The Cowra Breakout (1984)

In the early hours of August 5, 1944 1100 Japanese prisoners launched a mass breakout from a P.O.W. camp near the small New South Wales town of Cowra.

Armed with the most primitive of weapons, they charged over the barbed wire into Australian gunfire. 334 actually escaped. Twenty Japanese had already committed suicide within the compound. Another 180 odd died during the breakout itself along with 4 of the Australian guards.

The breakout at Cowra was the largest prison break in history and the only land battle fought on Australian soil in two World Wars. The full story of Cowra was not revealed for more than 30 years. It remains one of the most bizarre and least understood episodes in the bitter history of the Pacific War.