Australia’s First Campaign: the Capture of German New Guinea 1914

The Australian campaign to seize German New Guinea in 1914 is one of the forgotten episodes of the First World War. Preceding the Gallipoli landings by seven months, this remarkably successful amphibious operation was the very first of its kind undertaken by the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. The campaign was also everything the Gallipoli campaign was not. The New Guinea operations were planned and executed by Australian officers, the fighting was short, sharp and successful, and it was a highly effective use of military force, achieving its operational objectives at a remarkably low cost and serving Australian strategic interests in
a direct and tangible way.

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