Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.240.non-fictionMore than one quarter of the Australian soldiers chosen to land on Gallipoli at dawn on 25 April 1915 were Western Australians. Four years later, only one in four of them had escaped death or severe injury. But that morning, by climbing the cliffs under a hail of Turkish bullets, they won a permanent place in Australia's most celebrated national legend. At Gallipoli that was all any of the attacking troops won." "The British and French, whose armies also suffered heavy losses at the Dardanelles, regarded the campaign as nothing but a humiliating military disaster best forgotten. In Australia Gallipoli was hailed as 'the proving of a nation's soul' and the day of the landing became sacred.world war 1914-1918 - campaigns - gallipoli, australian army - soldiers - western australia

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.340.non-fictionIn March 1918, with the fear of a one-million-man American army landing in France, the Germans attacked. In response, Australian soldiers were involved in a number of engagements, culminating in the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and the saving of Amiens, and Paris, from German occupation. Then came General John Monash's first victory as the Commanding Officer of the newly formed Australian Corps at Hamel. This victory, and the tactics it tested, became crucial to the Allied victory after 8 August, the 'black day of the German Army'. On this day the major Allied counteroffensive began, with the AIF in the vanguard of the attack. The Australians, with the Canadians to the south and the British across the Somme to the north, drove the Germans back, first along the line of the Somme and then across the river to Mont St Quentin, Péronne and on to the formidable Hindenburg Line, before the last Australian infantry action at Montbrehain in early October. Fast-paced and tense, the story of The Last 100 Days is animated by the voices of Australian soldiers as they endured the war's closing stages with humour and stoicism; and as they fought a series of battles in which they played a pivotal role in securing Allied victory. Collapse summary world war 1914- 1918 - campaigns - western front, western front - australian participation - 1918

Index, bibliography, ill (col), p.172.non-fictionOn 7 June 1917, the British Second Army launched its attack on Messines Ridge, detonating 19 giant mines beneath the German front-line positions. By the end of the day, one of the strongest positions on the Western Front had fallen, a place of such importance that the Germans had pledged to hold it at any cost. It was the greatest British victory in three years of war. The first two years of the First World War had represented an almost unending catalogue of disaster for the Australians. Messines was not only their first real victory, it was also the first test in senior command for Major General John Monash who commanded the newly formed 3rd Division and would later be hailed as Australia's greatest soldier. Messines was a baptism of fire for the 3rd Division which came into the line alongside the battle-scarred 4th Australian Division, badly mauled at Bullecourt just six weeks earlier in one of the worst defeats of the war. The fighting at Messines would descend into unimaginable savagery, a lethal and sometimes hand-to-hand affair of bayonets, clubs, bombs and incessant machine-gun fire, described by one Australian as '72 hours of Hell'. After their string of bloody defeats over 1915 and 1916, Messines would be the ultimate test for the Australians. Collapse summary world war 1914-1918- campaigns - western front, battles of messines - australian participation - 1917

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.625.non-fictionIn the wake of the September 11th horror, nothing could be timelier than this exploration of world terrorism and the forces that fight it--armies and missions often shrouded in mystery. A foremost expert on guerrilla warfare presents, for the first time, a comprehensive investigation of covert military operations from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Among the revelations: that the CIA handed out shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles "like lollipops" to Osama bin Laden and other mujahadeen leaders, weapons they may now turn against us how British SAS operated inside Afghanistan against the Russians and used "former special forces" personnel for clandestine missions why secret militia and locally recruited fighters successfully defeated guerrillas and terrorists in Oman, Malaya, and Borneo, but could not in Indochina and Algeria and how "fighting dirty" sometimes meant helping drug dealers in exchange for their support. Most relevant is the detailed analysis of why Russia failed to conquer Afghanistan, what we can learn from their experience, and the perils awaiting any invader. special forces - operations - 20th century, special forces - operations - 20th century