Lost Battalions

The narrative highlights the bravery of Australian soldiers from the 2/3 Machine-Gun and 2/2 Pioneer battalions, who were redirected to Java to confront the superior Japanese forces instead of returning home. Condemned by political leaders, they faced a futile battle alongside Dutch troops before being forced into surrender. Captured, they endured three and a half years of brutal conditions as prisoners of war, with many families left in despair over their fate. The survivors later played crucial roles in war crimes trials against their captors.