APPENDIX 4 ORDEAL ON NEW BRITAI N FTER the Japanese had driven Colonel Scanlan's force from its posi- A tions near Rabaul on 23rd January 1942, two main lines of retreat developed . One led westward to the Keravat River, and thence to the north coast ; the other south-east to the south coast. In both directions the country was mountainous, rugged, covered with dense growth, and inter- sected by deep ravines along which ran fast-flowing streams . The littl e food available in the jungle was largely of a kind which the men ha d not been trained to recognise . No plans had been made for the situation which then arose . Orders such as "go bush", "break up into small parties" and "every man for himself" which soon began to circulate implied a cessation of militar y organisation and control . As the troops withdrew they left their com- munication and supply routes, and along the tracks they were to travers e few stores of food, ammunition or medical supplies had been organise d or established. For the moment the only course open to the men was to escape in mechanical transport down the roads to the south so far as th e roads ran. Soon trucks and carriers were transporting troops to the rear and being subjected to bombing and machine-gunning from the air . Lieutenant Selby, the anti-aircraft artillery officer of the force, later re- called one such journey . We walked at a brisk pace, only taking cover when diving planes roared dow n on us . Eventually a truck dashed by, then pulled up in answer to our hail and we climbed aboard . At frequent intervals planes would dive on us, their machine-guns blazing, and we would leap off the track and take cover by the roadside . At Toma . we came to Rear Operational headquarters. I told the sergeant - major there that I wished to report to the Colonel . He went into the tent an d returned, saying : "The Colonel's orders are that each man is to fend for himself ." Less than a mile farther on the road petered out and the jungle began . A large portion of my battery was waiting for me by the roadside but a number had gon e on with various groups of infantry . Along the road was a long string of abandone d vehicles, filled with rations, munitions and stores of all descriptions . The sight of the rations made me feel hungry and glancing at my watch I was surprised to see that it was just after midday. I could not leave that string of trucks to be picked u p by the enemy intact and [we] set to work demolishing the trucks . but left the food in case more troops should be coming through . Meanwhile Captain Appel, in accordance with his final instructions fro m battalion headquarters to cover the withdrawal, remained in the Vunakana u area until mid-afternoon of 23rd January . Then, following the direction taken by Captain McInnes and others, he too moved off towards the Keravat, crossed the river and two miles farther on reached a bivouac area already selected by his second-in-command, Captain Cameron .l There 1 Lt-Col A . G . Cameron, DSO, VX44906 . 2/22 Bn 1940-42; CO 3 Bu 1942-43, 2/2 Bn 1943-45 . Bank clerk ; of Elwood, Vic; b. Brunswick, Vic, 16 May 1909, 654 ORDEAL ON NEW BRITAI N he found about 160 men, mostly from his own and McInnes' companies but including some headquarters and anti-tank people . The Vulcan beach defenders under Captain Field, who had bee n ordered by Major Owen soon after 7 a.m. to withdraw to Four Ways, made slow progress through thick bush and by dusk had reached a position onl y half a mile from Four Ways . Next morning a native reported to Fiel d that Four Ways and Vunakanau had been occupied, cutting off the road to Tobera. Skirting Four Ways, the party moved on through the jungle , avoiding the roads and eventually reaching the Keravat four days later . Duke of Yo, c a Harvey"s Ptii _ o c Guntershohe • AmLkGku Seragi Ptn. Lahr, ' St. Pains cl ''P )\ f ~• lama Kamanakan , Malabunga Tobera Ptn . Mt Varzin ._{~. <t Rabata . •Ralabar' f R__ m Pot . i A.. , Pon&o Hb GAZELL E 1Torlu PENINSUL A Mavelo Ptn On the way other stragglers joined the party which on arrival numbere d fifty-nine . After crossing the river the men moved on towards Keravat Farm, which they found to be occupied by Japanese . A civilian told Field that Japanese were moving in large numbers towards the Vudal River, south-west of Keravat . His move would necessarily continue in that direc- tion. The men were very tired, some were sick, and all