{"product_id":"2026100011352-secondhand-retreat-from-kokoda","title":"Retreat From Kokoda","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdition: 1st ed.,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket - some marks on spine and corners\u003cbr\u003ePages: Tanning and foxing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the sweltering jungles of Papua New Guinea, a vastly outnumbered band of Australian soldiers fought one of the most gruelling and desperate rearguard actions of the Second World War. Retreat from Kokoda chronicles the harrowing campaign along the Kokoda Track in 1942, where ill-equipped and exhausted Australian troops — many of them raw militia recruits — were forced back by a powerful Japanese advance, enduring savage combat, disease, and near-starvation in near-impenetrable terrain. Raymond Paull draws on meticulous research, firsthand accounts, and detailed maps and photographs to reconstruct the campaign with unflinching honesty, giving full weight to both the heroism of the men on the ground and the catastrophic failures of command that placed them in such peril.\n\nWith a foreword by Lieutenant-General Sir Sydney Rowell, former Chief of the Australian General Staff, this account carries the authority of those who lived through the ordeal. Paull's narrative is measured yet deeply compassionate, illuminating the broader themes of national identity, military strategy, and the brutal human cost of war in the Pacific theatre. A landmark work of Australian military history, Retreat from Kokoda forces the reader to confront a question that still resonates: how close did Australia truly come to catastrophe on its own doorstep?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50573323698395,"sku":"2026100011352-SECONDHAND","price":25.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/6351dde6-6de3-42b2-a57b-a05cb94cf47b.png?v=1791167953","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100011352-secondhand-retreat-from-kokoda","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}