Canny Mackenzie

Under cover of the firefight, the warriors crossed the river and started harrying the Japanese mortar positions, not just with rifle fire, but with crossbows unseen in the jungle. The Japanese started to retreat as the paratroopers, now armed with Owen submachine guns, followed the retreat.

The native porters, who had been carrying the Japanese supplies had sat down and were deliberately ignored by both sides. The warriors persuaded them to resume their loads and carry them to the camp by the airstrip. The porters were worried that the Japanese would take reprisals on the women and children but over the next two days all three tribes successfully evaded the Japanese and all joined Canny's tribe, Apart from the paratroopers, Canny now had one hundred and thirty New Guinea warriors who wanted to kill Japanese, and thanks to the captured supplies, enough to feed them all for a year and rifles for everyone including the women and older children.

Canny now had two major problems. The first? Before the Japanese had invaded the four tribes had been rivals for territory and women. They had been fighting each other for decades and didn't see why they should stop. Sandra and Canny talked to the four headmen and arranged a temporary truce which couldn't last long.

The second? There were now about four hundred people in one place next to the old landing strip. That would be a tempting target for the Japanese. Canny asked for and got three more sets of paratroopers, one unit to work with each tribe and dispersed. But Canny had to coordinate their efforts and spent many days walking through the jungle escorted by his women guides.

They were having a real effect on the Japanese supply chain. The front-line troops were short of food, ammunition and most importantly medical supplies. About half the Japanese front-line troops were out of action because of malaria, dysentery and just hunger compared with only about twenty per cent of the Allied forces.

Canny devised another way of impeding the Japanese. He used his empty lager cans to make improvised mines filled with scrap metal from his forge or at worst he used stones from the riverbeds. He interspersed them with cans filled with inflammable gel which would burn the soldiers' bare legs.

He got the paratroopers to make accurate maps of the area. He marked the minefields, placed on choke points on the trials leading to the Kokada Track. The tribesmen monitored the advance and harassed them with silent crossbows, or if the Japanese were in force, the paratroopers would join in with their Owen guns. Over the three weeks after laying the minefields, no Japanese supplies had been able to reach the Kokada Track through the area of Canny's operations by land and apart from using longer and more difficult routes everything had to be air-dropped but the Allies were gradually gaining control of the air. The Japanese were gradually being forced back but the Allied supply train was also having difficulties, not from their enemies but just from the terrain until they were able to establish airstrips along the Track.

The inconclusive Battle of the Coral Sea had stopped the Japanese resupply by sea, jeopardising their troops even more. The effect on Canny was that the Japanese sent out large patrols to attack his men and he lost about twenty tribesmen and six paratroopers but the Japanese lost hundreds in exchange. Sandra was ecstatic. She had killed over fifty Japanese which she felt might be ample restitution for the loss of her husband and children. But every night she rode Canny unmercifully, more so if she had killed some Japanese during that day. Although he was fit, Canny was getting tired from walking through miles of dense jungle by day and having to satisfy his wife every night.

When the Allies landed on North Guinea and started mopping up the Japanese the Australian authorities decided that Canny and his operation had come to an end. They asked him to complete the airstrip so that he and the paratroopers could be evacuated by air. It took two weeks to make the airstrip usable and the Japanese had bombed it twice ineffectually.

Finally Canny, Sandra and the remaining paratroopers left the jungle for Port Moresby. The tribesmen would continue to harass the retreating Japanese but Canny urged them to be cautious. The Japanese were desperate and would lash out if attacked. Even so, over the next month the tribesmen managed to kill another fifty Japanese and also force them towards the advancing Allied troops until all Japanese had either left New Guinea or were dead.

On arrival in Port Moresby, Canny and Sandra were greeted as heroes. Canny was promoted before being immediately retired with a couple of medals. Sandra got medals too before resuming her duties at the base as a senior nurse, but not until after she and Canny were married in the garrison church. Sandra insisted that that night was the first of another honeymoon and Canny had to sleep most of the next day, but now he was retired and out of the jungle he was able to satisfy his wife better than he had been able to do when on active duty.

After the war, they returned to Australia where Canny and Sandra took over running of the Nature reserve when Canny's father finally retired. They were too old to have children but Sandra had many nephews and nieces who enjoyed being taught stalking skills by their uncle, getting closer to wildlife than any of their friends could do.

Canny and Sandra lived long, quiet and happy lives even if they kept reminding themselves of their experiences in New Guinea. Every time they did, Canny had to demonstrate that he was still fit enough to satisfy his wife in bed.

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