Warrior of Kokoda: A biography of Brigadier Arnold Potts

Warrior of Kokoda is the story of Brigadier Arnold Potts, a country farmer from Western Australia who led the Australian 21st Infantry Brigade on the Kokoda Track in 1942. He inspired Maroubra Force, outnumbered and outgunned, to bring the Japanese to a standstill on the ridges overlooking Port Moresby in a valiant fighting withdrawal. To this day, some regard him as “the man who saved Australia’.

However, instead of receiving the accolades of his commanders and the thanks of the nation, Potts was removed from his command shortly afterwards and sent to Darwin to ponder his fate. Many of the veterans of the Kokoda campaign regard this episode as a disgrace and an attempt to cover up the inadequacies of the Allied High Command. Others do not agree and believe that Potts was merely transferred, for quite legitimate military reasons. The controversy remains.

Warrior of Kokoda describes the action on the Kokoda Track and Brigadier Potts’s intimate involvement in it. It also reveals the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring between Prime Minister John Curtin, General Douglas MacArthur, and General Sir Thomas Blamey. Chicanery and heroism went hand in hand during those dark days.