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Anzacs in the Middle East: Australian soldiers, their allies and the local people in World War II   Written by: Mark Johnston, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 2013, ISBN: 9781107030961, 255 pp   Reviewed by: Tristan Moss, PhD student, Australian National University During the first half of the Second World War, three Australian divisions and thousands of support troops played an important role in the war against Italy and Germany. Over a period of three years, Australian soldiers campaigned or were …

Defense Acquisition Reform 1960–2009: An Elusive Goal   Written by: J. Ronald Fox, Center of Military History United States Army, Washington, D.C., 2011, ISBN: 9780160866975, 268 pp.1   Reviewed by: Scott Richardson, Land Warfare Studies Centre As may be expected, a book entitled Defence Acquisition Reform 1960–2009: An Elusive Goal is unlikely to attract a wide audience of avid readers. An account of United States (US) Department of Defense efforts at procure-ment reform compiled by J. Ronald Fox, a …

The Battle for Lone Pine: Four Days of Hell at the Heart of Gallipoli   Written by: David W. Cameron, Viking, 2012, ISBN: 9780143572114, 386 pp   Reviewed by: Dr Karl James, Australian War Memorial Built on the heart of the old battlefield, Lone Pine Cemetery on Gallipoli Peninsula is today a place of contemplation and reflection. It contains the remains of over 1100 Commonwealth servicemen including 182 Australians killed in the area, mostly during August 1915, and who are known or believed to be buried …

Hell’s Battlefield: The Australians in New Guinea in World War II   Written by: Phillip Bradley, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2012, ISBN: 9781743317556, 506 pp   Reviewed by: John Moremon, Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Massey University Close to 20 years ago, Peter Stanley, the respected and industrious historian who nowadays heads the Centre for Historical Research at the National Museum of Australia, declared that there was a ‘green hole’ in Australian military historiography. He noted that the …

Exit Wounds: One Australian’s War on Terror   Written by: Major General John Cantwell (Retd) with Greg Bearup, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2012, ISBN: 9780522861785, 374 pp   Reviewed by: Dr John Blaxland, Senior Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre Wow! This book is hard to put down. At first I was a bit reluctant to purchase a copy, assuming from the cover that the book was a little self-indulgent. After all, Major General John Cantwell had a dream career and one that many others …

Listed below is a select group of books recently or soon to be published that either contribute to the discussions initiated in the articles in the Australian Army Journal or on subjects that may be of interest in the near future. Some of these books may be reviewed in forthcoming editions of the Journal . John R. Ballard, David W. Lamm and John K. Wood, From Kabul to Baghdad and Back: the US at War in Afghanistan and Iraq , Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2012, 408 pp. Ballard et al. examine the US …

The Kokoda Campaign 1942: Myth and Reality   Written by: Peter Williams,  Cambridge, Melbourne, 2012,  ISBN: 9781107015944, 304 pp   Reviewed by: Lieutenant Colonel Gavin Keating, SO1 Amphibious Development, Deployable Joint Force Headquarters Mythology plays an important role in the way that societies frame their histories and this is particularly true for the profession of arms. Australia’s military history offers numerous examples of this phenomenon — Breaker Morant, the landings at Gallipoli, the Rats …

The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power   Written by: Hugh White,  Black Inc, 2012,  ISBN: 9780199684717, 208 pp Reviewed by: Andrew O’Neil, Professor in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University and Director of the Griffith Asia Institute After a period in which numerous observers claimed that relations between states were becoming a secondary consideration with the rise of globalisa- tion and its symptoms such as jihadist terrorism, geopolitics has returned to …

Abstract The evolving lethality and accuracy of weapon systems in the battlespace should drive dismounted combat platoons to continually modify Tactics, Techniques and Procedures in order to mitigate threats. Implementation of Manoeuvre Support Section down to Company and Platoon level combined with improving communication systems offer new opportunities for dismounted combat platoons to disperse and manoeuvre sub units far more effectively than ever previously seen. This article examines the ways in which …

Abstract The RAA role in Afghanistan provided an opportunity to demonstrate and refine the artillery capability after decades of doubt over its future. Its Afghanistan experiences have enabled the RAA to evolve, refining, enhancing and reinforcing what is a crucial role. With the imminent conclusion to the Australian commitment in that theatre, the RAA will reconstitute and reorientate towards providing an invaluable capability for Army in future conflicts; this capability, however, may be entirely …