The AIF in Battle
The AIF in Battle

Author: Jean Bou

Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing

Published: 2016-06-13

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0522868665

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By the end of the First World War the combat formations of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in both France and the Middle East were considered among the British Empire’s most effective troops. While sometimes a source of pride and not a little boasting, how the force came to be so was not due to any inherent national prowess or trait. Instead it was the culmination of years of training, organisational change, battlefield experimentation and hard-won experience—a process that included not just the Australians, but the wider British imperial armies as well. This book brings together some of Australia's foremost military historians to outline how the military neophytes that left Australia's shores in 1914 became the battle winning troops of 1918. It will trace the evolution of several of the key arms of the AIF, including the infantry, the light horse, the artillery, and the flying corps, and also consider how the various arms worked together alongside other troops of the British Empire to achieve a remarkably high level of battlefield effectiveness.

Battle Scarred
Battle Scarred

Author: Craig Deayton

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-03-07

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 1921941251

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"The dead and wounded of the 47th lay everywhere underfoot". With these words Charles Bean, Australia's Official War Historian, described the battlefield of Dernancourt on the morning of the 5th of April, 1918, strewn with the bodies of the Australian dead. It was the final tragic chapter in the story of the 47th Australian Infantry Battalion in the First World War. One of the shortest lived and most battle hardened of the 1st Australian Imperial Force's battalions, the 47th was formed in Egypt in 1916 and disbanded two years later having suffered one of the highest casualty rates of any Australian unit. Their story is remarkable for many reasons. Dogged by command and discipline troubles and bled white by the desperate attrition battles of 1916 and 1917, they fought on against a determined and skilful enemy in battles where the fortunes of war seemed stacked against them at every turn. Not only did they have the misfortune to be called into some of the A.I.F.'s most costly campaigns, chance often found them in the worst places within those battles. Though their story is one of almost unrelieved tragedy, it is also story of remarkable courage, endurance and heroism. It is the story of the 1st A.I.F. itself - punished, beaten, sometimes reviled for their indiscipline, they fought on - fewer, leaner and harder - until final victory was won. And at its end, in an extraordinary gesture of mateship, the remnants of the 47th Battalion reunited. Having been scattered to other units after their disbandment, the survivors gathered in Belgium for one last photo together. Only 73 remained.

Legs-Eleven
Legs-Eleven

Author: Captain Walter C. Belford

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2023-02-15

Total Pages: 678

ISBN-13: 1781496315

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For Australia the First World War remains the most costly conflict in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of which over 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner. In general terms with Australian unit histories the quality of authorship is very good, most of them share the common strength of making plentiful mention of the individual officers and men who served, fought, died, was wounded, or taken prisoner, or who came safely home at the end of it all. They are a prime source for genealogists and military historians.

The Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force

Author: Jean Bou

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780195576801

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The Great War came at a terrible cost, be it in human, material or financial terms. For the young Commonwealth of Australia the raising, sending and maintenance of an expeditionary force that eventually totalled 330,000 men was a massive undertaking. This book examines the fruit of this endeavour, the Australian Imperial Force. In doing so it seeks to outline and analyse the institution from its inception to its disbandment after the war. The book considers the creation of the force, the way that it expanded, the organisation of its fighting units and formations, how it used its human resources, its command and its administration. It also draws on up-to-date statistical information drawn from the AIF Database, a database created as part of a long-term research project undertaken at the University of New South Wales Canberra (located at the Australian Defence Force Academy).

History of the 15th Battalion Aif 1914-1918
History of the 15th Battalion Aif 1914-1918

Author: Lieut T. P. Chataway

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9781845748685

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"This Bn was raised in September 1914 With volunteers from Queensland and Tasmania. It followed the familiar trail of so many other Australian units of that period - Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Flanders. The 1915 actions at Quinn's Post, Hill 971, and Suvla Bay, are well described, as are the bitter actions of 1916-1918 on the Western Front. An excellent history of a Bn which suffered, in total, 1200 killed and 2500 wounded. It also gained an exceptional number of awards, including one VC. Many individuals are named in the narrative. Roll of Honour(with dates causes and locations) Honours and Awards, and unit nominal roll complete this history"--Publisher description.

The Battle for Shaggy Ridge
The Battle for Shaggy Ridge

Author: Phillip Bradley

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Published: 2021-08-31

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 1761062638

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An enlightening re-examination of an important campaign following the experiences of the men from both sides. 'You climb and climb . . . This is the field of battle . . . tonight some of us will be dead . . . You'll never forget Shaggy Ridge.' - Shawn O'Leary From the killing ground of Kaiapit to the treacherous heights of the Finisterre Range, for four months in 1943-44 the Australian army fought to drive the Japanese from their mountain strongholds. The most formidable position was the fortress-like Shaggy Ridge, its steep sides rising sharply to a knife-edge crest where battle was joined on a one-man front. Based on the accounts of over a hundred Australians, Americans and Japanese who served on, around and over the ridge, The Battle for Shaggy Ridge tells the story of this extraordinary struggle for control of the Ramu Valley in New Guinea.

Surviving the Great War
Surviving the Great War

Author: Aaron Pegram

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1108486193

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Surviving the Great War is the first detailed analysis of Australians in German captivity in WW1. By placing the hardships of prisoners of war in a broader social and military content, this book adds a new dimension to the national wartime experience and challenges popular representations of Australia's involvement in the First World War.

In Great Spirits
In Great Spirits

Author: Archie Barwick

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780732297183

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An Aussie soldier's diary of the first World War - by turns compelling, illuminating, funny, touching and sad - and absolutely unputdownable. Archie Albert Barwick was an enthusiastic young 24 year old when he joined the First AIF in late August 1914 - his service number was 914. When he learnt that he'd been accepted into the army, he was so happy he turned two somersaults for pure joy. this is his diary, that he kept throughout the war - from Cairo to Gallipoli, from Marseilles through to the terrible winter of 1916 in the Somme, from Ypres to Pozieres. He was wounded three times and sent back to the fighting, before finally travelling back home in December 1918. this diary is simply a treasure - vivid, alive, compelling. His description of the war is by turns down-to-earth, horrifying, illuminating, funny, touching and terribly sad. Yet his voice and personality shine through. In his diary, Archie describes someone as being 'merry & bright & never downhearted' and this could be a description of Archie himself. Readable, spirited and humming with life, In Great Spirits is a unique and incredibly moving tribute to the Australian character and the ANZAC spirit.