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Sanananda: a Bastard of a Place: The Battle for the Beachhead New Guinea 1942-43
With the Australian troops crossing of the Kumusi River in mid-November 1942, after pushing the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track to the north coast of Papua New Guinea, the time had come to face the entrenched Japanese at their beachhead at Gona, Buna and Sanananda.
The end of the Kokoda Campaign in mid-November 1942 marked a turning point for the Australians, but the fighting was far from over. Within days, the battles for the Japanese beachheads would commence. The fighting for the Japanese beachheads was among the fiercest of the whole Pacific War and the first combined large-scale operation between Australian and American troops against the Japanese.
By the 3rd January 1943 the Japanese beachheads at Gona and Buna were finally in Australian and American hands after almost two months of desperate fighting. One beachhead, however, remained to be taken, the best defended, not only in terms of its deep defence and network of supporting bunkers and slit trenches, but also by its large deep swamps and jungle. Hundreds of men had already been killed - Australian and American - in trying to take Sanananda. It was recognised that this beachhead was the worst of the three battlefields. Isolated pockets of Australians and Americans confronted well dug in and camouflaged positions, often on small 'islands' in the fetid and crocodile infested swamps. It would be another three weeks before Sanananda fell to the Australian and American forces. It was appropriately described by Sergeant Bill Spencer, 2/9th Battalion 'A bastard of a place'.
The end of the Kokoda Campaign in mid-November 1942 marked a turning point for the Australians, but the fighting was far from over. Within days, the battles for the Japanese beachheads would commence. The fighting for the Japanese beachheads was among the fiercest of the whole Pacific War and the first combined large-scale operation between Australian and American troops against the Japanese.
By the 3rd January 1943 the Japanese beachheads at Gona and Buna were finally in Australian and American hands after almost two months of desperate fighting. One beachhead, however, remained to be taken, the best defended, not only in terms of its deep defence and network of supporting bunkers and slit trenches, but also by its large deep swamps and jungle. Hundreds of men had already been killed - Australian and American - in trying to take Sanananda. It was recognised that this beachhead was the worst of the three battlefields. Isolated pockets of Australians and Americans confronted well dug in and camouflaged positions, often on small 'islands' in the fetid and crocodile infested swamps. It would be another three weeks before Sanananda fell to the Australian and American forces. It was appropriately described by Sergeant Bill Spencer, 2/9th Battalion 'A bastard of a place'.
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Published December 4, 2024
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About the author
David W. Cameron
34 books10 followersDavid W. Cameron is a Canberra based author and has written several books on Australian military and convict history and human and primate evolution including over 60 internationally peer reviewed papers for various journals and book chapters. He received 1st Class Honours in Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Sydney and later went on to complete his Ph.D. in palaeoanthropology at the Australian National University.
He is a former Australian Research Council (ARC) Post Doctorial Fellow at the Australian National University (School of Archaeology) and an ARC QEII Fellow at the University of Sydney (Department of Anatomy and Histology). He has participated and led several international fieldwork teams in Australia, the Middle East (Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates); Europe (Hungary) and Asia (Vietnam and India) and has participated in many conferences and museum studies throughout the world.
He is a former Australian Research Council (ARC) Post Doctorial Fellow at the Australian National University (School of Archaeology) and an ARC QEII Fellow at the University of Sydney (Department of Anatomy and Histology). He has participated and led several international fieldwork teams in Australia, the Middle East (Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates); Europe (Hungary) and Asia (Vietnam and India) and has participated in many conferences and museum studies throughout the world.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 11, 2026
I have laboured through to the end of this tome, with a whimper not a bang, and feel I must leave a review
.
I have read many books covering the campaign post Kokoda (Buna, Gona, Sanananda), many easier to read and follow, and engaging to the point of being page-turners. This is not one of them. This is more of a bland text, designed to put the reader to sleep, which is the definition my old History professor use to describe our papers as being. Every Australian mentioned, even amidst a dire firefight, has to have his age, his occupation and where he came from, immediately following the mention of his name, thus breaking the narrative and never allowing tension to build. This becomes more and more aggravating the further you go.
What tension there could be is broken yet again, by trying to explain (and failing) where every one is in an attack, without a useful map on the preceding page. Flip-flopping between the Australian, American and Japanese views makes things worse, not better, as they should. Everything gets lost in details of logistics, statistics, semi-biographies and things that don't matter to the narrative.
I was excited to read this account, but found it a slog to finish. By the finish, and I was only vaguely aware of where every one was, what is happening/ has happened, and what the result was.
But I do know everyone's age, occupation and city of residence.
Consign to the dry and bland University shelves.
.
I have read many books covering the campaign post Kokoda (Buna, Gona, Sanananda), many easier to read and follow, and engaging to the point of being page-turners. This is not one of them. This is more of a bland text, designed to put the reader to sleep, which is the definition my old History professor use to describe our papers as being. Every Australian mentioned, even amidst a dire firefight, has to have his age, his occupation and where he came from, immediately following the mention of his name, thus breaking the narrative and never allowing tension to build. This becomes more and more aggravating the further you go.
What tension there could be is broken yet again, by trying to explain (and failing) where every one is in an attack, without a useful map on the preceding page. Flip-flopping between the Australian, American and Japanese views makes things worse, not better, as they should. Everything gets lost in details of logistics, statistics, semi-biographies and things that don't matter to the narrative.
I was excited to read this account, but found it a slog to finish. By the finish, and I was only vaguely aware of where every one was, what is happening/ has happened, and what the result was.
But I do know everyone's age, occupation and city of residence.
Consign to the dry and bland University shelves.
Displaying 1 of 1 review