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In many ways the 25th Battalion’s experiences were the complete opposite ofthe 61st’s campaign. It arrived in the south later, after a dramatic unit victory inthe central sector. Although it was never rested in the same manner as the 9thBattalion, it was fortunate to have been on the coastal flank of the advance anddoes not seem to have experienced the difficulties encountered by the 61st or9th Battalions. From mid-March onwards it fought a succession of company andbattalion actions, suffered heavy casualties and was then rapidly withdrawn. Inessence, its primary experience of combat was one of high-intensity, short-durationaction where men had little option but ‘to do or die’. In comparison, the 61st’s waron Bougainville was dominated by sustained patrolling, often uneventful but stillstraining. This suggests that it is misleading to measure battle exhaustion only interms of frequency of battle, number of friendly casualties and kills inflicted on theenemy. Less dramatic exposure to the stresses of the combat zone, over a longertimeframe, could result in breakdown just as easily as more recognisable causes.McKinna features strongly in the March and April battles, and undoubtedlyhis leadership contributed greatly to the battalion’s successes. He was well forwardduring the attacks on 19 and 22 March, personally led the relief party to hisisolated forward companies on 31 March, and was instrumental in coordinatingthe defence of Slater’s Knoll on 5 April. At one point in late March his reconnaissancegroup was contacted and captured a prisoner, light machine gun, sword andsome documents.231 It is difficult to disagree with Dexter’s assessment that he wasa ‘top soldier’, or with Long’s observation that the CO ‘had led his battalion withgreat skill and coolness’.232 Field also felt that McKinna ‘has done a magnificentjob’.233 Given that it was the 25th Battalion that had delivered nearly all of thebrigade’s most dramatic results it is difficult to see how he could have thoughtotherwise. This admiration seems to have been reciprocated. McKinna’s unit reporton operations concluded its general comment by saying:231 ‘25 Aust Inf Bn Report on Operations in South Bougainville 16 January to 14 April1945’, pp. 18–19, 21–23, 25 Infantry Battalion War Diary, January–April 1945, AWM52, Item 8/3/63; ‘Operations in the Puriata River Region, Part 1’, 19 May 1945, pp.7–8, 10, AWM 54, Item 613/6/47; ‘Operations in the Puriata River Region, Part 2’, 24May 1945, pp. 9, 11, AWM 54, Item 613/6/47.232 Dexter, ‘The Battalion – My Home’, p. 167, AWM PR01182; Long, The FinalCampaigns, p. 163.233 Field’s diary, 4 April 1945, AWM 3DRL6937, Item 7.A tale of three battalions — 53