and native troops from the Territories of Papua and New Guinea serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942, when the Australian First Army was formed from the Australian I Corps after it returned from the Middle East, it was responsible for planning and directing all operations within the territory up until October 1944. General Headquarters Southwest Pacific Area Operational Instruction No.7 of 25 May 1942, issued by Commander-Allied-Forces, General Douglas MacArthur, placed all Australian and US Army, Air Force and Navy Forces in the Port Moresby Area under the control of New Guinea Force. Over the course of its existence, New Guinea Force was commanded by some of the Australian Army's most notable commanders, including Sydney Rowell, Sir Edmund Herring and Sir Leslie Morshead.
The 2/16th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, serving during World War II. Attached to the 21st Brigade that was assigned to the 7th Division, the 2/16th was raised in 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force from volunteers drawn mainly from the state of Western Australia. After training in Australia, the battalion was deployed to the Middle East where it undertook defensive duties along the Egyptian–Libyan border in early 1941 before taking part in the Syria–Lebanon campaign, fighting against Vichy French forces in June and July. At the conclusion of the campaign, the 2/16th remained in Lebanon, contributing to the Allied occupation force there, before returning to Australia in early 1942 following Japan's entry into the war. In August 1942, they were committed to the fighting along the Kokoda Track and then later fought around Buna and Gona. After a period of rest and reorganisation in Australia, the battalion fought around Lae and then took part in the Finisterre Range campaign in 1943–44. Its final campaign of the war came in Borneo in July 1945. At the end of the war, the 2/16th were disbanded in January 1946.
The 49th Battalion was an infantry unit of the Australian Army. Raised as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion fought along the Western Front between mid-1916 and late 1918, before being disbanded in early 1919. In 1921, it was re-formed as a part-time unit based in the state of Queensland. Throughout the 1930s, the battalion was merged a couple of times as a result of manpower shortages, but in early 1940, as Australia mobilised for the Second World War, the 49th was expanded and the following year deployed to New Guinea to undertake garrison duty. Following Japan's entry into the war, the 49th was committed to the fighting in the early stages of the New Guinea campaign, taking part in the Battle of Sanananda in December 1942, where it took many casualties and suffered heavily from disease. The battalion was withdrawn back to Australia in early 1943 and subsequently disbanded in July, with the majority of its personnel being redistributed to other units. During the post-war period, the 49th Battalion was subsumed into the Royal Queensland Regiment, existing between 1966 and 1997, before being merged with the 25th Battalion to form the 25th/49th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment.
The 25th Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army that served during the Second World War. Raised in July 1940 and consisting of three infantry battalions, the 25th Brigade initially served in the United Kingdom, where it formed part of the garrison tasked with defending against a possible German invasion. In 1941, the brigade was redeployed to the Middle East where it took part in the Syria–Lebanon campaign fighting several actions around Merdjayoun and Jezzine.
The 14th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army. Originally raised in 1912 as a Militia formation, it was later re-raised in 1916 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I, the brigade was assigned to the 5th Division and served on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918 before being disbanded. It was later re-raised as part of the Australia's part-time military forces during the inter-war years. During World War II, the brigade was a Militia formation and it took part briefly in the New Guinea campaign with elements of the brigade undertaking defensive duties around Port Moresby before taking part in the fighting along the Kokoda Track and around the Japanese beachheads at Buna–Gona. The brigade was disbanded in mid-1943 as part of a rationalisation of Australian military forces as a result of manpower shortages.
The 55th/53rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army which saw active service during World War II. First formed in 1919 during the demobilisation of the Australian Imperial Force, the battalion was an amalgamation of two other units, the 55th and 53rd Battalions. It was disbanded shortly afterwards and remained off the order of battle until 1937 when it was raised as a part-time unit of the Militia, based in Sydney. In 1941, with the expansion of the Australian Army in response to the growing threat of war in the Pacific, the battalion was split and the 55th and 53rd Battalions reformed separately. In late 1942, however, they were amalgamated once more and together went on to participate in the fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea and on Bougainville.
