In September 1942, deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, the Allied forces achieved a historic milestone — the Battle of Milne Bay, the first time in World War II that Japanese ground troops were decisively defeated. The battle took place on the remote eastern tip of New Guinea, where Australian infantrymen, supported by American engineers and airmen, faced a determined Japanese invasion force. The Japanese expected an easy victory, but they underestimated the harsh tropical terrain — and the