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, notes, ill, maps, p.548.non-fictionPearl Harbour. Kokoda. The fall of Singapore. Curtin's fight with Churchill. The bombing of Darwin. The Battle of Midway. POWs. Kamikaze. Hiroshima. These words alone are enough to convey the terror, courage and drama of the Pacific War, when the balance of power stood on a knife-edge and when the future of Australia herself was on the brink - threatened by Japanese aggression on one hand and British apathy on the other. Until now the history of the Pacific War has largely been written from the American perspective. Now, for the first time, Peter Thompson places Australian voices and action at the heart of a struggle that took an unimaginable number of lives and only ended with the unleashing of the most powerful weapon the world had ever seen. Pearl Harbor; The fall of Singapore; Curtin's fights with Churchill; The bombing of Darwin; POW camps; The battle of Midway; Kokoda; Buna; Kamikaze pilots; Hiroshima. These words alone are enough to convey the terror, courage and drama of the Pacific War, when the balance of power stood on a knife-edge and when the future of Australia was on the brink - threatened by Japanese aggression on the one hand and British deception on the other. After a conflict that took an unimaginable number of lives and ended with the unleashing of the most powerful weapon the world had ever seen, the Allies emerged victorious. Australia, however, was criticised by Churchill and his generals for showing cowardice in the face of the enemy and for not caring about the fate of other nations. The endorsement of these claims by several military historians today shows that the smear has not gone away. Until nowworld war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – pacific, world war 1939 – 1945 – australia

p.287.non-fictionA story of the jungle and the sea, of man against nature and man against man... Green Armour is the courageous story of fighting men in the swamps and jungles of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. From the earliest days of forlorn hopes to the large-scale, well-organised attacks by land, sea, and air this terrifying first-hand account is distilled from the bloody, despairing experiences of the Australian and American forces in the early days of the Second World War.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – kokoda, world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – solomon islands

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.109.non-fictionBombing of Darwin - Includes glossary of World War II Australian slangworld war 1939-1945 - australia - northern territory, air raids - darwin

Index, ill, maps, p.732.non-fictionDescribes the part played by Australian airmen in the first four years of the war in Europe and the Middle Eastworld war 1939-1945 - aerial operations - australia, royal australian air force

Bibliography, ill, map, p.305.non-fictionThe riveting true story account of a young WW2 pilot's heroic journey, illustrated throughout with fascinating photographs, maps and excerpts from his log books.world war 1939 – 1945 – aerial operations - britain, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia

Ill, p.303.non-fictionAll over the world during World War II, thousands of young men who had never so much as been near an aeroplane left offices, farms and classrooms to learn to fly and fight in the greatest conflict the world has ever seen. They fought over deserts, cities and jungles, in-single-engine fighter aircraft, heavy bombers, transport planes and flying boats. How do they feel about their dramatic days in the air? What is it they remember, and what do they choose to forget? In these candid and moving stories, Michael Veitch, writer, broadcaster and aeroplane fanatic, uncovers some of the untold stories of World War II: Australian, British and even German. He captures the events that defined a generation of men before these stories are lost forever. world war 1939 – 1945 – aerial operations - australia, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia

Map, p.272.non-fictionAn account of Chindit operations in Burma from the perspective of an ex RAF pilot.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – burma, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia

Ill, p.330.non-fictionThis book is based on the personal recollections of Air Vice Marshal JE Hewitt during the Pacific campaigns.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – papua new guinea, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia

Index, ill, p.190.non-fictionThe biography of Joe Leach and his exploits in World War twoworld war 1939 – 1945 – aerial operations - australia, joe leach - biography

Ill, maps, p.203.non-fictionPacked with interesting anecdotes this book brings to life events that have escaped or have been overlooked about Australian military historyworld war 1939 – 1945 – aerial operations - australia, catalina - seaplane

Ill, p.140non-fictionStories of daring and heroism of men who beat the odds during RAAF air operations in World War two.world war 1939 – 1945 – aerial operations - australia, raaf - air pilots - biographies

Ill, p.372.non-fictionAction Stories of the ANZAC Navy.world war 1939 – 1945 – naval operations - australia, anzac navy

Ill, p.148.non-fictionA personal reminisces of a crewman sailing on HMAS Perthworld war 1939 – 1945 – naval operations - australia, hmas perth

Index, bibliography, ill, p.159non-fictionEighteen days before Pearl Harbour and Japan opens fire on Australia. The RAN's cover-up of the action that sank HMAS Sydney on the 19th November 1941 has been a public scandal for decades. Here is the first book to explain how Churchill and Roosevelt sacrificed the Sydney and the US Pearl Harbour fleet.world war 1939 – 1945 – naval operations - australia, hmas sydney

