The Japanese landed at Buna on the night of July 21/22, 1942 and soon advanced inland to Popondetta before attempting an overland route to Port Moresby via the Kokoda Trail.  They were forced back over the Owen Stanley Ranges by a handful of Australian infantry units advancing north.

At about the same time, the Japanese were stopped at Milne Bay by members of the Australian 18th Infantry Brigade who had been supported by numerous American air and ground units.

Between November 1942 and January 1943, a two-pronged assault on the Japanese beachheads took place - the veterans of Kokoda to the north west at Gona; with the Australian and American units from Milne Bay at Buna.  These three months saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Second World War, where both sides suffered extremely heavy casualties.

The Battle of the Beachheads was one of the earliest offensive operations conducted against the Japanese by both Australian and American forces.

This groundbreaking DVD tells their story....