Kokoda Trail History
The Kokoda Commanders
September 1942

On 10 September Porter relieved Potts south of Menari. With one of its battalions separated in the withdrawal the 21st Brigade now numbered 300 men, but was being reinforced by the 3rd Battalion (militia). Under enemy pressure, Porter withdrew to Ioribaiwa where he was joined by the first elements of the AIF 25th Brigade. On 14 September Brigadier Ken Eather, commander of the 25th Brigade, took over from Porter. While Porter had commanded twice briefly on the Kokoda Trail, his real contribution was the training of the first two militia battalions that fought there.

Brigadier Eather (aged 41) was a militia officer who had commanded the 2/1st Battalion in the first Libyan campaign in 1941. Rowell had a "lot of faith in Eather", whose battalions were fit, well-trained and experienced. But on 15 September Eather informed Allen that in the face of the enemy's superior strength he had decided to withdraw to Imita Ridge, about 40 kilometres by air from Port Moresby.

Allen ordered him to fight every inch of the way. In his renowned book Retreat from Kokoda, Raymond Paull records that Allen said to Eather, "There won't be any withdrawal from the Imita position, Ken. You'll die there if necessary. You understand that?" In an interview in 1974, Eather could not recall these words, although as he said, the telephone line was "weak and spluttering". Rowell told Allen that further withdrawal was out of the question and that "Eather must fight it out at all costs".

In fact, the Japanese were at the end of their tether. Sent forward with the minimum of supplies, for the first time they were under Australian artillery fire. On 18 September, following reverses in the Solomon Islands, the Japanese high command ordered its force on the Kokoda Trail to withdraw to the north coast.

Although the tide had now turned in favour of the Australians, Eather's final withdrawal had far-reaching consequences. General MacArthur had been unfairly criticising the performance of the Australian soldiers in the mountains. He now persuaded the Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, to order General Blamey to New Guinea, where he was to take command. By the time Blamey arrived on 23 September the position had stabilised. When on 28 September the 25th Brigade launched a major counter-attack it found that the Japanese had abandoned their position. But it was too late to save Rowell. On 29 September Blamey relieved him of command - more a result of personal differences than because of any inadequacy in Rowell's command.

On 3 October Blamey, MacArthur and Lieutenant General Edmund Herring (who had replaced Rowell) travelled to Owers' Corner at the beginning of the Kokoda Trail to watch the AIF 16th Brigade begin its trek into the mountains following the 25th Brigade as part of the Australian counter-offensive. With them went the headquarters of the 7th Division. Major General Allen, short, heavily built, aged 48, put a pack on his back and headed into the mountains to command the two brigades now being deployed forward.

A militia officer and accountant in civilian life, Allen had commanded a platoon, company, and battalion in the First World War. He had commanded the 16th Brigade in Libya and Greece in early 1941 before taking over the 7th Division in the Syrian campaign. Gavin Long described him thus: "Blunt in speech, honest as the day, choleric yet kindly, completely without affectation or pomposity, he was a leader of a kind that appeals immediately to Australians."

Within days Allen began complaining that he did not have sufficient supplies to deploy his forces fully. His leading brigade, the 25th, was moving cautiously, on limited supplies, meeting fierce Japanese defences in difficult jungle terrain. Allen was determined to avoid unnecessary casualties. Bypassing the chain of command - Herring was nominally Allen's superior - Blamey asserted that the supplies had been despatched and that Allen was to 'press the enemy with vigour. If you are feeling strain personally relief will be arranged." Allen was incensed and replied that he "never felt fitter nor able to think straighter". But MacArthur was pressing for a rapid advance, and Blamey sent further orders urging Allen to move quickly.

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