The 53rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1916 for service during World War I the battalion served on the Western Front until the end of the war, before being briefly amalgamated with the 55th Battalion and then eventually disbanded in 1919. In 1921, the 53rd Battalion was re-raised and in 1927 adopted the title of the "West Sydney Regiment". In 1937 they were once again amalgamated with the 55th, forming the 55th/53rd Battalion.
The invasion of Buna–Gona, called Operation RI by the Japanese, was a military operation by Imperial Japanese forces to occupy the Buna–Gona area in the Territory of Papua during the Pacific campaign of the Second World War. The initial landings and advance on Kokoda occurred between 21 and 27 July 1942. The Japanese invaded and occupied the location in preparation for an overland attack on Port Moresby along the Kokoda Track. The landing marked the start of the Kokoda Track campaign. The landings were not directly opposed by land forces but were engaged by elements of Maroubra Force as they advanced on Kokoda. This initially included B Company of the 39th Battalion, patrols of the Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) operating in the area and a small number of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) that became attached to the force. The Australians were initially repulsed near Oivi but subsequently regrouped to defend Kokoda in an initial battle there from 28–29 July.
The Battle of Isurava, also sometimes referred to as the Battle of Isurava – Abuari or the Battle of Isuraba, took place between 26 and 31 August 1942. Forming part of the Kokoda Track campaign of the Second World War, the battle involved military forces from Australia, supported by the United States, fighting against Japanese troops from Major General Tomitaro Horii's South Seas Detachment, who had landed around Buna and Gona in Papua mid-July 1942, with the intent of capturing Port Moresby to the south, via the overland route.
The battle of Buna–Gona was part of the New Guinea campaign in the Pacific theatre during World War II. It followed the conclusion of the Kokoda Track campaign and lasted from 16 November 1942 until 22 January 1943. The battle was fought by Australian and United States forces against the Japanese beachheads at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. From these, the Japanese had launched an overland attack on Port Moresby. In light of developments in the Solomon Islands campaign, Japanese forces approaching Port Moresby were ordered to withdraw to and secure these bases on the northern coast. Australian forces maintained contact as the Japanese conducted a well-ordered rearguard action. The Allied objective was to eject the Japanese forces from these positions and deny them their further use. The Japanese forces were skillful, well prepared and resolute in their defence. They had developed a strong network of well-concealed defences.
The Battle of Mission Ridge–Brigade Hill took place between 6 and 9 September 1942, during the Kokoda Track campaign of the Second World War. Involving forces from Australia, the United States, and Japan, the fighting centred on a high feature south of the village of Efogi on the Kokoda Track.
The Battle of Oivi–Gorari was the final major battle of the Kokoda Track campaign before the Battle of Buna–Gona. Following the capture of Kokoda by Australian forces on 2 November, the Allies began flying in fresh supplies of ammunition and food to ease the supply problems that had slowed their advance north after the climactic battle around Ioribaiwa, which coupled with reverses elsewhere, had stopped the Japanese advance on Port Moresby.
The Battle of Kokoda consisted of two engagements fought in late July – early August 1942. Forming part of the Kokoda Track campaign of the Second World War, the battle involved military forces from Australia, supported by the United States, fighting against Japanese troops from Major General Tomitaro Horii's South Seas Detachment who had landed around Buna and Gona in Papua mid-July 1942, with the intent of capturing Port Moresby to the south via the overland route.
The battle of Buna–Gona was part of the New Guinea campaign in the Pacific theatre during World War II. It followed the conclusion of the Kokoda Track campaign and lasted from 16 November 1942 until 22 January 1943. The battle was conducted by Australian and United States forces against the Japanese beachheads at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. The Allied advance on the Japanese positions at Buna–Gona was made by the 16th and 25th Brigades of the Australian 7th Division and the 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments of the US 32nd Infantry Division. During the course of the battle, a further four infantry brigades, two infantry regiments and an armoured squadron of 19 M3 Stuart tanks were deployed.
This is an order of battle listing the Australian and Japanese forces involved in the Kokoda Track campaign from 21 July – 16 November 1942.
Australia 
