Dec. 25, 1942
Private George "Dick" Whittington is helped to an aid station by Raphael Oimbari. Whittington died of bush typhus in February 1943.
Image: George Silk/Public Domain
The three-year-long New Guinea campaign was one of the most arduous of World War II, with Allied and Japanese forces sustaining tens of thousands of casualties as they struggled for control of the world’s second-largest island.
Deadlier than enemy fire, though, was the environment itself — far more Japanese died of starvation and disease than in combat. Numerous operations were hampered by the difficulties of maintaining supply lines through miles of thick jungle, steep slopes and swift rivers. Read more...
More about New Guinea, Papua, Indigenous, World War Ii, and Australiavia Zero Tech Blog
