Australia War

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. Peter FitzSimons brings this Allied triumph to life and tells this magnificent story as it should be told.

It was the afternoon of 18 August 1966, hot, humid with grey monsoonal skies. D Company, 6RAR were four kilometres east of their Nui Dat base, on patrol in a rubber plantation not far from the abandoned village of Long Tan. A day after their base had suffered a mortar strike, they were looking for Viet Cong soldiers. Then—just when they were least expecting—they found them. Under withering fire, some Diggers perished, some were grievously wounded, the rest fought on, as they remained under sustained attack. For hours these men fought for their lives against the enemy onslaught.

Sydney, 1946. Though war correspondent Billie Walker is happy to finally be home, for her the heady postwar days are tarnished by the loss of her father and the disappearance in Europe of her husband, Jack. To make matters worse, now that the war is over, the newspapers are sidelining her reporting talents to prioritize jobs for returning soldiers. But Billie is a survivor and she's determined to take control of her own future. So, she reopens her late father's business, a private investigation agency, and, slowly, the women of Sydney come knocking.

Taking us from the suburbs of Western Sydney and Australia's military army bases, to the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, this is a remarkable audiobook that reveals the as-yet untold story of the battle for Mosul and the secret involvement of Australians on both sides of the war - both our commandos and Australian ISIS fighters. Mosul details the rise of ISIS influence in Australia, the Iran and Australia allegiance to fight Daesh and shows what led up to the battle and the ramifications that are still being felt at home - by our soldiers and the victims of that war.

From the author of Pacific Payback comes the gripping true story of the Cactus Air Force and how this rugged crew of dive bombers helped save Guadalcanal and won the war. November 1942: Japanese and American forces have been fighting for control of Guadalcanal, a small but pivotal island in Japan's expansion through the South Pacific.

This story is based on real life experiences of the Royal Australian Navy's Clearance Diving Team 3 (EODMUPAC Team 35), which served in South Vietnam from '67 to '71. This book provides a quite accurate snapshot of what it was like to be an Australian Navy 'Clearance Diver' serving in Vietnam. Their professionalism, their mostly unconventional behavior, their ever present sense of humour and their willingness to confront life-threatening danger head on, were all fundamental ingredients of what made these men stand out from the crowd.

The story of a physically strong and quietly determined Australian infantry Driver from World War I. When the first official Australian casualty lists of the War were released at the beginning of May 1915, William ‘Willy’ Thompson, from Newcastle, New South Wales, decided to enlist. He was in search of adventure. Willy was allocated to the 30th Battalion of a newly formed brigade in the Australian Imperial Force; he was an 8th Brigade Original. After training in Egypt, Willy’s Brigade fought in the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916, the first major engagement for Australians on the ...

The war in Europe is over. The new post-Nazi German leaders have agreed to a second Armistice after their victory over the Soviet Union. There is an uneasy peace now with the major combatants now struggling with massive wartime debts and the need to rebuild their battered economies. But the war in the Pacific continues. Only now, the Japanese are the ones using weapons of mass destruction in a desperate attempt to stave off defeat at the hands of the Allies. China, Australia and England have finally been joined by America in a final push to end the threat of the Japanese imperialists. ...

Since the Polynesians (the first humans in New Zealand who would become known as the Māori) were the most modern humans to settle in an uninhabited land, it is no surprise New Zealand has always been ahead of its time. Despite its late settlement, New Zealand has been one of the most rapidly modernizing nations in the world. New Zealand was the first country to introduce full democracy, women’s suffrage, state pensions, and state housing.

The epic World War II story of Australia's 75 Squadron - and the 44 days when these brave and barely-trained pilots fought alone against the Japanese. In March and April 1942, RAAF 75 Squadron bravely defended Port Moresby for 44 days when Australia truly stood alone against the Japanese. This group of raw young recruits scrambled ceaselessly in their Kittyhawk fighters to an extraordinary and heroic battle, the story of which has been left largely untold.

From the age of 12, Scott Ryder knew he wanted to join the army, and he signed up as soon as he could. After serving as a paratrooper and in East Timor with 3 RAR, he wanted more. He trained all summer and took the grueling selection course for the commandos, earning the prized green beret on his second attempt. Forged in Fire takes us inside the secretive world of the commandos. Ryder shares battlefield stories from his tours to Afghanistan, where his regiment saw some of the heaviest fighting Australian forces have experienced since the Vietnam War.

England, 1941. The world is at war. London is under siege as the German blitz pounds the city without warning, without mercy. Rose Hamilton did her part as a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force until she was unfairly discharged following a tragic loss. Working as a secretary on a Devon farmland, Rose is out of harm’s way, but she needs to contribute to something greater than herself to truly recover.

The harrowing, dramatic and profoundly moving story of the Australian and New Zealand nurses who served in the Great War. Now a major six-part television series. By the end of the Great War, 45 Australian and New Zealand nurses had died on overseas service and over 200 had been decorated. These were the women who left for war looking for adventure and romance but were soon confronted with challenges for which their civilian lives could never have prepared them.

The story begins shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the entrance of the United States into WWII. Three of the wealthiest families in the world are featured in this sprawling epic taking place during the first year of the war. The story opens on a magnificent farm in South Georgia and the home of the largest privately held company in the world. This is a story of great love and terrible tragedy. A story of three families trying to live through and endure a world at war. Many would die!

The town of Wirrawee is emerging from war, slowly, like a flower after a cold snap. Businesses are starting to reopen, the school has re-commenced classes, and local farmers are gradually repossessing their land. But it's not the same Australia as before the war. A new nation exists just a few miles away, a new border that separates Australia from its invaders. Or does it?

From the author of bestselling Sisters in Captivity, seven remarkable stories of men who served from WWI to Korea–their wartime exploits and achievements through aviation.

A fascinating look at a neglected Allied front in the Southern hemisphere, Instructions for American Servicemen in Australia, 1942 follows its successful predecessors as a captivating historical document of a pivotal era in history.

Mateship and tragedy on the Western Front. This book in the Series, Their World War, is the story of an ‘ear wigger’. Colin Thompson, from Newcastle, New South Wales, had a background in mining. In the early years of World War I he saw his family home empty as his sisters married and his brothers enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. Following the enlistment of his brother-in-law, Robert Hughes, Colin also decided to join-up. His intention was to look after his younger sister’s husband. After eight months of training together in Australia and England, both men were serving in ...

In1914 Australia joined England and declared war on Germany and it's allies. In the small New South Wales town of Cootamundra 6 young Australians, all from the same family, individually joined the fight. This saga follows their journeys through Gallipoli and the Western Front. The saga also covers time in Egypt, England and France away from the fighting. This is a story of a family and how it was affected by a on the other side of the world. It tells of the battles, the wounding and sickness endured by these young men as well as the lighter moments. A readable history that shows some ...

In 1977, Robyn Davidson set off with a dog and four camels to cross 1,700 miles of Australian desert to the sea. The undertaking would make her world-famous. What sets a young woman off on a path like this--thrilling, but often dangerous and lonely? What kept her walking, and what had she left behind her that meant that she could not look back? In Unfinished Woman, Davidson embarks on another journey into uncharted territory: the past. In mesmerizing prose, she conjures her childhood in post-war Australia.