A vicious battle fought in the pristine Papuan jungle around the beautiful shores of Milne Bay, this engagement would prove to be a critical turning point in the Pacific War. Milne Bay was the first time that a major Japanese offensive had been decisively defeated, and from this point on in the war the Japanese would never launch another successful major offensive in the South West Pacific. This little known battle may have been one of the Australian Army’s great moments in World War Two, but it was arguably the RAAF’s finest hour; the growing might of allied air power was clear for all to see. Milne Bay was a reckoning for the Japanese: The days of easy victory over the western allies were over.
