Before Kokoda, before the bombing of Darwin, Australia came under attack from the full might of the Japanese Empire - Rabaul, 1942. In the ensuing carnage of aerial bombardments and an armada not seen in Australian waters before, a small garrison of Australian soldiers, forgotten by many , made a courageous stand against an insurmountable force. Some men would escape, some would be shipped to Japan, but most - 1053 in total - would perish in Australia's greatest maritime disaster, The Tragedy of the Montevideo Maru.
