At the very end of World War Two, Australian soldiers were sent to Borneo to dislodge the occupying Japanese Forces. The story of their brutal fighting was largely forgotten by their own compatriots, who never understood why they went in there in the first place.

It was one of the largest amphibious landings of the whole war, and what followed was months of brutal fighting on an island that was both a hell and a paradise.

The operation was called Operation Oboe, and it was one of the most successful military campaigns Australia has ever been a part of.

But the men who fought there were never celebrated upon their return home.

They were forgotten amid all the questioning of whether all the fighting and dying on Borneo needed to happen in the first place.

Author Michael Veitch happened upon this forgotten story of Australians at war in the most unlikely of circumstances involving a trivia night and a grumpy older man.

Borneo: The Last Campaign - Australia's brilliant, controversial end to World War Two is published by Hachette.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores war, battles, history, modern history, occupation, fighting, death, grief, men at war, brothers in arms, US military, military history, Japanese, Germany, Nazis, allied forces, AUKUS, ANZAC, axis powers, Russia, General MacArthur, great war, fighting, leopards, Borneo, rubber, oil, resources, surrender, books for dad, Christmas books, history books.

To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Pay attention — writer Emily Maguire finds promiscuous curiosity and cultural receptivity in the creative process

Big Ideas

Q&A: static works versus live performance

The AI-powered Podcast Player