Australian Battalion Commanders in the Second World War

by Garth Pratten

• ISBN13: 9780521763455
• ISBN10: 0521763452
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-27
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book explores the background, role and conduct of the commanding officers of Australian infantry battalions in World War II.

Table of Contents

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
'Completely untrained for war': Battalion command in the pre-war army	p. 30
The foundations of battalion command: Forming the 2nd AIF, 1939-40	p. 48
'We were learning then': The AIF's Mediterranean campaigns, 1941	p. 77
Desert epilogue: El Alamein, 1942	p. 112
Victims of circumstance: Battalion command in the 8th Division	p. 130
'No place for half-hearted measures': Australia and Papua, 1940-42	p. 165
'There is no mystery in jungle fighting': The New Guinea offensives	p. 197
'Experienced, toughened, competent': 1945	p. 235
Conclusion	p. 270
The demographics of Australian battalion commanders	p. 277
Periods of command	p. 313
Notes	p. 329
Bibliography	p. 390
Index	p. 408
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