Australia War

An intense, action-packed battle for a volcano stronghold in the Vietnam War. Early 1967. In the embattled province of Phuoc Tuy, Corporal Chris Jackman and the men of 5 RAR join a daring helicopter-borne assault to capture Hill 82, a critical stronghold infested with enemy forces. They must storm the hill under relentless fire, clearing bunkers, trenches, and hidden fortifications in brutal close-quarters combat. But taking Hill 82 is only the beginning. Jackman and his men cannot rest on the laurels and must now dig in and prepare hold what was taken with blood and bullets. The NVA will ...

One American soldier called it "a green hell on Earth". Monsoon-soaked wilderness, debilitating heat, impassable mountains, torrential rivers, and disease-infested swamps - New Guinea was a battleground far more deadly than the most fanatical of enemy troops. Japanese forces numbering some 600,000 men began landing in January 1942, determined to seize the island as a cornerstone of the empire's strategy to knock Australia out of the war.

Powerfully written by Australia's leading military historian, Saving Port Moresby commemorates the 80th Anniversary of the Battles in New Guinea. Japanese Major General Horii Tomitarō, commanding the South Seas Force, was tasked, after taking Kokoda Plateau in late July, with entering the Owen Stanley Range to capture Port Morseby. After the battles for Deniki and Isurava, his troops were pushing south through the mountains. The Australians under Brigadier Arnold Potts, however, were not in route, but were involved in a determined fighting withdraw.

While the Marine Corps island-hopped across the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Saipan to Iwo Jima, the U.S. Army was locked in a grueling, multiyear fight for the jungle island of New Guinea, which in Japanese hands threatened both Australia and the vital supply lines stretching to the United States. Forces under Douglas MacArthur intended to deny the Japanese this opportunity and use New Guinea as a stepping stone on the road back to the Philippines and, beyond it, Japan.

On a cold night in Australia, two construction workers driving along a deserted mountain road are gunned down inside their vehicle. The killings are fast. Efficient. An assassination carried out with expert precision. The only witness to the crime is a man resting by the side of the road. Recently retired, he'd flown halfway across the world to escape his demons. Ex-US black ops operative Jason King.

Unlike most other World War II accounts, this work covers the South Pacific operations in detail. The audiobook includes many now-forgotten operations that deserve to be well remembered. Significantly, the official Australian history of World War II correctly observed that Australia's part in the Pacific war is barely mentioned in American histories. This volume finally brings the major Australian contribution to the fore.

On 21 July 1942, a large Japanese reconnaissance mission landed along the north-eastern coastline of Papua. It would soon turn into an all-out attempt to capture Port Morseby. This is the powerful story of the three weeks of battle by a small Australian militia force, the 39th Battalion, supported by the 1st Papua Infantry Battalion and the Royal Papuan Constabulary, to keep the Japanese at bay. Outnumbered by at least three to one, they fought courageously to hold the Kokoda Plateau - the gateway to the Owen Stanleys.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the American experiment is failing. Division, mistrust and misinformation are now its defining characteristics. The storming of the Capitol, the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the increasing spotlight on Second Amendment rights raise the spectre of further political violence, and even the possibility of a second civil war.

September 1942 marked the high point of Axis conquest in World War II. In the Pacific, Japan's soldiers had seemed unstoppable. However, the tide was about to turn. On Sunday, 6 September 1942, Japanese land forces suffered their first conclusive defeat at the hands of the Allies. At Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea, a predominantly Australian force - including 75 Squadron (fresh from their action in 44 Days) - fought for two weeks to successfully defend a vital airstrip against a determined Japanese invasion.

In 1942, country girls Minnie Hodgson and Margot McNee set sail from Perth, Australia for Singapore in search of adventure, full of excitement and keen to do their part working as nurses to the fallen soldiers in a time of war. What they encounter is an army of new friends and the terrors of a city under siege. When the Japanese attack and Singapore falls, they are forced to flee aboard the Vyner Brooke. The ship is bombed, resulting in utter devastation.

