The whole point of covert operations is that — well — they're covert. Unfortunately, this
means that covert, special forces operatives tend to miss out on the gratitude they might deserve.
While the Second World War may have come to an end in 1945, the veterans of one particular
Allied special forces unit swore never to speak of their heroic yet horrible exploits,
bottling up their suffering till the waning years of their lives. These men were bane of
the Japanese in the South West Pacific theatre, and they weren't opposed to working with literal
head-hunters to see their common enemy dead on the jungle floor. In this video, we shine some
much-needed light in the Australian-led special force known as Z Special Unit.
It's no secret that many of the world's special operations organisations have modelled themselves
after British spec ops, as was the case with the Australian Inter-Allied Services Department
or ISD, which, in typical spec ops fashion, underwent a series of administrative and
acronymic changes to become the Services Reconnaissance Department or SRD in 1943.
While it was still the ISD, a field unit was formed under its command,
designed to carry out intelligence, special reconnaissance, and sabotage operations, as well
as guerrilla warfare, against Imperial Japan in the South West Pacific. This was Z Special Unit.
While primarily a Vegemite-fuelled Australian force, Z Special Unit featured volunteers from
New Zealand, Britain, the Netherlands, and, while abroad, Indonesia too. Most of their
pre-deployment training, however, took place in Australia, most notably in Refuge Bay, Sydney;
Z Experimental Station, Queensland; and Fraser Island, Queensland, yet also in Western Australia
and the Northern Territory. And one of their trademark tools wasn't a gun but a folding kayak,
inside which many Z operatives would come to break their backs.
While Z Special Unit took on 264 missions in 81 covert operations between June 1942
and the end of the war, its operations in Queensland, Singapore, New Guinea,
and Borneo are among its most famous — or, more appropriately, infamous.
Yes, you heard that right — Z Special Unit did indeed operate in Queensland, Australia.
But they didn't go around blowing up bridges or anything. In reality, in preparation for a raid on
a Japanese-occupied port in New Guinea, Z Special Unit decided it would be a good idea to practice
on Australian naval vessels in Townsville Harbour. In the dead of night on the 22nd of June 1943,
they paddled into the harbour on folding kayaks and stuck magnetic limpet mines to the hulls of
ten ships before fleeing. Some hours after the rooster crowed the following morning, the sailors
in the harbour freaked out over the — unbeknownst to them — dummy mines. The mock operation was a
success, but it led to the arrest and subsequent discharge of Lieutenant Samuel Warren Carey from
Z Special Unit. The operation into New Guinea was also trashed, but for unrelated reasons.
What the Z operations learned in Townsville they put to good use in Singapore later that year.
By 1943, the Japanese had a firm grip on Singapore, an island stronghold vital to
Allied operations in the Pacific. While they held onto the island until the end of the war,
the Allies didn't make it easy for them. On the 2nd of September, 15 Australian and British Z
operatives left Western Australia in the MV Krait, a Japanese fishing boat renamed after a small
but highly venomous snake. They dyed their hair and skin dark and dressed themselves in sarongs,
meaning to pass as Indonesian fishermen, and arrived off Singapore just over three weeks
later. Unfolding their kayaks, they paddled to a nearby island from which they set Singapore
Harbour in their sights. On the night of the 26th, they pulled a "Townsville," yet this time
with very real limpet mines. The resulting blasts damaged or sunk four Japanese ships.
As Z veteran Douglas Herps put it, "They travelled thousands of miles in enemy occupied territory,
[then] got out of the boat and paddled canoes for [a] hundred miles into Singapore. [...] The
Krait was a little 70-foot boat and it sank more shipping than cruisers with 800 men on board."
But the success of the Krait and her sneaky crew was not an indication of successes come.
A year later, Z operatives tried a similar stunt, this time using a Malayan sailing ship to get them
closer and motorised submersible canoes nicknamed "Sleeping Beauties" to deliver their payloads.
Nearing Singapore Harbour, a Japanese patrol boat stopped them, detecting their ploy and
opening fire. The operatives scuttled their ship and escaped on kayaks. While some were able to
put some distance between them and their attackers and ultimately resume their mission, potentially
sinking three Japanese ships in Singapore Harbour, 13 Z Special Unit operatives were
killed immediately or lost their lives soon after. A further 10 were captured and beheaded. And this
wasn't like in Skyrim or whatever. Some of these beheadings took two to three blows to complete.
Disaster struck in New Guinea in 1945 as well, yet the Z operatives assigned to this mission showed
their mettle no less. Under the veil of night on the 11th of April, eight Z operatives disembarked
a patrol boat and started the long paddle to the shore of the Japanese-occupied Muschu
Island. The currents were strong that night, however, and the operatives ran into a reef,
losing some of their equipment to the waves. While they were able to get their feet on solid ground,
their gear had washed up on the shore, signalling their presence to the Japanese, who sent out
1,000 troops to hunt them down. Despite their training, there was little the Z operatives could
do [Text: Although, they did manage dismantle six Japanese machine gun posts and throw them into
the sea!]. All but one of them were slain. But one man did survive. Fighting off the Japanese
all by himself, one Sapper Edgar "Mick" Dennis, a hardened Australian commando, managed to
escape and get vital intel into Allied hands, contributing in no small part to the Allies'
success in the Aitape–Wewak campaign. Dennis survived the war as well, going on to say, "They
were hunting me and every time they got close I would knock the first few over and then go bush."
And on his bravery, he said, "I don't think it's born in you, it's not drilled into you, it is just
something that happens on the spur of the moment. You know what you are going to do and you do it."
While Singapore and New Guinea were terrible, Z Special Unit operations in Borneo were a complete
nightmare — even the successful ones. Between 1943 and 1945, Z operatives harried the Japanese
troops who were occupying Borneo and inflicting unspeakable suffering on the island's people.
As all good special forces should, Z Special Unit made effective use of their environment,
going as far to train and organise the indigenous natives to help them defeat their common enemy.
One of such operations was Operation Agas, in which 44 Z Special Unit operatives gathered
vital intel and trained indigenous natives for a guerrilla campaign against their Japanese
occupiers between March and October 1945. The intel they obtained clued the Australian 9th
Division into Japanese numbers and movements in North Borneo, ultimately allowing them to take
and secure it. The local guerrillas also managed to slay around 100 Japanese troops.
Among the Z operatives in Borneo was Aussie Jack Tredrea, known by his fellow operatives
as "Commando Jack." On his time in Borneo, where he was assigned to Operation Semut,
Jack said, "We did our jump into Borneo four months before the invasion to organise the
native population. [...] We trained 2,000 of them and when the invasion
came we had 32 operatives each with their own guerrilla force."
While Tredrea was quite active in the media in the waning years of his life, the story of Australian
Sergeant Fred Sanderson isn't so widely known. After parachuting into Borneo in March 1945,
he led some 500 head-hunting natives against the Japanese, earning himself a distinguished conduct
medal and the head-hunters under his charge more than 100 enemy heads. On his experience,
Sanderson said, "I was always thinking what it was going to be like when
I was hunted. I always thought the Japanese would get me one day."
But all of these heroic exploits were swept under the rug, coming to light only
decades after the end of the war. As Commando Jack put it, "[...] When we were discharged
out of Z Special Unit the operatives had to sign a secrets act. [...] It was not until
1980 at a national reunion in Melbourne that we knew what the next guy did."
So what do you think? Had you heard of Z Special Unit before this video?
How hard do you think it would have been to stay quiet about the war
for more than 30 years? Lastly, can you think of any other operations in
which Z operatives participated? Please share your thoughts in the comments.