| Summary: |
List of maps and figures p. ix. Military symbols on maps p. xi. Acknowledgements p. xii. Notes on the text p. xv. List of abbreviations p. xvii. Introduction p. 1. 1 'Completely untrained for war': Battalion command in the pre-war army p. 30. 2 The foundations of battalion command: Forming the 2nd AIF, 1939-40 p. 48. 3 'We were learning then': The AIF's Mediterranean campaigns, 1941 p. 77. 4 Desert epilogue: El Alamein, 1942 p. 112. 5 Victims of circumstance: Battalion command in the 8th Division p. 130. 6 'No place for half-hearted measures': Australia and Papua, 1940-42 p. 165. 7 'There is no mystery in jungle fighting': The New Guinea offensives p. 197. 8 'Experienced, toughened, competent': 1945 p. 235. Conclusion p. 270. Appendix 1 The demographics of Australian battalion commanders p. 277. Appendix 2 Periods of command p. 313. Notes p. 329. Bibliography p. 390. Index p. 408. .
"Australian Battalion Commanders in the Second World War explores the background, role and conduct of the commanding officers of Australian infantry battalions during the Second World War. Battalion commanding officers were the lynchpins of the battlefield uniting the senior officers who planned with the soldiers who fought but they have received scant attention in contemporary military history. It is the first time that the experience of these men has been studied in detail. The stories of soldiers have been told in many places, as have those of generals, but not the unit commanders in between. Garth Pratten writes the commanding officers back into history to provide a fresh understanding of the nature of the Australian battlefield experience in the Second World War. Utilising extensive and original archival research, Pratten insightfully charts the development of Australia's infantry commanding officers from part-time, ill-prepared amateurs, to seasoned veterans who, although still not professional soldiers, deserved the title of professional men of war. It is a story of improvisation, adaptation, and evolution; of an army learning from hard-won experience to integrate men and technology to overcome both its enemies and the environment it fought in. Most of all, it is a story of men confronting the timeless challenges of military leadership: mastering their own fear and discomfort in order to motivate and inspire their men to endure the maelstrom of battle."--Provided by publisher. |
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