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.620.non-fictionUsing hundreds of brutally honest and extraordinary eyewitness accounts of the diggers in the muddy and bloody trenches, Western Front Diaries reproduces their private diaries, letters and postcards to tell of their heart-rending experiences, battle by bloody battle. Includes a gallery of previously unpublished photographs.world war 1914-1918 - campaigns - western front, world war 1914-1918 - personal recollections

Index, bibliography, ill (maps), p.248.non-fictionThis abridged edition of the bestselling 'Fromelles' includes the recent discovery of the largest mass war grave since the Second World War, the recovery of the missing Diggers' remains and the names of those who have been identified, as well as the opening of the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery in 2010.world war 1914 - 1918 - campaigns - western front - fromelles, war graves - france

Index, notes, bibliography, ill, p.298.non-fictionIn the hands of Peter Stanley, one of Australia's leading military historians, a famous battlefield in France becomes unforgettably connected with Australian men and their families in the long aftermath of the Great War.australian army - 21st battalion - 9 platoon - history, world war 1914-1918 - 2nd battle of the somme

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.287.non-fictionAustralia's long-standing love affair with the Diggers has blinded us to the dark side of the Anzac legend. This book tells the story of the Australian soldiers in the Great War who were not heroes, soldiers who committed offences and crimes, those who deserted, robbed and murdered their comrades and more.australian army - imperial force - 1914-1921 - history, australian army - military deserters - 1914-1921

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.211.non-fictionA chance discovery made on a tour of Anzac Cove provided an immediate link between Gallipoli and Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs. In the lead up to the Centenary of Anzac, ‘The Sweetland Project’ (named after a Box Hill man, Stephen Sweetland) became a broader search for the connections between Gallipoli and the former Shire of Nunawading, revealing 27 men from the former shire who died during the Gallipoli campaign. This book traces their stories and the reaction to the Great War of the local community, and shows how personal and collective memories of their experiences still resonate today.world war 1914-1918 - campaigns - gallipoli, gallipoli campaign - personal recollections

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.222non-fictionRepublished to coincide with the new ITV film, My Boy Jack? starring Daniel Radcliffe, this is the full account of the tragic life of John 'Jack' Kipling. On 27th September 1915 John Kipling, the only son of Britain's best loved poet, disappeared during the Battle of Loos. The body lay undiscovered for 77 years. Then, in a most unusual move, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) re-marked the grave of an unknown Lieutenant of the Irish Guards, as that of John Kipling. There is considerable evidence that John's grave has been wrongly identified.john kipling - 1897-1915, soldiers - great britain - biography

Index, notes, ill, maps, p.222.non-fictionIt would be hard to find anyone better qualified the "Sally Home of the "11th Hussars to tell the story of the Cavalry on the Western front during the First World War.soldiers - great britain - biography, world war 1914-1918 - western front - cavalry corps

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.187.non-fictionThe biography of Capt George Ingram VC, MM, the last Australian VC recipient of the First World War. From country childhood in Bagshot and Seville to a gunner with the Australian Garrison Artillery and the Tropical Force's Matupi Battery. He then served with the 24th Battalion AIF on the Western Front where he was awarded the Military Medal and the Victoria Cross. After the war he became a soldier settler, an original Shrine Guard and during World War Two he served with the Royal Australian Engineers. Throughout his life he carried the physical and mental scars of his service in the war.soldiers - victoria - biography, george ingram - biography

Bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.245.non-fictionRetrace Australia's role in the First World War from the trenches of Somme Mud to the wider war on the Western Front. Imagine this. You are a country boy and just eighteen. The war has been raging for two years and because of your age, you have not been eligible for enlistment. Your mates, older by a few months are joining up and disappearing to the great adventure across the world in Europe. And there is forever talk of the need for reinforcements, for men like you to join up and support the Empire, Australia and your mates in the line. Such was the case for Edward Francis Lynch, a typical country boy from Perthville, near Bathurst. When war was declared in early August 1914, he was just sixteen and still at school, but like a generation of young males in Australia, there was something to prove and a need to be there. Will Davies, editor of the bestselling Somme Mud, meticulously tracked Lynch and his battalion's travels; their long route marches to flea ridden billets, into the frontline at such places as Messines, Dernancourt, Stormy Trench and Villers Bretonneux, to rest areas behind the lines and finally, on the great push to the final victory after August 1918. In words and pictures Davies fills in the gaps in Private Lynch's story and through the movements of the other battalions of the AIF provides impact and context to their plight and achievements. Looking at these battlefields today, the pilgrims who visit and those who attend to the land we come to understand how the spirit of Australia developed and of our enduring role in world politics.world war 1914-1918 - personal narratives - australia, western front 1914-1918 - australian participation

