Kanga Force

Kanga Force
A section of 'C' Platoon, 2/5th Independent Company, marching along a jungle track, west of Bulwa in the Bulolo Valley.(AWM Photo).
Active	April 1942 – April 1943
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Composite force
Role	Guerilla operations
Size	700 men at full strength (450 effectives)
Engagements	World War II
Battle honours	No battle honours were awarded
Commanders
Notable commanders	Norman Lawrence Fleay

Kanga Force was the name given to a composite ad hoc formation of the Australian Army that served in New Guinea during World War II. Commanded by Major Norman Fleay, it was formed on 23 April 1942. Made up of elements from the 1st and 2/5th Independent Companies and the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (NGVR), Kanga Force conducted a number of small scale raids and reconnaissance operations around Lae and Salamaua before it was disbanded and the individual units became part of the Australian 3rd Division in 1943.

In April 1942 a decision was made by the Australian Army high command to form a guerilla unit, known as Kanga Force, whose job it would be initially to conduct a reconnaissance of Japanese troops at Lae and Salamaua and then later to start a limited offensive to harass and destroy enemy personnel and equipment in the area. With this in mind, the reinforcement platoon of the 1st Independent Company which had sailed to Port Moresby on the Macdui and renamed Independent Platoon Port Moresby under the command of Captain Howard, was sent to reinforce the NGVR, who were at the time the only Allied troops in the Wau-Bulolo area.

In May 1942, following the completion of the Battle of the Coral Sea, General Thomas Blamey and American General Douglas MacArthur agreed that it was time to launch the limited offensive that they had agreed upon. As a part of this offensive, MacArthur requested that ground raids be initiated against Lae and Salamaua to destroy enemy installations and, if possible, to occupy the airfields. On 12 May, Major Norman Fleay, was appointed to command Kanga Force and was ordered to concentrate in the Markham Valley, in order to launch a surprise attack on Lae and Salamaua.