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Abstract The laws of war have always been complex and open to interpretation due to their international nature. While the Rome Diplomatic Conference saw the creation of a single international criminal code that has since been adopted by 106 different states, there is still room for significant interpretation within even this legal regime. This article argues that, in the heat of battle, when powerful instincts for self-preservation cloud the soldier’s judgment, ADF personnel may simply be incapable of …

Abstract This article lays down the author’s experiences commanding RTF-3’s Security Task Group in Afghanistan during 2007 and 2008. From a significant study of the Mujahideen and Taliban prior to his deployment, the author was able to determine eleven tactical principles that guided the employment of his forces, and they are provided in this article for the benefit of future commanders. The author points out that his eleven principles, and his experience of employing them, clearly proved the enduring …

The wording might have changed a little since Chinese general Sun Tzu brushed ‘ The Art of War ’ in circa sixth century BC, but the meaning today is clear enough: Know thy enemy and know thyself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know thyself but not thy enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not thyself, wallow in defeat every time. 1 If you argue that an enemy never harboured desires for your soil, one would think that, had you the opportunity, you would go to the sources of the …

Chief of Army’s address to US Army Land Power in the Pacific symposium, 10 April 2013 Lieutenant General David Morrison, AO It is indeed a great honour to address this conference which has drawn together representatives of the land forces from many nations across the Asia-Pacific — or perhaps, as it is coming to be more accurately described, the Indo-Asia- Pacific region. I am going to talk about strategy and, not surprisingly, Clausewitz will receive several passing mentions. I intend to offer a view as …

On the eve of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the Australian Army Journal completed a series of interviews with former senior leader- ship and senior soldiers to compare their observations on the Army post- Afghanistan with that of the post-Vietnam era. Former Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the Army, Warrant Officer Peter Rosemond, CSC, OAM (retd) describes the Army as he knew it in the Vietnam era and comments on what he regards as the challenges facing the current army post-Afghanistan. …

On the eve of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the Australian Army Journal completed a series of interviews with former senior leader- ship and senior soldiers to compare their observations on the withdrawal from Afghanistan with that of Vietnam. Former Deputy Chief of Army, Major General Ian Gordon, AO (retd), discusses what he regards as the challenges facing a modern army compared with those of over 30 years ago and begins with a descrip- tion of the Vietnam-era army. Major General Gordon: The …

In its deliberations earlier this year, the Editorial Advisory Board decided to split the Chauvel Prize and make an award for the best article published in each issue. We hope and intend that this will encourage more readers to consider writing for the Australian Army Journal. The winners for 2014 accordingly are: Captain Nathan Mark, ‘The Increasing Need for Cyber Forensic Awareness and Specialisation in RA Sigs’, (Winter) Lieutenant Colonel Martin White, ‘Operational Security in the Digital Age: Who is …

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Churchill’s Mavericks: Plotting Hitler’s Defeat     Written by: Giles Milton John Murray Publishing, 2016,  ISBN 9781444798951, 356pp, Reviewed by: Lieutenant Colonel Matt Patching The use of sabotage in war is often something westerners associate with the enemy: dirty tricks that are outside the rules of ‘gentlemanly’ warfare. That was certainly the view of the British polity in the late 1930s. Despite this view, a small and carefully selected group of men and women …

War, Strategy and History. Essays in honour of Professor Robert O’Neill   Edited by: Daniel Marston and Tamara Leahy,  ANU Press, 2016,  ISBN: 9781760460235, 312 pp, Reviewed by: Lieutenant Colonel Mark O’Neill War, Strategy and History is an apt title for this Festschrift honouring the influential career of soldier, strategist and historian, Professor Robert (‘Bob’) O’Neill. From Intelligence Officer of the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR) in South Vietnam in 1966–67; to involvement with …

Margins of Victory   Written by: Douglas Macgregor Macgregor, D (2016) Margin of Victory , Annapolis: Naval Institute Press ISBN: 9781682476901, Reviewed by: Major Mick Cook, Army Headquarters A battle can determine the outcome of a war. The outcome of a battle can be determined by decisions made decades earlier. The reform program that Sir Richard Haldane began to impose on the British Army in 1905 enabled it to hold the line at the Battle of Mons in 1914. General Kazushige Ugaki was able to implement a …