Book Review - The Battle for Wau: New Guinea’s Frontline 1942–43
The Battle for Wau: New Guinea’s Frontline 1942–43
Written by: Phillip Bradley,
Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 2008, 285 pp
Reviewed by: John Moremon
In any war, and within any nation remembering war, there will be some actions over-commemorated and others under-acknowledged. In the latter group rests the Battle for Wau, in the mountainous hinterland of south-eastern Papua–New Guinea. The guerrilla campaign in 1942 might have gone unnoticed by the public but for cameraman Damien Parer venturing up to forward area; and the main battle in early 1943 occurred after the closely followed Papuan campaign. Accordingly, the battle was tacked onto the official history volume covering Kokoda–Milne Bay–Buna; and one gets the impression that, much like New Guinea Force, its author was pushing on valiantly to get the job done but showing signs of weariness. Australians who later read Jo Gullett’s Not as a Duty Only or watched the television drama The Sullivans encountered the battle, but nowadays what interest there is in the 1942–43 campaigns is directed elsewhere. Phillip Bradley has identified a neglected battle and done his utmost to ensure it will be remembered.
On reading the subtitle, one is struck by an attempt to talk up the importance of this battle (to pique potential buyers’ interest?). Surely the area around Wau was not New Guinea’s frontline in 1942–43 but rather a sideline. Geographically, this area was the Allies’ northernmost possession, in which case one could make a tenuous argument in support of ‘frontline’, however, it was of secondary concern. Incidentally, a definite inaccuracy on the cover is a photograph of 17th Brigade troops taken in July 1943, whereas Bradley makes it clear that the scope of his book is ‘the period from 8 March 1942, when the Japanese landed at Salamaua, to 26 February 1943, when the Japanese had withdrawn from Wau back to Mubo’.
These quibbles should not deter potential readers. Bradley possesses an engaging writing style. He has conducted some impressive research and pulled together a story previously scattered between a chapter of the official history, unit histories and memoirs. One of Bradley’s strengths is that he walks the ground and possesses an ability to convey a sense of place. He offers an understanding of the countryside and tactical dispositions not often presented elsewhere, along with excellent maps and well chosen photographs. Anybody travelling to the battle area should read this book and slip a spare copy into their pack.
The book will be especially welcomed by the few living survivors and their families, who have felt the lack of a decent history of their battle. For some readers, the fact there was a guerrilla war and then a last defensive battle in New Guinea in early 1943 will be enlightening. Those more familiar with the campaign could be less satisfied. While well researched and nicely written, Bradley does not offer significant advances in knowledge. He merely pulls together better known stories and adds local flavour; some stories, such as that relating to the recovery of lost airmen’s remains years after the war, are just a nice touch. He does expand on some events, and occasionally produces insight; especially welcomed is a plain-speaking assessment of the uninspiring Kanga Force commander, Lieutenant Colonel Norman Fleay. Fortunately, there is little of the jingoism that has marred some other battle ‘histories’ of recent years, and it is refreshing to see Americans (in this case, mostly airmen) given the credit deserved.
While a gifted writer, Bradley lacks the method and discipline of a historian. He provides too much detail, which more judicious editing might have countered; For example, he feels compelled to explain that the Japanese convoy that never reached Port Moresby because of the Coral Sea battle ‘contained the 114th [presumably he means 144th] Infantry Regiment and the marines of the Kure 3rd Naval Landing Force’. He frequently offers precise military timings, when rarely is this necessary; for example, with the airlift of the 2/5th Independent Company from Port Moresby to Wau on 22 May 1942 he mentions that the first aircraft touched down at 0755 and all had departed by 0806—fear of strafing or interception made quick turnaround necessary—after which a second flight ‘touched down from 1155, and five of them came back on a third flight at 1622’. Some uncorroborated statements also appear, such as: ‘The deployment by air of the 2/5th and an attached mortar detachment was the first such deployment of an entire Allied unit during the war’. Admittedly, it was the first in New Guinea, but the first such deployment in the theatre was of the US Army’s 102nd Coastal Artillery (Anti-Aircraft) Battalion from Brisbane to Darwin in March–April 1942. This challenging operation convinced senior officers a similar movement might be attempted in New Guinea.
Like many writers, Bradley is mostly fixated on battle incidents, and he misses key elements. He describes terrain well, but never really delivers a sense of the physical and mental toll (for both sides) of fighting in this environment. While he mentions the use of New Guineans and of aircraft for transportation, assessment of logistics remains poor. There is no rigorous appraisal of ground or air tactics either. In his conclusion, Bradley offers ‘important lessons’ without having tested or proven them. He claims that the guerrilla warfare phase showed ‘how a small force can have a major impact at the strategic level’, which overstates the role and achievements of Kanga Force. He claims the 17th Brigade ‘had adapted’ to jungle warfare and ‘became a potent force’ by the end of the battle, when it was still learning ‘on the job’ (as subsequent advances showed), and its victory was as much the result of Japanese malnourishment and exhaustion. Critically, he never tests whether the staunch defence of Wau in January–February 1943 was even necessary, but there is a fair argument to be made that it reflected a lack of appreciation for the difficulties of any subsequent overland advance and of the possibilities of air and sea landings to take Salamaua and Lae.
Despite a few misgivings, this book is recommended. While it does not offer the advances in knowledge one might ordinarily expect of an academic publisher, this is a much-needed, engaging and mostly accurate single-volume account of a noteworthy campaign.
