Pacific and thereby denying its use to support their naval forces in the region. Although successful, it had not been well-managed, and the Australians had been effectively delayed by a few reserve officers and an under-trained Melanesian police force. They finally prevailed because of their unexpected ability to fight in close terrain, while their ability to outflank the German positions had unnerved their opponents. The Battle of Bita Paka was Australia's first major military engagement of the war, but it soon became little more than a sideshow in a conflict which grew to assume much greater proportions. Many men of the AN&MEF later volunteered for the AIF and served in Egypt, Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine and on the Western Front. A large number became casualties, including Holmes, who was killed in action in 1917. Apart from the very real human suffering of the Melanesian troops killed or wounded at Bita Paka, the reduction in German prestige due to the capture of German New Guinea, and the economic and property losses experienced by some German colonists during the occupation, the battle ultimately held little strategic significance for Germany. The fighting yielded few tactical lessons given the very different nature of the fighting there to that of the mass industrialised warfare which both the Germans and Australians experienced in Europe. Just as many Australians felt that "the real war was in Europe", most Germans were less concerned with battles in the colonies and more focused on the war at home. See also Battle of Rabaul (1942) Notes References Citations Sources Further reading Conflicts in 1914 1914 in German New Guinea Battles of the Asian and Pacific Theatre (World War I) German New Guinea East New Britain Province Battles of World War I involving Australia Battles of World War I involving Germany September 1914 events