The climax of the battle
Australian troops had, at Milne Bay, inflicted on the Japanese their first undoubted defeat on land. Some of us may forget that, of all the allies, it was the Australians who first broke the invincibility of the Japanese army.
– Field-Marshal Sir William Slim
THE battle’s climax came in the early hours of August 31, when the Japanese launched an all-out attack on the most easterly airfield at Milne Bay.
They charged the defences manned by the 25th and 61st Australian Battalions and the United States 43rd Engineer Regiment.
The Allies had the additional advantage of having air support close at hand, as the 75 and 76 Squadrons from the Royal Australian Air Force, equipped with P-40 fighter bombers, were based at Milne Bay.
The Japanese failed to make a dent against the machine gun and artillery fire and were constantly harassed overhead by the P-40s.
Japanese tanks and equipment became bogged in the swampy ground caused by the torrential rain and they began to retreat on September 3.
The 25th Battalion was courageous in steadily driving the invaders back onto the beaches.
Faced with the onslaught and having no reinforcements to call on, the Japanese command decided to accept defeat and withdrew their forces on September 7.
The battle cost
167 Australian and 14 American lives, and of the 2800 Japanese troops landed, fewer than 1320 were evacuated.