HSIE - Modern History - The Kokoda Campaign: Significance

The Kokoda track stands as an icon for Australian participation in World War II just as Gallipoli serves the same purpose for World War I...

Although the successful capture of Port Moresby was never going to be precursor to an invasion of Australia, victory on the Kokoda Trail did ensure that Allied bases in northern Australia, vital in the coming counter-offensive against the Japanese, would not be seriously threatened by air attack...

Kokoda was a desperate and vicious campaign that saw enormous suffering on both sides. It was however crucial for the Allies in turning the Pacific War from one of defence to one of offence...

The Battle of Kokoda Trail is mostly unknown outside of Australia, but the implications of a counterfactual Japanese victory would have had wide-ranging consequences for the Pacific War...

The Kokoda Campaign of World War Two was an important turning point in the conflict, as it was one of the first times that the Japanese army had been stopped on land since the beginning of the war...