Invasion Rabaul : The Epic Story of Lark Force, the Forgotten Garrison, January ? July 1942

"January 23, 1942, New Britain. It was 2:30 a.m., the darkest hour of the day and, for the defenders of this Southwest Pacific island, soon to be the war's darkest hour. Fifteen hundred men and six nurses, Lark Force, had been deployed to New Britain to fortify and defend Rabaul, capital of Australia's mandated territories. Once they'd completed their work on the strategic port and its two airfields, the group - mostly volunteers from Victoria - had settled into the routine of garrison duties, confident of being relieved within a year"--Publisher website (November 2007).;Prologue -- Diggers -- Evil spirits -- Hostages to fortune -- Prelude to an invasion -- Chaos -- Vigorous youth from Shikoku -- Every man for himself -- You will only die -- Tol -- Escape: the Lakatoi -- Escape: the Laurabada -- Outcry -- Inside the fortress -- Cruel fates -- The long wait -- Epilogue. January 23, 1942, New Britain. It was 2:30 a.m., the darkest hour of the day and, for the defenders of this Southwest Pacific island, soon to be the war's darkest hour. Fifteen hundred men and six nurses, Lark Force, had been deployed to New Britain to fortify and defend Rabaul, capital of Australia's mandated territories. Once they'd completed their work on the strategic port and its two airfields, the group-mostly volunteers from Victoria-had settled into the routine of garrison duties, confident of being relieved within a year. But the Japanese had other ideas. Rabaul was the linchpin of their campaign to conquer the Southwest Pacific—and in the early hours of January 23 their invasion force swarmed ashore. What ensued is the story told in The Darkest Hour, a gut-wrenching account of courage and sacrifice, folly and disaster, as seen through the eyes of the few who survived. Bruce Gamble, the critically acclaimed author of Black Sheep One, follows key individuals—soldiers and junior officers, an American citizen and an Army nurse among them—through their experiences in Lark Force. Together their stories comprise a harrowing picture of the Australian forces overrun and driven into the jungle, prey to the unforgiving environment and a cruel enemy that massacred its prisoners—and tormented further by fate, when a Japanese ship transporting prisoners to Hainan Island was torpedoed by an American submarine. The dramatic stories of the Lark Force survivors, told here in full for the first time, are among the most inspiring of the Pacific War. "The riveting first book in Bruce Gamble's critically acclaimed Rabaul trilogy, originally published in hardcover as Darkest Hour, which chronicles the longest battle of World War II. January 23, 1942, New Britain. It was 2:30 a.m., the darkest hour of the day and, for the tiny Australian garrison sent to defend this Southwest Pacific island, soon to be the darkest hour of the war. Lark Force, comprising 1,500 soldiers and six nurses, faced a vastly superior Japanese amphibious unit poised to overrun Rabaul, capital of Australia's mandated territories. Invasion Rabaul, the first book in military historian Bruce Gamble's critically acclaimed Rabaul trilogy, is a gut-wrenching account of courage and sacrifice, folly and disaster, as seen through the eyes of the defenders who survived the Japanese assault. Gamble's gripping narrative follows key individuals--soldiers and junior officers, an American citizen and an Army nurse among them--who were driven into the jungle, prey to the unforgiving environment and a cruel enemy that massacred its prisoners. The dramatic stories of the Lark Force survivors, told here in full for the first time, are among the most inspiring of the Pacific War--and they lay a triumphant foundation for one of today's most highly praised military nonfiction trilogies"-- Provided by publisher The riveting first book in Bruce Gamble's critically acclaimed Rabaul trilogy, originally published in hardcover as Darkest Hour , which chronicles the longest battle of World War II. January 23, 1942, New Britain. It was 2:30 AM, the darkest hour of the day and, for the tiny Australian garrison sent to defend this Southwest Pacific island, soon to be the darkest hour of the war. Lark Force, comprising 1,500 soldiers and six nurses, faced a vastly superior Japanese amphibious unit poised to overrun Rabaul, capital of Australia's mandated territories. Invasion Rabaul , the first book in military historian Bruce Gamble's critically acclaimed Rabaul trilogy, is a gut-wrenching account of courage and sacrifice, folly and disaster, as seen through the eyes of the defenders who survived the Japanese assault. Gamble's gripping narrative follows key individuals' soldiers and junior officers, an American citizen and an Army nurse among themwho were driven into the jungle, prey to the unforgiving environment and a cruel enemy that massacred its prisoners. The dramatic stories of the Lark Force survivors, told here in full for the first time, are among the most inspiring of the Pacific Warand they lay a triumphant foundation for one of today's most highly praised military nonfiction trilogies. From the book: Concealed behind coconut log fortifications, the Australians could clearly hear the rumble of diesel motors and the scrape of steel hulls on coral. John N. Jones, a twenty-three-year-old corporal from New South Wales, was patrolling the perimeter at 0225 when he saw the barge-like landing craft approaching the beach, their silhouettes faintly backlit by the fires burning in (Rabaul.... Jones pointed a Very pistol skyward and pulled the trigger. Seconds later, the flare cast a bright light over the beach, catching the Japanese troops by surprise....The Australians cut loose with a withering blast. The staccato chatter of machine guns and the popping of Lee-Enfield rifles blended into a solid roar.... Lost among all the gunfire was the metallic thumping of mortar rounds leaving their tubes. Additional flares whooshed skyward, lighting up the beach just as the mortar shells began to land near the barbed wire. The Japanese, thrown into disarray by the explosions and concentrated firepower, twice attempted to rush the wire and twice were driven back. As the Japanese expanded their Empire across the Pacific in World War II, a small force of 1,500 Australian soldiers and medical personnel were sent to the island of Rabul. This book tells the story of the Japanese invasion of the island and the defeat of the Allied forces there as told by Allied survivors. "The first book in military historian Bruce Gamble's Rabaul trilogy, Invasion Rabaul chronicles the occupation and defense of Japan's island stronghold by the Australian Lark Force garrison through the eyes of those who survived the Japanese assault"-- Provided by publisher