Borneo: The Last Campaign, Australia's Brilliant, Controversial End to World War II by Michael Veitch

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges. Interior and binding are still excellent.

Over the final twelve weeks of World War II, the 1st Australian Army Corps chased down and fought the remnants of the Japanese army across burning oil fields, up languid tropical rivers, along leech-ridden jungle tracks, and across endless hills, valleys, and ridges. Far from being the easy 'mopping-up' the men had been told to expect, Borneo turned out to be as savage as anything the Aussies had hitherto encountered in the Pacific, as the Japanese - despite the inevitability of their defeat - continued fighting with fanaticism, tenacity and shocking brutality.

Immensely complex but brilliantly planned, OBOE called for Australia's two most famous Infantry Divisions - the 7th and 9th - to storm ashore at three separate landing areas supported by US and Australian naval forces and local Dyak guerrilla fighters. Their objectives were to secure Borneo's oil facilities and liberate its long-suffering people.

Although now largely forgotten, as well as mired in the controversy that it had little effect on the overall outcome of the war, the skill, bravery and determination shown by the average Australian soldier on Borneo, many of whom were fighting their one and only battle of the war, is beyond question.