Australian vs Japanese Squads (1942) Who was Superior? | Animated History

we've recently relaunched our streaming service armchair history dot tv check out our new interactive map in the link below on a narrow dirt road surrounded by thick jungle the japanese lie in wait for an incoming australian patrol one man quickly repositions himself in anticipation poised to charge with his bayonet fixed in a small village along the kokoda track a japanese rifleman dives underneath a hut he fires off a couple shots desperately trying to attract the australian's focus as his comrades circle around their position the streets of port moresby are the scene of fierce house to house combat a group of diggers find a dead man on the ground floor of an apartment block they approach cautiously sending a rifleman to check the body hi i'm griffin johnson the armchair historian today we continue our series matching up infantry squads throughout history in this episode it's the infantry of the empire of japan facing off against australia during the kokoda track campaign like in the last video the events depicted here are of course fictitious yet based on modern day insight and analysis of the structure equipment and the tactics used by the japanese and australians during this brutal campaign of jungle warfare and most importantly this is just our opinion so what conclusions did our researchers arrive at well i don't know about you guys but i'm not waiting until the end of this video i'm finding out right now damn our researchers must have protected the results using our sponsor private internet access vpn they're a state-of-the-art vpn service available for every platform windows mac android ios and even linux private internet access hides your digital footprint making your activity invisible to hackers spammers and even your isp they can circumvent geo restrictions with their servers in more than 70 countries so after this video you can use it to compare australian versus japanese netflix this vpn comes with blockers for ads trackers and malware supports 10 connected devices p2p downloading is protected by their strict no log policy and they offer 24 7 customer support and a 30-day money-back guarantee if you aren't content with your service and yes it's open source and as a special promotion just for armchair historian fans your subscription will be two dollars and eight cents a month plus you'll get two extra months for free when you sign up using my link below clicking the link is the best way to show your support to the channel for this match up we will be ignoring variables like supplies and logistics as well as heavy weaponry the kokoda tracks terrain prevented either side from bringing artillery or air support to bear save for a few sporadic engagements with that let's join the action in papua new guinea 1942. an australian patrol makes its way through the thick foliage of the papuan jungle the diggers keep low and silent sticking to the shadows and keeping an ear open for any signs of movement a rustle in the underbrush the section commander signals a halt all is quiet for a moment until one rifleman sees another rustling bush he looks closer that's no bush that's a gilly sue he fires and the corpse of a japanese soldier falls out of the underbrush bullets fly as the ambush begins japanese infantry appearing from behind trees or in thick tangles or foliage uniforms studded with branches and leaves a punishing fuselaid comes from a nearby type 99 situated on a ledge overlooking the trail but it is quickly answered by some aussie riflemen the australian section commander cuts down the first enemy he sees with a burst from his thompson submachine gun wheeling around to see an enemy nco rushing in with his katana drawn he raises his weapon frantically pulling the trigger and gets a click in response the japanese commander draws closer until a burst of automatic gunfire rakes across his chest sending him careening into the shadowy underbrush the assistant section commander appears owen gunn smoking in his hands g'day boys now this little owen gun is a dead set feared income rip snorter bugger me tap you'll be ready for any surprise shin digs the nips decide to throw at you she's a true blue aussie original this tough little sub machine gun can be dragged through the mud filter the brim with sand take a soak in the ocean and still be ready to beat tojo and his goons back to the island the ambush has devolved into a close quarters battle of bayonets and submachine guns as both squads lmgs trade hails of fire the australians hold their own persevering through casualty after casualty until their section commander finally falls to a japanese bayonet the assistant calls for a retreat and the diggers withdraw in contact their brand gunner laying down a thick field of fire from the shoulder as the australians pull back the japanese give chase but they are held at bay by the aussie's brand they have little choice but to keep their distance as their foes disappear into the shadowy foliage ducking from a final hail from the type 99 although both sides of the kokoda campaign were highly skilled in jungle fighting the japanese were infamous for their use of ambushes which helps them take the field in this first encounter the australians lost a major advantage when their section commander's gun jammed eliminating a full third of their automatic firepower the japanese being armed primarily with bolt-action rifles would have little to counter this close range superiority the thompson submachine gun was notoriously unreliable in the papuan jungle requiring constant cleaning to stay functional let's see if a little more development helps the australians make up for lost ground as the sky above papua new guinea dances with the colors of sunset two squads of weary soldiers come upon a small village long abandoned by fearful locals this unclaimed station town of huts on stilts is a welcome sight for the australian and japanese grunts who just want a place to rest the australians are the first in methodically sweeping house to house the section commander orders his brand gunner to set up in a building with a good view of the rest of the village and the machine gun is quickly installed in a window with a commanding field of fire on the edge of town among the forest lie the japanese the squad leader observes the australians spreading out through the village and he orders his men to disperse among the trees they will meet their foes in the classic imperial fashion envelopment [Music] [Applause] [Music] the village is almost clear when the first shots ring out the australians scramble for cover as the japanese center comes in drawing as much attention as they can suddenly another group breaks in from the right and is quickly met by the burst of a bren gun but all of this