had been practic- ally without food for four days . Field called them together . He told them that he himself had no inten- tion of surrendering ; that those who wished to continue with him could ORDEAL ON NEW BRITAIN 655 do so; the alternative was surrender . He gave them half an hour to make their decisions. Six elected to go on, the remainder to return to Kerava t and surrender. They would remain in their present position until the after - noon, they said, to allow Field and his men to get clear . It was then 27th January. All told, the rations for the seven men amounted to one tin of bully beef, a cucumber and two and a half biscuits . Meanwhile, on the 24th, Travers, who had bivouacked his compan y near Toma the previous night, was confronted with a situation similar t o that which Field was to face when he reached the Keravat River . He knew nothing of the movements of the rest of the force, or of the orde r to withdraw, and decided that the injured and those who considere d themselves unfit to attempt the formidable task of reaching either the nort h or south coasts on foot should surrender . With Lieutenant Donaldson he set off at 8 o'clock to reach an agreement with the Japanese . The two officers walked to Vunadadia, thence to Malabunga Junction, and after a two hours' journey returned to Toma, having seen no sign of the enemy . Travers then advised those who were resolved to escape to split up int o parties as they saw fit, allowing the direction they took to be influence d by their knowledge of the country they were to traverse . The majority of the men made their way to the south coast ; but parties under Donaldson and Tolmer, amounting to about twenty men in all, eventually linked wit h other escapers on the north coast, the main group of whom had set out westwards from Keravat on the 24th . Appel had organised the men into groups consisting of carrying partie s with advance and rear-guards, and by 5 p .m. on the 26th had reached the Kamanakan Mission. There, realising the condition of his men and sensin g a lowering of spirits, he held a muster parade totalling 285 all ranks an d appealed to the men not to allow themselves to be captured . He said that he would establish camps in the hills where he would re-train them an d make them fit to fight again . The men responded well to his appeal . He sent forward Lieutenant Smith2 and Corporal Hamilton3 on horse- back to Lassul Bay, Sergeant Jane 4 and Corporal Headlam5 to Massava, and appointed Captain Cameron his liaison officer. The force, divided into a headquarters and four groups commanded by Captains McInnes and McCallum,° Lieutenant Bateman 7 and Appel himself, was established at St Paul's, Guntershohe, Lahn and Kamanakan . On 27th January Kam- anakan was shelled by Japanese naval craft ; next day two large Japanese forces were landed at Massava and Lassul Bay . McInnes, who reached s Capt D. O . Smith, VX23843 . 2/22 Bn ; 2/2 Pm- Bn . Apprentice plumber ; of St Kilda, Vic ; b . Carlton, Vic, 9 Oct 1918. 8 Capt J . McK. Hamilton, MBE, VX44959. 2/22 Bn ; "Z" and "M" Special Units . Wool valuer ; of Geelong, Vic ; b . Bairnsdale, Vic, 26 Feb 1915. * Sgt H. A . Jane, VX28644. 2/22 Bn; 112 Lt AA Bty. Salesman ; of Malvern, Vic; b. Benalla, Vic, 7 Apr 1918 . wO2 J . M . Headlam, VX20614. 2/22 Bn ; 112 Lt AA Bty ; Flying Officer in RAAF 1945 . Farmer ; of Hobart; b. Launceston, Tas, 2 Jan 1913. 6 Capt J. T. McCallum, VX45853 ; 2/22 Bn. Grazier ; of Colac, Vic; b. Winchelsea, Vic, 12 Dec 1911. 7 Lt P . J. Bateman, VX44398 ; 2/22 Bn. Law clerk ; of Caulfield, Vic ; b. Maryborough, Vic, 9 Oct 1914 . 656 ORDEAL ON NEW BRITAI N Lassul on the 29th, saw landing craft loaded with Japanese coming ashore . He withdrew his men and soon afterwards met Captain Appel, who had arrived with a second group of escapers . McInnes, who believed that the Japanese were likely to advance on Lahn, advised his men to split up into small parties, to facilitate escape . The alternative was surrender . Appel, however, took his company, now numbering about 120, four mile s beyond Lahn into the mountains where, in pouring rain, the men spent th e night. Next morning he moved them to a village westwards of Lahn , where they sheltered in small huts . There he was approached by an officer and some of the N .C.O's who declared they should give up because of the poor physical condition o f the men, the lack of food and the adverse weather .