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.448.non-fictionFollows Australia's participation through nine wars and the battles from 1860 Maori Wars to Long Tan Vietnam.australia - armed forces - history, australia - history

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

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.278.The Victoria Cross was the highest award, given only for a single act of valour. Just 90 Australians have been awarded it since they served with the British forces in South Africa in the late nineteenth century. And only four Australians have been awarded the George Cross, the ultimate medal for civilians in time of war. From Neville Howse in the Boer War in South Africa in 1900 to Keith Payne in Viet Nam in 1969 this book tells the story of twelve Australian recipients of the Victoria and George Crosses.military decorations - australia, george cross recepients - australia

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.134.non-fictionMany Australians, in a typically Australian fashion, recall Gordon Bennett as "the bloke who shot through and left his troops at Singapore". Whether this is a fair assessment or not, there is no doubt that General Gordon Bennett's escape from Singapore in February 1942 left an ineradicable mark on Australia's military and legal history, and that the rights and wrongs of his actions will be debated forever. world war 1939-1945 - campaigns - singapore, capitulations - military

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.271.non-fictionIn 1941 in the midst of the British military defeats in Greece and the Middle East, a bitter conflict was taking place between two of the most charismatic leaders of the time. Robert Menzies and Winston Churchill were engaged in a war of polite public faces and behind the scenes lobbying and manipulationaustralia - foreign relations - great britain - 1939-1945, world war 1939-1945 - diplomatic history

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.288.non-fictionReaping the Whirlwind offers amazing insight into the events of World War II through the eyes of those who fought against the Allied forces in all theatres of the war. Readers will comb through many previously unpublished accounts of the war from German, Italian and Japanese soldiers, civilians and military leaders. The book covers every major arena of the war: Europe; the German invasion of Russia; Rommel's Afrika Korps; and the Pacific war between Japan and forces of the US, Australia and New Zealand. Reaping the Whirlwind uses the authentic voices of Germans and Japanese people caught up in the conflict and highlights the similar deprivations and dangers experienced by both victors and vanquished. world war 1939-1945 - participation - germany, world war 1939-1945 - participation - japan

Index, bibliography, notes, maps, p.524.non-fictionIn the middle of the 20th century the Nazi and Soviet regimes starved, shot and gassed, 14 million people in the zone of death between Berlin and Moscow ... today's Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, western Russia and the eastern Baltic coasteastern europe - history - twentieth century, massacres - eastern europe - twentieth century

Index, bibliography, notes, maps, p.857.A portrayal of the Red Army's epic struggle to drive the German army from its territory and to then invade the Reich and reach Germanyworld war 1939-1945 - eastern front, stalin joseph 1879-1953

Index, bibliography, maps, ill, p.173.non-fictionThe German army in the Second World War sought to fight and win swift, decisive victories in a succession of short campaigns - blitzkrieg, or lightning war. Flexibility was as essential as the will to win. Battle groups, or shock troops, were created from miscellaneous, and often disparate military units to undertake a specific local operation; it was the army's skill in combining superior numbers, aggressive tactics and the battle group commander's ability to exploit the changing situation on the ground which brought success on the battlefield.

The actions described here cover all theatres of the war, and include battle groups large and small, deployed usually to smash a breach in the enemy line or seal off an enemy penetration. It covers operations in the first dynamic years when Wehrmacht forces defeated the armies of one European country after another in fast campaigns, through to the years after Stalingrad and Africa as they moved towards defeat. 

