Cowra POW Camp, 1 July 1944. Japanese POWs practicing baseball near their quarters, several weeks before the Cowra breakout. On 5 August 1944, at at least 545 Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from a camp in Cowra, and over 200 died. The Cowra breakout occurred when 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from the prisoner of … Continue reading On This Day In Australia: In 1944, over 200 Japanese POWs died after a mass escape attempt in Cowra