Australia's official First World War correspondent Charles Bean saw more of the Australian army's activities and battles on the Western Front than anyone. Bean's private wartime diaries, held by the Australian War Memorial, form a unique and personal record of his experiences and observations throughout the war and were the basis of his monumental twelve-volume official war history. While his diaries relating to the Gallipoli campaign have been published in four editions, Bean's Western Front diaries are published here for the first time, edited by esteemed historian Peter Burness, and accompanied by over 500 incredible photographs, sketches and maps.
Joint winner: Prize for Australian History, 2015 Prime Minister's Literary Awards This award-winning biography is a long overdue reassessment of the iconic Australian war correspondent 'The book I have enjoyed most in recent times has been Ross Coulthart's on the great war correspondent Charles Bean' - Peter FitzSimons, Sun Herald 'Fascinating biography ... strongly recommend it' Hon. Malcolm Turnbull via Twitter Charles Bean's wartime reports and photographs mythologised the Australian soldier and helped spawn the notion that the Anzacs achieved something nation-defining on the shores of Gallipoli and the battlefields of western Europe. In his quest to get the truth, Bean often faced death beside the Diggers in the trenches of Gallipoli and the Western Front - and saw more combat than many. But did Bean tell Australia the whole story of what he knew? In this timely new biography, Ross Coulthart investigates the untold story behind Bean's jouralistic dilemma - his struggle to tell Australia the truth but also the pressure he felt to support the war and boost morale at home by suppressing what he'd seen. '[Bean] had an obsession with recording the truth and Coulthart has lived up to his legacy in this superb biography' - Tim Hilferty, Adelaide Advertiser 'This is among the best biographies of an Australian historian available, fittingly released during the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the events Bean meticulously recorded.' - Justin Cahill, Booktopiablog
Paperback reprint of a classic military history of Australia's part in WWI, first published in 1946. The author was an official war correspondent with the Australian Imperial Force and edited the 12-volume official history of Australia's fighting services. This book is a condensation of that official history, and describes major campaigns and strategies, as well as giving a brief political, social and industrial background. Includes maps and an index.
'He was a highly accomplished and absolutely fearless combat photographer. Wounded many times and even buried by shellfire, he always came through. At times he brought in the wounded, at other times he supplied vital intelligence of enemy activity. At one point he even rallied troops as a combat officer. His war record was unique.'-- General Sir John Monash, commander, Australian Army Corps Cameras were banned at the Western Front when the Anzacs arrived in 1916, prompting correspondent Charles Bean to argue continually for Australia to have a dedicated photographer. He was eventually assigned an enigmatic polar explorerâe%--âe%George Hubert Wilkins. Within weeks of arriving at the front, Wilkins' exploits were legendary. He went 'over the top' with the troops and ran forward to photograph the actual fighting. He led soldiers into battle, captured German prisoners, was wounded repeatedly, and was twice awarded the Military Crossâe%--âe%all while he refused to carry a gun and armed himself only with a bulky glass-plate camera. Wilkins ultimately produced the most detailed and accurate collection of World War I photographs in the world, which is now held at the Australian War Memorial. After the war, Wilkins returned to exploring and, during the next 40 years, his life became shrouded in secrecy. His work at the Western Front was forgotten, and others claimed credit for his photographs. InThe Unseen Anzac, Jeff Maynard follows a trail of myth and misinformation to locate Wilkins' lost records and reveal the remarkable, true story of Australia's greatest war photographer.
Charles Bean was the Australian who was appointed the official war correspondent with the Australian Imperial Force troops in 1914. He landed at Anzac Cove in 1915 and he remained there for most of the campaign, enduring the same squalid conditions as the soldiers. In this diary we are provided with the innermost thoughts, hopes and criticisms of a man who helped shape the Anzac legend.
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 first book in 90 years dedicated to the daring and courage of the airmen and mechanics of the Australian Flying Corps - a tale of a war fought thousands of feet above the trenches from which only one in two emerged unscathed.
On 21 September 1918, with retreating German forces on their last legs, the 1st Battalion of the AIF was ordered to return to the front just as they were being relieved and preparing for a well-earnt rest. It wasn’t just the Germans who were on their last legs; the Australians were depleted and exhausted. In what was the largest such instance of mass ‘combat refusal’ in the AIF’s history, the men of one company in the 1st Battalion defied the order. The ‘mutiny’ spread to other companies, and when the battalion did eventually comply with the order, over 100 men were absent. The circumstances surrounding this mutiny have long been a matter of embarrassment for the AIF, and of fascination for military historians. While historians have approached the issue in purely military terms – the men as soldiers, over-extended service, rates of wounding, promotions, and so on – this book approaches these 100 plus men as human beings. Mutiny on the Western Front traces how these events played out in the context of the exhausting demands placed upon a unit that had seen practically continuous front-line action for weeks, if not months, in the war’s final, decisive stages. Author Greg Raffin considers what happens to men’s hearts and minds in the course of a prolonged conflict like the Great War. This story, which will surprise readers – is not just about a group of exhausted and war weary Australian soldiers in 1918, it is a story about humanity in war: about what men do in war, and what war does to men.
