A small Australian garrison stationed in Rabaul, was taken by the Japanese in January 1942. Approximately 400 soldiers escaped to the mainland, however the majority of troops, including six army nurses, were captured.
The bulk of Lark Force consisted of the 2/22nd Battalion (about 900 men and 38 officers). Arriving in Rabaul on Anzac Day 1941, by December, Lark Force had increased to about 1400 troops.
The troops training had predominantly been for mobile warfare in open country – fighting in the tropics provided very different challenges. The Australian government was well aware they would not be able to hold ground against a superior Japanese force for long, however, stretched in other regions, they made the decision to leave the troops in Rabaul without additional support. Only European women and children were evacuated.
In January 1942, Rabaul came under attack by large numbers of Japanese carrier based aircraft. After the odds facing the Australians mounted significantly, Squadron Commander John Lerew signalled RAAF HQ in Melbourne with the Latin motto “Nos Morituri Te Salutamus” (“we who are about to die salute you”), the phrase uttered by gladiators in ancient Rome before entering combat.
Initially, the Japanese encountered stiff resistance. However, as their force was significantly larger, most of the South Seas Force was able to land unopposed, in unguarded locations. Within hours, Lark Force Commander Lieutenant John Scanlan ordered: “every man for himself” and Australian soldiers and civilians split into small groups and retreated through the jungle. Without supplies, the troops health and military effectiveness declined. Leaflets posted by Japanese patrols or dropped from planes stated in English: “you can find neither food nor way of escape in this island and you will only die of hunger unless you surrender.” Most Australian soldiers were captured or surrendered during the following weeks.
Of the approximately 1,050 Australians taken prisoner, at least 130 personnel were massacred at Tol Plantation. Six men survived these killings and later described troops being marched into the jungle near Tol Plantation in small groups, to be bayoneted by Japanese soldiers. 35 Australians who had also been taken POW were shot at the nearby Waitavalo Plantation. The officer with the main responsibility for these war crimes was Colonel Masao Kusunose, who later committed suicide.
Five days after the Japanese entered the war in the Pacific, the Australian Chiefs of Staff had to advise the War Cabinet whether to reinforce, withdraw or leave the troops in Rabaul. Despite the Australian government’s awareness that they would not be able to hold out against a strong Japanese force, they decided to leave the troops in place, removing only European women and children from the Territories.
In July 1942, about 1000 of the captured Australian men, including civilian internees, were being transported to Japan drowned when the Japanese transport ship Montevideo Maru was sunk by an American submarine. The only troops to survive were officers and nurses sent to Japan on a different ship.
The Lark Force Trek
The Lark Force Wilderness Trek is an adventure of a lifetime!
This adventure tour will lead you down a path that enriches your appreciation for the vastly remote culture that exists along the track. You will learn about the Bainings Tribes – Uramat, Mali and Simbali and down along the south coast towards Wide Bay – Mengen, Sulka and Tomoip Tribes.
The trek experience was named in honour of the Australian millitary garrison who were tragically left to escape a far superior Japanese army during their occupation of Rabaul in January 1942. This track is unlike Kokoda in that it is not aimed primarily at being a War time track. It is much more then that….
This is a track that has been initiated by the local indigenous people from the region and aims to promote their unique cultures and pristiine environs. They have genererously allowed their trek to be named after “Lark Force” to show that there is still a respect that Papua New Guineans show to those soldiers who died in the war.
