Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

On the 14th August 1942 they arrived at Port Moresby in Papua, & by the 6th September, it was in position at Mission Ridge on the Kokoda Trail preparing to meet the relentless advance of the Japanese. The battalion held its position for 2 days before being forced to pull out by a Japanese outflanking move that cut the Trail behind it. A grim 2 week withdrawal through the jungle, with little food followed. Sick & exhausted, the 2/27th rejoined the main Australian force at Jawarere, 40 kilometres east of Port Moresby, on 22nd September.

After a period of rest & retraining the 2/27th returned to action at Gona on 27th November. It suffered heavily in series of rushed & ill conceived attacks and was further assailed by the ravages of tropical disease. By the time it was revived on 6th January 1943, it was only 70 strong.

They returned to Australia in mid-January, but was back in Papua by early August. It spent a month training near Port Moresby before being flown to Kaipit in New Guinea to take part in the advance along Ramu Valley. The 2/27th occupied several key features during these operations & bore the brunt of the one major counter attack launched by the Japanese on 12th October. It began returning to Port Moresby on 3rd January 1944 & arrived back in Asutralia on 1st March.

The 2/27th left Australia for its last operation of the war on 3 June 1945. It sailed for home for the last time on 4th February, arriving at Brisbane on 14the February, and was disbanded there on 18th March.