Search
Using the filters to the left, click your selection, it will become bold and filter the results, click it again to remove that filter.
Book Review: From the Somme to Victory: The British Army’s Experience on the Western Front 1916–1918
From the Somme to Victory: The British Army’s Experience on the Western Front 1916–1918 Written by: Peter Simkins Pen and Sword, 2014, ISBN 9781781593127, 256pp Reviewed by: Brigadier Chris Roberts (Ret’d) AM, CSC This excellent book contains eight essays previously written by the highly respected Professor Peter Simkins over the 15 years prior to 2014. He has revised and updated each essay with new material that has become available since they first appeared. In doing so, he tackles some of the myths, …
Guarding the Periphery: The Australian Army in Papua New Guinea, 1951–75 Written by: Tristan Moss Cambridge University Press, 2017, ISBN 9781108182638, 284pp Reviewed by: Lieutenant Colonel Mark O’Neill Dr Tristan Moss is currently a researcher on the Official Histories of Australian Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor at the Australian War Memorial and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. He is also a previous winner of the C. E. W. Bean Prize for Military …
The Last Battle: Endgame on the Western Front, 1918 Written by: Peter Hart Oxford University Press, 2018, ISBN 9780190872984, 464pp Reviewed by: Brigadier Chris Roberts (Ret’d) AM, CSC In 2008 Peter Hart, oral historian at the Imperial War Museum, wrote 1918: A Very British Victory , in which he covered the fighting throughout 1918 from a largely British and Commonwealth perspective. In his latest work, The Last Battle: Endgame on the Western Front,1918 , Hart returns to the last year of the war with …
Leadership Secrets of the Australian Army: Learn from the Best and Inspire Your Team to Great Results Written by: Brigadier Nicholas Jans (Ret’d) OAM Allen and Unwin, 2018, ISBN 9781760631802, 208pp Reviewed by: Dr Stephen Mugford There are two kinds of leadership books. 1 The first deploys theoretical ideas and research in the socio-psychological sciences to understand and analyse the phenomenon; and the second focuses on gathering experiences and stories which a reader can appreciate and draw guidance …
Command and Morale: The British Army on the Western Front 1914–1918 Written by Gary Sheffield Pen and Sword, 2014, ISBN 9781781590218, 264pp Reviewed by: Brigadier Chris Roberts (Ret’d) AM, CSC In Command and Morale: The British Army on the Western Front 1914– 1918 , the prolific Great War scholar Gary Sheffield delivers 13 essays on a range of subjects broadly concerned with the topics of the main title. Written between 1986 and 2014, all of the chapters, except one, have been published previously, …
Beyond Combat: Australian Military Activity Away from the Battlefield Edited by Tristan Moss and Tom Richardson New South Books, 2018, ISBN 9781742235905, 256pp Reviewed by: Major Lee Hayward It is not unreasonable to expect that a casual observer of Australian military history might form the opinion that the identity of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been built almost exclusively on the wars it has fought. This book provides some fascinating insights into the lives and experiences of ADF …
Abstract Identification of military casualties resulting from a disaster or mass fatality event while deployed to an area of operations is facilitated by the Mortuary Affairs Forensic Response Team (Mortuary Affairs) using methodologies such as DNA, fingerprints and dental examination. These scientific methods have been successfully used in many civilian disasters to identify victims; however, military environments present extra logistical challenges that need consideration. Preservation of bone and soft …
Abstract Conflict in arid and austere environments presents many challenges for sustaining a deployed force over long distances. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has a long and continuous history of working with animals, all providing companionship and support in the harsh working environment; and, by fate, we are custodians of the last great herd of wild camels. The reintroduction of animal transportation may present opportunities for innovative patrolling and transportation options for our Indigenous …
Abstract One of the essential requirements for Army training is the creation of a contemporary and relevant training adversary which allows tactics, techniques and procedures to be tested and weapons and equipment to be evaluated. This is an important part of Army’s value proposition to government that it can provide directed capability. In most cases, the training adversaries developed by the Australian Army in the past have represented opponents the Army was actually fighting or generic opponents it was …