The battle groups' contribution to Wehrmacht fortunes offer powerful lessons in the tactics of battle management and this book by James Lucas, a military historian known for his close studies of the German soldier, is considered to be one of the most detailed and authoritative accounts on the subject. Collapse summary germany - armed forces - history, germany - regimental histories

Index, bibliography,ill, maps, p.192.non-fictionThe battles of the Waffen-SS in various theatres are described in detail.waffen ss - history, world war 1939-1945 - armed forces - germany

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.396.non-fictionThe Victors is a breathtaking new work from bestselling historian Stephen E. Ambrose. It follows the momentous events of the war from D-Day, 6 June 1944, through to the final days when the Allied soldiers pushed the German troops out of France, chased them across Germany, and, on 7 May 1945, destroyed the Nazi regime. -- back cover. world war 1939=1945 - campaigns - europe, world war 1939-1945 - us involvement

Index, notes,ill, maps, p.655.non-fictionOn the basis of 1,400 oral histories from the men who were there, Eisenhower biographer and World War II historian Stephen E. Ambrose reveals for the first time anywhere that the intricate plan for the invasion of France in June 1944, had to be abandoned before the first shot was fired.operation overlord, world war 1939-1945 - campaigns - france

Index, bibliography, ill,maps, p.250.non-fictionThis evocative and vivid portrait of fighter pilots investigates the motivations of the few that flew during the Battle of Britain.fighter pilots - great britain, battle of britain 1940

Index, bibliography, ill, plans, p.528.non-fictionAn account of a little known aspect of the Battle of the Bulge: the air war over the Ardennes in 1944 and 1945world war 1939 to 1945 - aerial operations - france, battle of ardennes 1944-1945

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.224.non-fictionTimothy Hall tells the real story of Tobruk, the follies and bravery, the unexpected humaneness of both sides, the mutual respect of opposing armies locked in siege warfare and their common enemy - the North African desert.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – north africa, siege of tobruk

Index, notes, ill, maps, p.413.non-fictionAn account of the Kokoda campaign in 1942 with the Japanese side also described in some detailworld war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – kokoda, kokoda trail - new guinea

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.179.non-fictionAn extraordinary story of a small force defeating a much larger one. It is the tale of 550 men of the 39th Militia Battalion. In eight short and brutal weeks, these soldiers slowed, and eventually stopped the advance of 6000 experienced Japanese troops.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – kokoda, australian army - 39th battalion

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.141.non-fictionTraces the campaign in the Pacific in detail, from its conception through the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It brings a new clarity to the disposition of military units in all major battles and to the complicated web of strategic problems posed by fighting over such a huge area. Special map projections, perspective views and sophisticated treatment of time phases recreate the action from both Allied and Japanese viewpoints. Includes more than 60 full-color maps combining topographical detail with troop movements. world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – pacific ocean, world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – pacific ocean - maps

Index, bibliography,ill, maps, p.310.non-fictionIn the last months of 1944, a group of elite Australian and British commandos was selected for the biggest Allied behind-the-scenes operation of the Pacific War. Their mission: to devastate the enemy's shipping by destroying the Japanese ships at anchor in Singapore Harbour. Operation Rimau, Britain's last throw of the colonial dice in South-East Asia, was intended as a body blow to the Japanese and a signal to the world that she would reclaim her Eastern Empire. Britain was trying to reclaim past glory - while Australia's wartime prime minister, John Curtin, had turned to America. In this atmosphere, Operation Rimau was planned ... Operation Rimau takes us inside the fierce conflict, and tells what really happened to these brave commandos - from the very beginnings of the operation through to their intense and courageous fighting in the South China Seas, and its aftermath. It exposes the sloppy planning behind the raid, and names the officers who betrayed and abandoned them in their hour of need, and details the political double-dealing which for so many years hid the real story behind red tape and bureaucratic lies.world war 1939-1945 - covert operations - australia, krait (ship)

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.73.non-fictionA comprehensive guide to the first Japanese attacks on Darwin on 19th February 1942, written by Dr Tom Lewis, OAM. An essential reference work on this controversial subject that includes a full list of those killed as well as other detailed appendices. It also includes fascinating information on what wartime sites are still accessible in and around the northern capital. Originally published in 1999, until recently it has mainly been available only in Darwin itself.world war 1939-1945 - air raids - darwin, world war 1939-1945 - aerial operations - japan