Book Review - Green Armour by Osmar White

Green Armour by Osmar White

Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1945

Osmar White was a journalist for the Herald & Weekly Times during World War Two, and was sent by that paper to cover the war in New Guinea. Green Armour is his collection of thoughts about what he saw during that time, and written before the War had finished, but written when he knew the War was won.

This provided the author with an interesting perspective - he had the liberty to write about the events he had seen at Wau, Salamaua, and Kokoda with more truthfulness than he could at the time, and his recovery from wounds he received at Rendova Island gave him time to think strategically about how those early efforts by Australian and US forces had paved the way for the later, successful use of such forces in the island hopping campaign waged by MacArthur and Nimitz throughout the Pacific.

The first section of the book deals with the beginning of the campaign in New Guinea, and focuses on just how woefully unprepared the Australian troops were for any serious invasion. White explains how, if Japan had been bold enough to attack Moresby in March 1942, they would have succeeded, as both land, sea and air power from the Allied side were virtually non-existent at that time. White graphically describes how the lone squadron of Kittyhawks were just enough to stave off disaster in that crucial period.

White then recounts his journey, with two other legendary correspondents in Chester Wilmot and Damien Parer, through the jungle to Wau to see at first hand the activities of Kanga Force. White's description of the cruel nature of the terrain, and the virtual impossibility of supply through the jungle, is masterful journalism. The title of the book "Green Armour" refers to the New Guinea mountain jungle, which protected Australian forces when they were on the defensive, and, as White shows, helped the Japanese when they became the hunted.

White was present during the worst of the fighting along the Kokoda Track, before the Australians had learned to use the jungle to their advantage, and when, frankly, they were routed by the Japanese. He describes the confusion, panic and fear that comes with not knowing where the enemy is at any moment. He also describes the effect of the country and lack of supplies and equipment, with underfed and poorly looked-after men suffering as much from disease and sickness as from the depredations of the enemy.

The third section of the book deals with the preparation and early phases of the New Georgia campaign. The landings on and around New Georgia were the first trial of the concept of amphibious landings and island fighting that was to dominate the rest of the Pacific War. White demonstrates in his description how the jungle made attack difficult, how the planning of this early campaign did not take into account the difficulty of the terrain, or the tenaciousness of the Japanese in defence. However, White does demonstrate how the overwhelming material advantage held by the United States was slowly being brought to bear on the fighting, and how this capacity was changing the thinking of the Commanders of those forces, and also the Commanders of the Japanese Forces.

This book has the status of a classic of the genre, and one can see why - as a description of the early fighting in the South Pacific, this is hard to beat. Recommended.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell