Page 71 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2021

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
BOOKS OF INTEREST 71
COMPILED BY PETER MASTERS | BRISBANE
MILITARYBOOKSAUSTRALIA.COM
THE BATTLE OF THE BISMARCK SEA
THE FORGOTTEN BATTLE THAT SAVED THE PACIFIC
By Michael Veitch
Published by Hachette
RRP $32.99 in paperback
ISBN 9780733645891
In his latest book, bestselling author Michael Veitch (Turning Point, 44 Days) tells the dramatic tale of the battle
that thwarted Japan's final, desperate lunge for the south west Pacific. In the ensuing Battle of the Bismarck
Sea, a force of land-based
SEMUT
THE UNTOLD STORY OF A SECRET AUSTRALIAN OPERATION IN WWII BORNEO
By Christine Helliwell
Published by Michael Joseph/Penguin RRP $34.99 in paperback
ISBN 9780143790020
Christine Helliwell, an anthropologist, spent almost forty years studying Borneo’s indigenous Dayak peoples. Her research included the special operations conducted in Borneo during WWII by Australia’s Z Special Unit. In March 1945, despite having little knowledge
Australian and American aircraft attacked a massive convoy of Japanese warships. In the end, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea was a disaster
of immeasurable proportions for the Japanese, destroying their hopes of regaining the initiative in New Guinea. More importantly for Australians, the victory decisively removed any possibility that Australia might be invaded by Japanese forces. Veitch, with his usual narrative flare, tells the riveting story
of this crucial turning point in the war in the Pacific for which the Australian contribution
has often been overlooked
and the damage to the enemy exaggerated. Despite this, Veitch writes, the battle ‘... represented a high point of cooperation and mutual respect between the young men of
the two Allied nations ...’. A compelling and highly readable account that will be snapped up by military history enthusiasts.
of the people or their language,
a handful of young Allied operatives was parachuted into the remote jungle at the heart of the Japanese-occupied island with a plan to recruit the island’s indigenous Dayak peoples to fight the occupiers. So begins the story of Operation Semut, an Australian secret operation. Focusing on the operation’s activities along two of Borneo’s great rivers – the Baram and Rejang – the book provides
a detailed account of Semut II’s and Semut III’s brutal guerrilla campaign against the Japanese revealing the decisive Dayak
role in the operation. Helliwell captures the sounds, smells and tastes of the jungles into which the operatives were plunged, an environment so terrifying that many were unsure whether jungle or Japanese were the greater enemy. The result is a unique account of the encounter between two very different cultures amidst the savagery of the Pacific War.
THE ARTILLERY AT ANZAC
ADAPTATION, INNOVATION AND EDUCATION
By Chris Roberts and Paul Stevens Published by Big Sky Publishing/Army History Unit
RRP $34.99 in paperback ISBN 9781922387936
Authors Chris Roberts and
Paul Stevens, having previously produced seminar presentations on the artillery at Anzac, were encouraged to expand this material to finally produce the first comprehensive study of the employment of artillery and naval gunfire support at Anzac.
JOINT BY DESIGN
THE EVOLUTION OF AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE STRATEGY
By Robbin F Laird
RRP $24.95 in paperback
ISBN 9781098342869
Among other achievements, Robbin Laird is a research fellow at the Canberra-based Williams Foundation. With this book, he lays out the case for the changes he believes liberal democracies such as Australia must make in the shifting world order and analyses the new defence and security strategy Australia is adopting.
Faced with huge difficulties on inferior ground the Australian, New Zealand, Indian, and British gunners had to adapt quickly
to a hostile environment to counter superior numbers of Ottoman artillery. How well they performed is a central theme
of this book. Using a host of primary sources, the authors trace the story of this neglected feature of the Gallipoli campaign. Commencing with
an evaluation of the nascent pre-war Australian and New Zealand artillery, they take
the reader through the testing introduction to the realities of modern warfare. Along the way, they challenge the controversy concerning the light horse charge at the Nek, and evaluate the effectiveness of the fire support provided to the infantry attacks, including that at Lone Pine, the attacks on the Sari Bair Range, and at Hill 60. In doing so, the authors offer up new insights into the campaign.
He believes the strategic
shift from land wars to full spectrum crisis management will require liberal democracies to have forces lethal enough, survivable enough, and agile enough to support full spectrum crisis management. The
book provides an overview
of the evolution of Australian defence modernization over
the past seven years, and the strategic shift underway. What is interesting and valuable
about this book is how it brings together presentations given at various seminars over the past few years, not just from military thinkers, but from leaders of defence industry which helps it bring into sharp focus the key aspect of ‘... enhanced local industrial support to ADF forces ...’, a position this magazine has advocated since its inception.
A ‘must read’ for all those interested in the future of the ADF and industrial support of the ADF.