is an elaborate ruse a fact made painfully evident when the japanese squad leader personally leads the bulk of his forces against the australian left the japanese quickly descend onto the village and a brutal crossfire develops as their type 99 gunner and another rifleman burst into a hut annihilating the aussie riflemen inside and setting up an lmg position of their own the diggers are not going to let this stand they split their forces and move through the village clearing each building with tried and true urban warfare tactics soon the australians have the initiative and the japanese commander withdraws to his lmg position to make a final stand there will be no surrender here the australians engage from whatever cover they can find rocks and these stilts supporting the houses until the last japanese soldier falls as the gunfire fades away into the gathering darkness the village goes quiet with this battle the australians even up the score the japanese tendency toward frontal attacks and shock tactics yielded success in their initial forays during the war but quickly became a predictable pattern and easy to counter when the japanese lacked the weight of numbers necessary to make the full use of their vigorous charges here the australian's flexibility allowed them to regain the initiative as they quickly moved from a surprised and ad hoc defense to using close quarters tactics to secure the village the japanese commander lost a considerable number of men in his faint and though they fought hard and took their foes by surprise this time the australians were victorious now let's see who takes the tie-breaking engagement in the streets of port moresby gunfire echoes through the streets of port moresby this is the last stand for the australians and the final hurdle for the japanese a victory here means not only the capture of papua new guinea but the possibility of an amphibious invasion of australia this is firmly on the mind of the australian infantry squad advancing down the street creeping from building to building eyes always on the windows and ledges above they wait for that fateful moment of enemy contact it comes in the form of a corpse now we're not about to engage in a stand-up fight boys the japanese are a crafty and ruthless opponent it'll do anything to win spike pits on your patrol route setting up a hand grenade in every doorway of a village even putting explosives on their own dead only the australian rifleman inches toward the corpse he cautiously extends his rifle and gives the body a gentle prod nothing he wedges his barrel under the body gently turning it over the riflemen and the body disappear in a ball of fire and shrapnel as a japanese squad appears in the street the hail of machine gun fire cutting off the australians escape the australians dive into these surrounding apartment blocks keeping their heads down to avoid a fuselaid of lmg fire however the section commander has had enough and orders three of his men to push forward and clear out the nest the japanese commander leads his men through byways and alleyways attempting to envelop his foes but the three diggers headed toward the machine gun run into a pair of japanese riflemen the japanese and australians meet in room to room firefights the japanese commander's new type 100 submachine gun allowing him to mow down the unsuspecting diggers with ease the sounds of hand-to-hand combat caused the section leader to order in advance and the aussie brand gunner repositions to fire a punishing burst from the shoulder silencing the japanese lmg long enough for his comrades to reposition both sides take heavy casualties in bayonet duels and point-blank shootouts sensing he may be losing the initiative the japanese commander rallies his surviving riflemen for a bonsai charge and they are cut down by the lone brent gunner two surviving diggers pelt the japanese machine gun nest with mills bombs and the streets go silent port moresby isn't safe yet but this street is firmly in the hands of australia both the australians and japanese had extensive experience in urban warfare but the japanese propensity for booby traps saw them take the early initiative in this battle the japanese continued their effort with their favored envelopment tactics and were able to split the australians into pockets scattered up and down the street however the japanese lack of submachine guns saw them at a significant disadvantage in close quarters combat and their light machine gun static implementation saw it easily flanked by the desperate australians with these streets clear the australians were able to fight their way back together and force the japanese into a final confrontation that saw them wiped out the australians take this match up two to one reflecting our belief that their widespread use of submachine guns higher rate of survivability and tactical flexibility make the diggers the superior infantry force the japanese receive high marks for creativity and ferocity however these fights were in no way for gone conclusions it is a hard-won victory for the australians but a victory nonetheless we hope you enjoyed this second episode of our infantry comparison series was your guest correct leave us a comment with your suggestions for who we should match up next thanks again to private internet access for sponsoring this video remember to click their link in the description below and thanks for watching [Music] you

Channel: The Armchair Historian

Views: 871,746

Rating: 4.8780661 out of 5

Keywords: Kokoda Track Campaign, Papua New Guinea Campaign, Australia in WW2, The Japanese in WW2, Pacific Campaign, The Pacific War, Second World War Tactics, Squad Tactics, Squad vs Squad, Deadliest warrior, World war two, ANZAC, the australian army, japanese military tactics, australian tactics, the diggers

Id: oEHl_oJOuR0

Length: 15min 59sec (959 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 11 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/nogoodusernamesleft8]

They lost me the moment they claimed that there was house-to-house fighting in Port Moresby, like another commenter said. If you can't get basic details right you shouldn't be making history content.

[u/_clarkie_boi_]

I just watched this video. I don't quite like how they compare the sides by encounters that they decide. It just seems not quite right

[u/[deleted]]

Its a decent channel but doesn't go much into detail and seems to be for a US audience with only an interest it bite sized videos.

If you're into detailed looks at WW2 conflict I'd recomend the channels

"military history visualised"

or

"World War Two" - which does a summary of what happened this week in ww2 every week, infact they just did a huge multi video realtime re-enactment of pearl harbour.

[u/[deleted]]

[removed]

[u/[deleted]]

[removed]