Author: Peter Burness Publisher: DVA Anzac Portal ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 118
Book Description
Australians on the Western Front—1918 Villers-Bretonneux to Le Hamel is the fourth book in the Australians on the Western Front 1916-1918 series developed by the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
Author: John Laffin Publisher: ISBN: 9780864179708 Category : Le Hamel (Amiens, France) Languages : en Pages : 176
Book Description
The amazing and inspiring story of the capture of the German front line in July of 1918. It was the turning point of WWI, which came to a victorious end shortly after. Laffin is one of the world's most distinguished military historians and has written more than 60 books concerning war.
Author: Peter FitzSimons Publisher: Hachette Australia ISBN: 0733640095 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 409
Book Description
The Battle of Le Hamel on 4 July 1918 was an Allied triumph, and strategically very important in the closing stages of WWI. A largely Australian force, commanded by the brilliant Sir John Monash, fought what has been described as the first modern battle - where infantry, tanks, artillery and planes operated together as a coordinated force. Monash planned every detail meticulously, with nothing left to chance. Integrated use of tanks, planes, infantry, wireless (and even carrier pigeons!) was the basis, and it went on from there, down to the details: everyone used the same maps, with updated versions delivered by motorbike despatch riders to senior commanders, including Monash. Each infantry battalion was allocated to a tank group, and they advanced together. Supplies and ammunition were dropped as needed from planes. The losses were relatively few. In the words of Monash: 'A perfected modern battle plan is like nothing so much as a score for an orchestral composition, where the various arms and units are the instruments, and the tasks they perform are their respective musical phrases.' Monash planned for the battle to last for 90 minutes - in the end it went for 93. What happened in those minutes changed for the rest of the war the way the British fought battles, and the tactics and strategies used by the Allies. Peter FitzSimons brings this Allied triumph to life, and tells this magnificent story as it should be told.
Author: Peter FitzSimons Publisher: Random House Australia ISBN: 1742759521 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 786
Book Description
Across a 45-mile front, no fewer than two million German soldiers hurl themselves at the Allied lines, with the specific intention of splitting the British and French forces, and driving all the way through to the town of Villers-Bretonneux, at which point their artillery will be able to rain down shells on the key train-hub town of Amiens, thus throttling the Allied supply lines. For nigh on two weeks, the plan works brilliantly, and the Germans are able to advance without check, as the exhausted British troops flee before them, together with tens of thousands of French refugees. In desperation, the British commander, General Douglas Haig, calls upon the Australian soldiers to stop the German advance, and save Villers-Bretonneux. If the Australians can hold this, the very gate to Amiens, then the Germans will not win the war. 'It's up to us, then, ' one of the Diggers writes in his diary. .
Author: Aaron Pegram Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1108486193 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 285
Book Description
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.
Author: Dale Blair Publisher: Frontline Books ISBN: 1848325878 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 209
Book Description
In November 1918 the BEF under Field Marshal Haig fought a series of victorious battles on the Western Front that contributed mightily to the German armys defeat. They did so as part of a coalition and the role of Australian diggers and US doughboys is often forgotten. The Bellicourt Tunnel attack, fought in the fading autumn light, was very much an inter-Allied affair and marked a unique moment in the Allied armies endeavours. It was the first time that such a large cohort of Americans had fought in a British army. Additionally, untried American II Corps and experienced Australian Corps were to spearhead the attack under the command of Lieutenant General Sir John Monash with British divisions adopting supporting roles on the flanks. Blair forensically details the fighting and the largely forgotten desperate German defence. Although celebrated as a marvellous feat of breaking the Hindenburg Line, the American attack failed generally to achieve its set objectives and it took the Australians three days of bitter fighting to reach theirs. Blair rejects the conventional explanation of the US mop up failure and points the finger of blame at Rawlinson, Haig and Monash for expecting too much of the raw US troops, singling out the Australian Corps commander for particular criticism. Overall, Blair judges the fighting g a draw. At the end, like two boxers, the Australian-American force was gasping for breath and the Germans, badly battered, back-pedalling to remain on balance. Overall the day was calamitous for the German army, even if the clean break-through that Haig had hoped for did not occur. Forced out of the Hindenburg Line, the prognosis for the German army on the Western Front and hence Imperial Germany itself was bleak indeed.
Author: John Frederick Charles Fuller Publisher: London : J. Murray ISBN: Category : Armored vehicles, Military Languages : en Pages : 396
Book Description
This book presents the history of the British Tank Corps and the history of Great Britain's tanks. The author summarizes the campaigns of World War I emphasizing the role of the tanks during each of the battles.
Author: Les Carlyon Publisher: Picador Australia ISBN: 0330424963 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 879
Book Description
Winner of the inaugural Prime Minister's Prize for History, 2007The Great War is Les Carlyon's extraordinary account of the Anzacs on the Western Front from 1916 to 1918. This new Picador edition is designed to sit alongside a matching edition of Gallipoli, his other classic work on Australia's involvement in the First World War.Destined to become an Australian classic... "The Great War is a deeply moving monument to a generation and what they endured. Read this book and weep." (West Australian)"A remarkably lucid and powerful narrative... This is a seasoned writer at the height of his powers." (Courier Mail)"Monumental... An emotional journey back to the Western Front that is at times almost unbearably poignant... In The Great War Carlyon has succeeded triumphantly in bringing back to life the essential character of the men of the First AIF in France. The Australians who fought long ago at Mouquet Farm, Messines, Polygon Wood and Passchendaele have gone, but, thanks to Carlyon, they are still with us. To paraphrase Bean, The Great War will stand as a lasting monument to that body of great-hearted men." (The Australian)
Author: John Ramsland Publisher: Brolga Publishing ISBN: 1922036897 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 334
Book Description
'A flash blinds me... We are lost in a chaos of flying mud... Smoke, filth, confusion, racket! I spit and splutter and swear... Oh Christ! I think I'm flamin' well dead.' This is the compelling story of Lieutenant Joseph 'Darkie' Maxwell DCM, MC and Bar, VC - the second highest decorated Australian soldier of the First World War. Meticulously researched by historian John Ramsland, Maxwell's colourful life is traced from his childhood on the Hunter coalfields until his death at age 71 in a soldier's settlement home in Matraville Sydney. Maxwell was a vivid storyteller who wrote Hells Bells and Mademoiselles, telling of his experiences in the war. In telling Maxwell's story, Ramsland has uncovered many forgotten documents to piece together an extraordinary life of an extraordinary man.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: 9780648282402 Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
The Sir John Monash Centre is a multi-media interpretive centre situated alongside the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in France. Architecturally and conceptually innovative, the centre explores the story of the Australians who served on the Western Front during the First World War. This full colour soft cover edition documents the creation of the centre and gives the reader a window into the historical content that forms its core.
Author: Peter Burness
Author: John Laffin
Author: Peter FitzSimons
Author: Peter FitzSimons
Author: Aaron Pegram
Author: Dale Blair
Author: John Frederick Charles Fuller
Author: Les Carlyon
Author: John Ramsland
Author: