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The Australian Army’s Past, Present and Future Do not try to do too much with your own hands. Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly. It is their war, and you are to help them, not to win it for them. Actually, also, under the very odd conditions of Arabia, your practical work will not be as good as, perhaps, you think it is. [1] TE Lawrence, August 1917 Introduction [2] The public release of the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) in April 2023 and National Defence Strategy (NDS) in …

Land Power’s Contribution to the Integrated Force Introduction Australia is on the precipice of the most significant change in military strategic policy since the end of the Cold War. The 2023 Defence Strategic Review (DSR) recommended the Australian Defence Force (ADF) ‘maximise the deterrence, denial, and response options for the Government’ by evolving into an ‘integrated force’ that harnesses effects across all domains’. [i] The 2024 National Defence Strategy (NDS) advances this direction by …

How the Australian Army Can Harness the Firepower Advantages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Introduction Since 2011, the world has undergone a Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) which has heralded worldwide advances in artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and robotic technologies. [1] These disruptive technologies are gradually altering the character of warfare towards what AI entrepreneur Amir Husain describes as ‘hyper war’, where battles are waged entirely at machine speed. [2] The question of …

The Social Identity Foundations of Military Leadership Group affiliation and identity are key themes in Anthony King’s rich and extensive analysis of military cohesion and performance The Combat Soldier . [1] King argues that understanding operational performance depends crucially on understanding the nature of ‘collectives’. He shows how longstanding practices in military doctrine and training aim to enhance group cohesion by shaping affiliation and identity, so that the execution of orders by soldiers …

The Defence Strategic Review (DSR) was a call for action, which bluntly stated that we have seen ‘the return of major power strategic competition, the intensity of which should be seen as the defining feature of our region and time’. [1] Yet the DSR offers little insight into the nature of the competition that is being advanced by regimes such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and others. Terms such as ‘grey zone’, ‘irregular warfare’ and ‘proxy warfare’ simply do not appear in the DSR, even though …

An Interview with Lieutenant General (Retired) Francis Hickling …

The Landings in Normandy* WAR in the desert had been described as “The tactician’s paradise—and the quartermaster’s hell,” a saying that must tank crews would have been quite prepared to endorse without bothering unduly how “The Q” felt about it—always excepting, of course, the vexed question of “The Bigger Gun,” War in Normandy was about equally exasperating for everybody. Before studying the problems of armour in the planning, and the initial battles, it is worth while to summarize the enemy’s …

THE designs of dress for the Post War Army have been announced and, as is to be expected with something that is right next to a man’s skin, a great deal of interest and discussion have been aroused. The success of the new uniforms and the reaction of the soldier to them will depend not only on the garments themselves but also upon his understanding of the methods used in arriving at the final decisions. Those whose own views have been confirmed will, no doubt, be quietly satisfied, but those who had wanted …

Introduction A cursory perusal of the Principles of War listed in Army Training Memorandum No. 53 (February — March, 1948), may lead to the supposition that the Chiefs of Staff in the United Kingdom have altered some of the old principles and introduced some new ones. Reflection, however, will show that all they have done is to re-state the well known and generally accepted principles in more precise terms, and to underline certain factors which, under the conditions of modern war, require emphasis. It …

PROMOTION examination for officers of the Regular Army will be introduced as from June, 1949.  To assist candidates for both promotion and Staff College entrance examinations, part time courses will be arranged by Commands and Military Districts. It must be appreciated, however, that the raising of the Citizen Military Forces, and the increase in training activity generally, will throw a heavy burden on formation staffs. Time simply will not permit them to run comprehensive and lengthy examination classes …