Summary 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Wau: New Guinea 1943 With Philip Bradley The Battle of Wau, 29 January - 4 February 1943, was a battle in the New Guinea campaign where forces of the Empire of Japan sailed from Rabaul and crossed the Solomon Sea and, despite Allied air attacks, successfully reached Lae, where they disembarked. Japanese troops then advanced overland on Wau, a key Australian airstrip and base that potentially threatened the Japanese positions at Salamaua and Lae. A race developed between the Japanese moving overland, hampered by the terrain, and the Australians, moving in by C47s but, hampered by the weather. Phillip will take us through the valiant defence by Captain Sherlock's men on the ridge directly in the way of the Japanese advance on Wau. Phillip Bradley is a leading Australian military historian. His extensive research on the battlefield, in the archives and with the veterans of the campaign has given him an intimate knowledge of the the commando raid on Salamaua. We are thrilled that he is joining us once again. Hell's Battlefield is Phillip Bradley's book that tells the whole story of the Australians against the Japanese in New Guinea during WWII, from invasion in 1942 to the brutal end game in 1945.

• War
• Documentary
• History
• Talk Show