"Across the years, history books and high school lessons have repeated the stories of a Japanese invasion plan, foiled only by the diggers' desperate efforts on the Kokoda Trail and the United States' naval victory in the Coral Sea. An imaginary "Brisbane Line" was drawn to represent Australia's second line of defence against the approaching hordes.
The trouble is, someone forgot to tell the Japanese. The only real invasion plan appears to have existed in the minds of the Australian public.
Japan never seriously intended to invade Australia, a fact known to the Australian Government by mid-1942 and confirmed by intelligence reports.
There was no Japanese plan before 1942 to advance beyond the initial perimeter they aimed to conquer in the Pacific. Australia barely rated a mention in the 1941 conferences where Japan's strategy was planned.
In early 1942, some middle-ranking Japanese naval officers proposed invading Australia to prevent it from being used as a base for Allied counteroffensives. However, the Japanese Army dismissed this idea as "gibberish", knowing it would weaken their forces in China and Manchuria.
The Japanese Navy General Staff also rejected the invasion plan, as they did not have the shipping capacity to support such an operation.
While the Japanese did conduct some reconnaissance flights over Australia and a small landing party investigated the Kimberley region, there was never any serious intention or plan to attempt a full-scale invasion and occupation of the Australian mainland.
The Japanese strategy was focused on securing their newly conquered territories in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, not on attempting to conquer the distant and resource-poor Australian continent.
In summary, the search results indicate that while there was some discussion of invading Australia among certain Japanese military officers, there was never an actual plan or intention to do so. The Australian mainland was not a strategic priority for the Japanese during World War II.
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The Japanese fleet was steaming towards Port Moresby in New Guinea with the objective of capturing and occupying the city.
Operation MO was the Japanese plan to capture and occupy Port Moresby, the capital of the Australian territory of New Guinea. Once the city was occupied, the Japanese planned to set up a naval base there and cut off the lines of communication between Australia and the United States to prevent the United States using Australia as a military base.
