This is Part 9 of our series looking at the Kokoda Campaign, looking at the combat performance of the 39th Battalion.
This episode discusses the formation of the 39th Battalion, it's preparation for combat and how it performed on the Kokoda Trail. The 39th Battalion is one of the Australian Army's most famous Battalion, a militia battalion that bore the brunt of the Japanese attacks down the Kokoda track. What enabled it to fight so well?
Have a listed Dr David Cameron, an expert on the Kookoda Campaign as he discusses the history and performance of the 39th Battalion.
Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.
Dr David Cameron Biography
David Cameron received first class Honours in Prehistory, University of Sydney and a PhD in Palaeoanthropology, Australian National University. He has written over twenty books covering Australian Military History, Colonial History, and Evolutionary Science with over 70 internationally peer reviewed papers published in various journals and book chapters. He is a former Australian Research Council Post Doctoral Fellow, School of Archaeology, Australian National University; and an Australian Research Council QEII Fellow in the Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney. He has conducted and led several international fieldwork projects in Europe (Hungary), Asia (Vietnam, India, and Japan), and the Middle East (Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates) and conducted extensive museum studies and conferences (United States, Europe, and Asia). Before retiring in 2023, he was a senior analyst in the Australian Intelligence Community.
Books on the Papua Campaign by Dr Cameron:
Cameron, D.W. (in preparation – December 2024.) The Battle for Milne Bay, Big Sky Publishing
Cameron, D.W. (in preparation – August 2024) Sanananda, Bastard of a Place: The Battle for the Beachhead, 1942-43, Big Sky Publishing
Cameron, D.W. (in press – November 2023) Bloody Buna: The Battle for the Beachhead, 1942-43, Big Sky Publishing
Cameron, D.W. (2023) Gona’s Gone: The Battle for the Beachhead 1942, Big Sky Publishing
Cameron, D.W. (2022) Retaking Kokoda: The Australian Advance Across the Owen Stanleys, Big Sky Publishing
Cameron, D.W. (2022) Saving Port Moresby: Fighting at the End of the Kokoda Track, Big Sky Publishing
Cameron, D.W. (2022) The Battle for Isurava: Fighting on the Kokoda Track in the heart of the Owen Stanleys, Big Sky Publishing
Cameron, D.W. (2020) The Battles for Kokoda Plateau: Three Weeks of Hell Defending the Gateway to the Owen Stanleys, Allen & Unwin Australia
Firepower 52: Bringing Artillery in the Great War together
Firepower 51: Coxen as Commander Royal Artillery
Firepower 50: Montbrehain: Artillery Tactics, Techniques and Procedures
56 - The Battle of Long Tan from the Company Commander's Perspective
55 - The lead up to the Battle of Long Tan with LT COL Harry Smith
54 - Preparing for the Battle of Long Tan with LT COL Harry Smith
53 - Royal Navy Mission Command at the Battle of Cape St Vincent
52 - Lord Nelson and the Battle of Cape St Vincent
51 - Lord Horatio Nelson and Mission Command
Firepower 48: Artillery Spotting, Air Drops and Ground Attacks
Firepower 49: Hamel and Amiens Questions and Answer
Firepower 47: The Amiens Offensive
Firepower 46: The Fireplan from Hell
Firepower 45: Technological Testing at the Battle of Hamel
50 - The Birth of Australian Special Forces
Firepower 44: Western Front - The Spring Offensive and Villers Brettoneux Plenary Session
Firepower 43: The man who killed the Red Baron
Firepower 42: French Artillery to 1918
Firepower 41: Villers-Bretonneux
Firepower 40: The German Spring Offensive
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