The New Zealand Expeditionary Force earned an elite reputation on the Western Front In World War I, and the New Zealanders' war effort was a defining moment in their national history.The statistics are astonishing: of the total population of New Zealand of 1 million, no fewer than 100,000 men enlisted, and of those, 18,000 were killed and 58,000 wounded. In other words, 15 percent of the male population of New Zealand became casualties.Famously, the NZEF wa...

In 1939 more than 140,000 New Zealanders enlisted to fight overseas during World War II. Of these, 104,000 served in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force.Initially thrown into the doomed campaign to halt the German blitzkrieg on Greece and Crete (1941), the division was rebuilt under the leadership of MajGen Sir Bernard Freyberg, and became the elite corps within Montgomery's Eighth Army in the desert.After playing a vital role in the victory at El Al...

In 1939 more than 140,000 New Zealanders enlisted to fight overseas during World War II. Of these, 104,000 served in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force.Initially thrown into the doomed campaign to halt the German blitzkrieg on Greece and Crete (1941), the division was rebuilt under the leadership of MajGen Sir Bernard Freyberg, and became the elite corps within Montgomery's Eighth Army in the desert.After playing a vital role in the victory at El Al...

A remarkable World War II survival story and combat memoir by "an indestructible wartime tank commander" ( The Telegraph).In campaign after campaign, from the defense of Calais in 1940 to the defeat of Germany in 1945, Bill Close served as a tank commander in Britain's Royal Tank Regiment—and he survived.His tanks were hit eleven times by enemy shellfire and he bailed out. He was wounded three times. He finished the war as one of the most experienc...

'[Mat McLachlan's] knowledge of the front is comprehensive' - Sydney Morning HeraldA complete guide to the Australian battlefields of the Western Front 1916-18.Walking with the ANZACs aims to become the new essential companion for Australians visiting the Western Front. Each of the 14 most important Australian battlefields is covered with descriptions of the battles and Australia’s involvement in it.

When Australian troops stormed ashore in the pre-dawn darkness of April 25th 1915, it was the culmination of one of the most complex and daunting operations in the history of warfare - the seaborne assault of a heavily fortified shore, defended by a well-prepared and forewarned enemy.The risks were enormous, and the death toll on the beach at Anzac Cove could have been murderous - as it was with the British landings further south. Yet the Anzacs had been allowed to organise their o...

The importance of the Australian contribution to the Allied war effort during World War I should never be underestimated.Some 400,000 Australians volunteered for active duty, an astonishing 13 per cent of the entire (white) male population, a number so great that the Australian government was never forced to rely on conscription. Casualties were 52 per cent of all those who served, ensuring that the effects of the war would be felt long after the armistice....

Known as The Boy Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Marks, was the youngest battalion commander in the AIF and highly regarded not only as a future military commander, but as a business and community leader.It was a blustery day on the 25th January 1920 at Palm Beach to the north of Sydney and the surf was wild. Two attempts had already been made to save a young woman caught in an undertow and dragged out when a young man; skinny, gangly and frail and known to be ...

A guide to daily life and experiences for British servicemen in World War I, from recruitment and training to the battle and its aftermath.Geoff Bridger's Great War Handbook answers many of the basic questions newcomers ask when confronted by this enormous and challenging subject of World War One—not only what happened and why, but what was the Great War like for ordinary soldiers who were caught up in it. He describes the conditions the soldiers endured, ...

The invasion was launched to round off Hitlers Balkan Campaign against Crete in May 1941. The Island was important to Britains control of the Eastern Mediterranean and Churchill was determined that the Island would be held.The British garrison was largely made up of New Zealand and Australian troops who had been evacuated from Greece, with little more that what they stood up in. On the other hand the German Commander, Kurt Student, had overwhelming air superiority, which negated the Allied...

A British soldier shares his experiences fighting across Europe during World War II in this memoir.Ernest Powdrill, MC, describes his experiences in France during "the Phoney War" and then their baptism by fire in May 1940, culminating in the evacuation from Dunkirk having left their disabled guns behind. Ernest was wounded but many of his colleagues were killed by ferocious German counter-battery fire. Promoted to Sergeant Major in an armored tracked regiment, the...

The number 1 non-fiction bestseller.More than 100,000 copies sold!'What we have, we hold'MOttO OF AUStRALIA'S 2/17tH BAttALIONIn the tradition of his bestselling Kokoda, Peter FitzSimons, Australia's most beloved popular historian, focuses on one of the seminal moments in Australian history: the Battle of tobruk in 1941, in which more than 15 000 Australian troops - backed by British artillery - fought in excruciating desert heat through eight long months, against Adolf Hitler's for...