First Defeat PTO (id:#60954)

(From The Cellar Pack # 5 ID: FT154)   [next]   [previous]

Milne Bay, New Guinea 1942-08-27 (2 others)

Overview:

The 2/10th's forward patrols made contact with the 61st Infantry Battalion at around 10:30 am on 27 August and,upon arrival at around 5:00 pm, they began to establish their position; with only limited entrenching tools, they found the going difficult. At this point, the troops from the 25th and 61st Battalion were ordered to pull back, having lost 18 men killed and a further 18 wounded, along with an unknown number missing in action. At 8:00 pm the Japanese sent two Type 95 tanks with bright headlights into the plantation. The men from the 2/10th tried to disable them with sticky bombs, but due to the humid conditions the bombs failed to adhere to the Japanese armour. In the fighting that followed over the course of two and a half hours, the Australians suffered heavy casualties. By midnight the Japanese were inside the Australian position and in the confusion the 2/10th withdrew in some disorder to a number of scattered positions on the west bank of the Gama, which they reached by about 2:00 am on 28 August

Defender: Australian (2/10th Australian Infantry Battalion)  

Errata (source)