Title: The men who came out of the ground
Description: "It was early 1942 ... The seemingly all-conquering Japanese military forces had rolled over south-east Asia ... Only a few hundred [Australian] men remained in Timor. These soldiers, the 2/2 Australian Independent Company - Sparrow Force - were all that stood between Japanese forces and Papua New Guinea. A Special Forces unit set up to fight a different kind of war, many were bushmen and crack shots, and all were trained to fight behind enemy lines. Mobilising the support of the locals, the 2/2 Company avoided pitched battles, instead picking just the right time to strike ... Always greatly outnumbered but relentless in their harassing campaign of skirmishes and ambuishes, Sparrow Force tied down thousands of Japanese in a fierce guerilla war - not just matching them but beating them"--Publisher's description.
Subjects: Dutch Participation, Campaigns, Underground movements, World War, 1939-1945, Australian Participation, History, Military and warfare
Places: East Timor, Indonesia
Time periods: Japanese occupation, 1942-1945