Index, ill, maps, p.686.non-fictionThis volume tells briefly the story of the Royal Australian Navy and of Australian naval policy between the wars, and then records the part played by the ships and men of that Navy on every ocean and particularly in the eastern Mediterranean and Indian and Pacific Oceans from 1939 until the end of the first quarter of 1942. When the volume ends most of the surviving ships are on the Australia Station again and the Japanese fleets dominate half the Pacific Ocean and the seas to the north of Australia. The [author] describes not only the actions of the Australian ships but the problems and policies of the British fleets of which they often formed a part, and discusses the strategical and administrative questions encountered by the senior leaders in Australiaworld war 1939 – 1945 – naval operations - australia, royal australian navy - history

Bibliography, ill, p.48.non-fiction50th anniversary commemorative issue of the sinking of HMAS Sydney world war 1939 – 1945 – naval operations - australia, hmas sydney

Ill, p.88.non-fictionA guide to Australia's war heritage. To provide opportunities for future generations to understand, investigate and value these experiences, we must ensure that the significant material relating to Australia's war heritage is preserved.war memorials - australia - conservation and preservation, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia

Ill, p.210.non-fictionAn account of the author's experiences in two World Wars, as a Sergeant Major in a machine gun battalion and as a prisoner of the Japanese in Java, Singapore and Thailand. world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia, prisoners of war - australia

Ill, p.266.non-fictionStory of the Malayan Campaign of 1942 and subsequent captivity in the hands of the Japanese from a private soldier's point of view. world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners - japanese, prisoners of war - australia

Ill, p.115.non-fictionThis book is based on documents, photographs and maps preserved in the records of the Australian war memorial, and on the experiences of the author.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, burma thailand railway

Index, ill, p.141.non-fictionGeorge Aspinalls photography hobby during captivity has resulted in a unique visual diary.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, changi prison

Ill, maps, p.223.non-fictionWith sixteen other POWs, author Charles McCormac broke out from his POW camp in Japanese-occupied Singapore and began a two-thousand-mile escape from Singapore, through the jungles of Indonesia to Australia. The POWs' escape took a staggering five months and only two out of the original seventeen men survived. This is McCormac's compelling true account of one of the most horrifying and amazing escapes in World War Two. It is a story of courage, endurance and compassion, and makes for a very gripping read.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, prisoner of war escapes - singapore

Index, notes, ill, tales, p.175.non-fictionThe reminiscences of Australian POW's and Japanese historians at a meeting 50 years after the war ended on the Burma Thailand railway.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, burma - thailand railway

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.376.non-fictionAfter Singapore fell to the Japanese in early 1942, 70000 prisoners, including 15000 Australians, were held as POWs at the notorious Changi prison. To amuse themselves, a group of sportsmen created an Aussie Football League, complete with tribunal, selection panel, umpires and coaches, a final game, and a Brownlow Medal.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, changi prison - singapore

Ill, p.400.non-fiction The bestselling memoir of life as an Australian POW on the notorious Thai-Burma railway. Rohan Rivett was a journalist in Singapore when it fell to the Japanese in 1942. He escaped south - across the treacherous Bangka Strait - to Indonesia, but was soon captured and became just one of thousands of POWs struggling for existence in a Japanese camp. The struggle was to last for more than three years. Behind Bamboo is unflinching in its honesty and haunting in its realism. It is a vivid, compelling testament to the Australians' will to survive and their unassailable spirit in the face of the most callous inhumanity.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, burma - thailand railway

p.220.non-fictionThe story of an Australian soldier who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau.world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia, prisoners of war - australia

Ill, p.157.non-fictionCreated by the Australian War Memorial, this book is an online companion to a travelling exhibition that explores the lives of those who were held captive by the Japanese. It describes what happened during the time these individuals spend months and years behind barbed wire, hungry, bored, cold, and sick. The book tells the story of how many survived and why they deserve our respect and understanding. world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – australia, prisoners of war - australia - pictorial works

Notes, index, bibliography, maps, p.463.non-fictionValiant for the truth charts Wilmots exceptional life as he reported key events of the twentieth century.world war 1939-1945 - journalists - biography, wilmot chester 1911-1954

Index, bibliography, ill (b/w), p.185.non-fictionA description of Albert Coates and of his imprisonment as a prisoner of the Japanese in Sumatra, Burma and Thailandprisoners of war - australia, world war 1939-1945 - personal narratives - australia