In mid-1942, Australian soldiers were hurled into battle against German forces at Ruin Ridge, little more than a railway siding in the North African desert.
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When reinforcements failed to arrive, about 490 men - many from the southwest - were captured, making it one of the worst front-line setbacks sustained by Australian troops in WW2.
Their trials and tribulations did not end there: a ship taking the prisoners to Italy, the Nino Bixio, was torpedoed by a British submarine.
It did not sink, yet more than 40 Australians were killed.
Among survivors were Ron Thom and George Hinson of Busselton.
Their extraordinary experiences are among those recorded in a new book, Busselton's War 1939-45 by Tim Blue, a retired journalist who grew up in the town.
In reality, men of the town and region were deeply involved, from flying bombers over Europe to infantry fighting on the ground in North Africa...
- Tim Blue
With Italy's exit from the war in September 1943, hundreds of Australian prisoners were set free, some to fight with partisans in Italy and others to try to re-join Allied units.
All endured hunger and injury, in displays of courage, indomitability and sheer guts as they struggled to outpace enemies.
As Tim says, stories of these times defy the idea that Busselton was a sleepy hollow in WW2 with little more than an airfield on the edge of town and a secret radar station out on Cape Naturaliste.
"In reality, men of the town and region were deeply involved, from flying bombers over Europe to infantry fighting on the ground in North Africa and on naval forces in the Mediterranean," he said.
All were steadfastly backed by women: "In Europe they nursed the wounded and dodged the bombs of the London blitz, while at home, they helped decode Japanese military secrets and kept the farm going to produce vital food for Australian and British fighting men and Americans in the Pacific."
The fall of Singapore in February 1942 saw another wave of captures: some 22,000 Australians went into Japanese prisoner-of-war camps in 1942 and 1943, among them several hundred from the 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion largely drawn from the southwest.
At first they worked on the Singapore docks, loading war loot on ships bound for Japan, until taken to work on the infamous Thai Burma railway where many would perish.
Among survivors were Noel 'Tex' Wells of Busselton and Ian Heppingstone of Ludlow.
All told, some 500 local men heard the call of the bugle in WW2.
The May family of Ludlow had six sons sign up, four in the Army and two in the RAAF. All would return safely, with one recognised for bravery with a Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Arthur and Margaret Hill - an indigenous Wadandi family - of West Busselton had three sons sign up: the oldest John joined the AIF, second son Harold joined the Royal Australian Navy and third son Roy the RAAF.
John would die of illness as a prisoner of war, Harold - captured after the sinking of HMAS Perth - would survive his imprisonment, and Roy would become a pilot flying Lancaster bombers over Europe.
These men have all since passed on, but their experiences are still fresh in the minds of families and etched in official records, gathered by Tim.
Busselton's War 1939-45 is available from Viva Books in Busselton and the Margaret River bookshop.
