PNG (Papua New Guinea) joined World War II in 1939 as a result of being a territory of Australia, which was a member of the British Empire. Following Japan's entry into the war and its subsequent expansion into the Pacific, PNG was directly threatened by Japanese forces. The Japanese launched an invasion of Papua in July 1942, leading to fierce fighting on the Kokoda Track and other areas of PNG. This forced PNG to actively participate in the war in order to defend its territory and support the Allied forces.
