Private D. E. Hailey and T. M. Conway of the Australian 2/23 Infantry Battalion in their Bren gun pit on the forward slope of B Company position, Tarakan, Borneo, May 1945

Bren Gun position

Australian and South African troops play a game of cards in a gun pit, circa 1942.

North Africa

Aussie soldiers train to respond to threats at Milne Bay prior to the attempted Japanese landings.  A composite force of mostly Australians with some U.S. Army engineers and AA troops fought off a Japanese Imperial Special Naval Landing Forces, inflicting heavy casualties on them.  Although the force of Aussie infantry vastly outnumbered the IN landing forces, the victory was significant if largely overlooked today.  Together with U.S. victories on Guadalcanal, It forever began dispelling the myth of superiority of the Japanese infantryman while exposing their many weaknesses in arrogance, intelligence failures, quality of weaponry, and limitations in offensive tactics. 

Milne Bay, once secured, would go onto become a major Allied port in New Guinea securing a supply port that eased the burden on Australian port cities and insured Mac's command had what it needed...