Colditz Castle was Nazi Germany’s infamous "escape-proof" wartime prison, where hundreds of the most determined and resourceful Allied prisoners were sent. Despite having more guards than inmates, Australian Lieutenant Jack Champ and other prisoners tirelessly carried out their campaign to escape from the massive floodlit stronghold, by any means necessary.

Long before Australia started to be considered one of the best places in the world to live, it was thought to be completely unlivable. In the 15th century, the European race to claim land began. Despite the fact that Australia was a large landmass, no nation believed it was worth colonizing. The land was claimed by the Netherlands. However, little exploration happened there. Many countries actually believed it to be uninhabitable. However, the Aboriginal populations had already been thriving on the land for millennia.

Most Australians have heard of the Boer War of 1899 to 1902 and of Harry 'Breaker' Morant, a figure who rivals Ned Kelly as an archetypal Australian folk hero. Born in England and emigrating to Queensland in 1883 in his early 20s, Morant was a charming but reckless man who established a reputation as a rider, polo player and writer. He submitted ballads to The Bulletin that were published under the name 'The Breaker' and counted Banjo Paterson as a friend.

Down Under is a voyage of discovery and danger as Bill Cullison, a new submarine commander travels from New London to Cape Town, Manila and beyond as Pearl Harbor is bombed. Invited to a dinner as his boat, the Angler makes a port call in Cape Town, Cullison meets Dusty a vivacious red head. She is on a ship traveling home from England to Australia where she has a cattle station in the outback. After spending a day on a lonely beach they look forward to meeting again. With the beginning of the war Cullison must take his boat into the dangerous and lonely Red Sea to attack a German outpost ...

Dramatic action stories from Australia’s past: The Lachlan Bushrangers – Frank Gardiner got out of Cockatoo Island Prison with no intention of going straight. He created a gang of bushrangers that included Ben Hall, Johnny Gilbert, and John O’Meally. They lived violently and died violently. The Lambing Flat Riots – The gold rush brought anti-Chinese riots which would culminate in a deadly clash between diggers and police troopers. Captain Moonlite – From pastor to bushranger. Andrew Scott, obsessed with a need for recognition, led a gang of young men in a vain attempt at ...

Drawing on hundreds of accounts by soldiers, politicians, aid workers, entertainers and the Vietnamese people, Paul Ham reconstructs for the first time the full history of our longest military campaign. From the commitment to engage, through the fight over conscription and the rise of the anti - war movement, to the tactics and horror of the battlefi eld, Ham exhumes the truth about this politicians' war - which sealed the fate of 50,000 Australian servicemen and women.

In 1932, Australia fought their own Great War... against the Emus. Convinced of an easy victory, the Army quickly learned not to underestimate their flightless foes. The emus formed alliances with other birds and kept advancing, gaining a near-human sentience after the nuclear testing of 1952-54 (We told the Poms and the Pollies that was a bad idea...) Come 2019, the east coast cities are the final hold-out against Avian Conquest of the Sunburnt Country, and it's Magpie season...

In November 1943, while on war patrol in the Makassar Strait, the USS Billfish submarine was spotted by the Japanese, who launched a vicious depth-charge attack. Explosions wracked the sub for 15 straight hours. With his senior officers incapacitated, diving officer Charlie Rush boldly assumed command and led key members of the crew in a heroic effort to keep their ship intact as they tried to escape.

In this gripping essay, Hugh White explores Australia’s fateful choice to back America to the hilt and oppose China. What led both sides of politics to align with America so absolutely? Is this a case of sleepwalking to war? What tests might a new government face? White assesses America’s credibility and commitment, by examining AUKUS, the Quad, Trump and Biden. He discusses what the Ukraine conflict tells us about the future. And he argues that the US can neither contain China nor win a war over Taiwan. So where does this leave our future security and prosperity in Asia?

A touching story of eternal love, unbroken promises, and life after death. When young Australian nurse and widow Annie Wilkins leaves for London to assist with the war effort, she promises the three children she leaves behind that she will always be there. Each and every night, Annie diligently writes a letter home to remind her children that she will never be gone as long as she remains in their hearts. As Annie settles into her new life in war-torn London, she faces challenges that she'd never anticipated but the thought of seeing her children again keeps her moving forward. Life at the ...