It is more than fifty years since the Second World War and lives are still being affected by its outcomes; yet few know the story of the war and even fewer are well informed about the battles which the Australian Army fought and for which battle honours were awarded.
This book provides a concise history of the war, which is valuable in itself and even more so as the backdrop to the story that the book tells of the hundred-odd 'honoured' battles which the Australian soldiers fought.
Much fighting takes places in a war, but only major segments are classed as battled and only certain battles are distinguished by the award of battle honours. The numerous volumes of the official history of the Australian Army in the Second World War, whilst excellent works, are too daunting for most Australians; moreover they do not identify the 'honoured' battles and the units which received the honour.
The story of these battle honours needed to be told, and this book so in a short and readable way. It will appeal not only to hose of the war generation but to those younger who should be encouraged to understand the events that have helped to shape their lives.
Importantly, the book includes a register of the battle honours and of the units which received the honours.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Preface
List of Maps
Army Organisation
Battle Honours
Introduction
A Warning
The Road to War
The Early Says (September 1939-March 1940)
Norway and Denmark (April-June 1940)
The Fall of France (May-June 1940)
The British Commonwealth Stands Alone (July 1940-March 1941)
North Africa (August 1940-March 1941)
The Battle of the Atlantic (September 1939-July 1941)
Greece (October 1940-April 1941)
North Africa, the Retreat to Tobruk (February-April 1941)
Crete (May-June 1941)
Syria and Lebanon (June-July 1941)
North Africa, the Defence of Tobruk (April-December 1941)
The German Invasion of Russia (June-December 1941)
Iran (August 1941)
The Russians Counter-Attack (December 1941-March 1942)
The Infamous Entry of Japan (December 1941-February 1942)
Further Japanese Conquests (January-May 1942)
In the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (December 1941-June 1942)
North Africa, Rommel Strikes Again (January-July 1942)
The Russians are Pressed and the Allies Help (April-August 1942)
The Turn of the Tide in the Pacific (March-October 1942)
Papua, the Kokoda Trail (June-November 1942)
The Beginning of the End in North Africa (August-November 1942)
Papua, Buna, Gona and Sanananda (November 1942-January 1943)
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Lybia (November 1942-January 1943)
Russian Victories and Defeats (November 1942-April 1943)
Burma (December 1942-May 1943)
Tunisia (January-May 1943)
The Fifth Priority, the Pacific and the Far East (January-August 1943)
On the Sea and in the Air (January-August 1943)
Sicily, Italy and the Dodecanese (July-November 1943)
The Russian Front (July-December 1943)
New Guinea, the Lae and Finachhafen Operations (September-November 1943)
New Guinea, in the Ramu Valley (September-December 1943)
A Slow Advance in Italy (October 1943-January 1944)
The Tehran Conference (November-December 1943)
New Guinea, on to Sio (November 1943-January 1944)
Further American Offensives in the Pacific (November 1943-February 1944)
The Sinking of the 'Scharnhost' (December 1943)
The Battle of Berlin (November 1943-Mark 1944)
New Guinea, The Advance to Saidor and in the Finisterres (January-April 1944)
Continued Russian Advances (January-May 1944)
Italy-Rome at Last (February-August 1944)
Burma (February-August 1944)
Further Advances in the Pacific (February-September 1944)
The Normandy Landings (June-September 1944)
The V-1 and V-2 (June 1944-May 1945
The Russians Keep Their Promise (June-August 1944)
Northern Italy (July-December 1944)
Germany's Allies Desert (September-December 1944)
The Russians' Autumn Offensive (September-December 1944)
The Return to Burma (August 1944-January 1945)
Return to the Philippines (October 1944-January 1945)
The Germans' Ardennes Offensive (December 1944-January 1945)
The Russians Drive into Germany (January-February 1945)
The Unnecessary Campaigns (September 1944-April 1945)
Bougainville (September 1944-March 1945)
New Britain (November 1944-August 1945)
New Guinea, Aitape Towards Wewak and Inland (October 1944-May 1945)
The Allies Cross the Rhine (January-March 1945)
The End in Burma (January-August 1945)
Nearing Japan (February-August 1945)
The End in Europe (March-May 1945)
The End in Bougainville (May-August 1945)
Borneo, the Last Campaign (May-August 1945)
The Atomic Bomb and the End of the War (June-August 1945)
Epilogue
The Register of Battle Honours and Recipients
Bibliography
Index
