15,000 AUSTRALIANS Sent Into Captivity 🪦 Battle of Rabaul

World War Two history in 10 seconds: Australia lost Rabaul in January 1942, but the battle was only the beginning of the story.

On 23 January 1942, Japanese invasion forces attacked Rabaul on the island of New Britain, then part of the Australian-administered Territory of New Guinea.

The Australian garrison, centred around Lark Force, was heavily outnumbered. Once Japanese troops established themselves ashore, organized Australian resistance rapidly collapsed.

Australian soldiers were ordered to disperse, and groups attempted to escape through the difficult terrain of New Britain. Some eventually escaped, while many others were captured.

But the aftermath of the defeat became another tragedy.

In June 1942, more than 1,000 Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees were placed aboard the Japanese transport ship Montevideo Maru.

On 1 July 1942, the American submarine USS Sturgeon torpedoed the vessel off the Philippines, unaware that Allied prisoners were aboard.

The ship sank with the loss of more than 1,000 lives, overwhelmingly Australian, becoming the worst maritime disaster in Australian history.

The wreck of the Montevideo Maru was finally located in the South China Sea in April 2023, more than 80 years after the sinking.

The Battle of Rabaul may have ended quickly, but its consequences lasted for years.

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