5 August

 

In the largest prison breakout of World War II, more than 1,100 Japanese prisoners of war tried to escape from the POW camp near Cowra, in New South Wales, Australia.

Over 300 managed to escape the compound, but all were either killed or rounded up within 10 days of the escape. In addition to being the largest breakout it was also one of the bloodiest with 4 Australian and 231 Japanese soldiers dying.