Borneo: The Last Campaign

From bestselling author Michael Veitch (Australia's Secret Army, Turning Point) comes the story of the brilliant, yet controversial campaign which ended Australia's involvement in World War II.

Borneo: The Last Campaign tells the story of Operation OBOE, the massive, three-pronged assault on the vast Japanese-held island of Borneo in 1945. It was one of the largest amphibious invasions of the entire war, and a virtually all-Australian operation.

Over the final twelve weeks of World War Two, the 1st Australian Army Corps chased down and fought the remnants of the Japanese army over burning oil fields, up languid tropical rivers, along leech-ridden jungle tracks and across endless hills, valleys and ridges. Far from being the easy 'mopping-up' the men had been told to expect, Borneo turned out to be as savage as anything the Aussies had hitherto encountered in the Pacific, as the Japanese - despite the inevitability of their defeat - continued fighting with fanaticism, tenacity and shocking brutality.

Immensely complex but brilliantly planned, OBOE called for Australia's two most famous Infantry Divisions - the 7th and 9th - to storm ashore at three separate landing areas supported by US and Australian naval forces and local Dyak guerrilla fighters. Their objectives were to secure Borneo's oil facilities and liberate its long-suffering people.

Although now largely forgotten, as well as mired in the controversy that it had little effect on the overall outcome of the war, the skill, bravery and determination showed by the average Australian soldier on Borneo - many of whom were fighting their one and only battle of the war - is beyond question. OBOE involved more than 70,000 Australian military personnel, of which over 2000 became casualties, with nearly 600 killed. It was also where the two final Australian Victoria Crosses of the war were won, as well as literally dozens of other awards for bravery.

OBOE was superbly executed, achieved all of its objectives, and was the very last sustained Allied action of World War Two.

Drawing on a myriad of firsthand sources and interviews with the two last surviving veterans, Borneo: The Last Campaign examines the lead-up, the landings and the campaign itself in never-before published detail.

Once again, Michael Veitch provides a compelling and fascinating account of a part of Australian war history that deserves to be recognised.

Michael Veitch is well known as an author, actor and former ABC television and radio presenter. His books include the critically acclaimed accounts of Australian airmen in World War II, 44 Days, Heroes of the Skies, Fly, Flak, Barney Greatrex, Turning Point and The Battle of the Bismarck Sea. He lives in the Yarra Valley, outside Melbourne.

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