Anzacs at War

From Gallipoli To The Present Day

Dr Peter Pederson

Allen and Unwin (2010)

This book is presented in the same style as the recently-reviewed War In The Pacific. It comes as a hard cover book in a well-made slipcase. The book is a brief but fairly comprehensive history of the various theatres of war that shaped the ANZAC legend for Australian and New Zealand soldiers. The text is supplemented by carefully-selected photos and some excellent facsimiles of primary source documents of the time.

Dr Pederson is a Senior Historian at the Australian War Memorial and he has given us a good reference that covers both the background and politics of the various battles and also covers the lesser-known areas like the campaign in northern Papua New Guinea and the later conflict in Korea. He also takes us to the modern day and the actions in which the two countries are involved such as “the war on terror”. He has not glossed over the blunders that were made at high levels but includes them as part of the historical record. After all, some of these blunders, such as the curious inaction by the British commanding officer at Gallipoli, led to the ANZACs’ distrust of British leadership. The better ANZAC leaders like New Zealand’s General Freyberg inspired far more loyalty among their troops.

The common antecedents of the troops gave them a better appreciation of each other and they seem to have had a rapport with their leaders that was missing with the British commanders and troops. Although most of the ANZAC officers in World War I were British-trained they seemed to be a little less traditional in their military outlook and a little more willing to lead from nearer the front among their own men. This showed up well at Gallipoli and in Greece and Crete, but loyalty to one Australian commander who led the New Guinea troops valiantly from Melbourne was noticeably lacking at Kokoda.

The source documents make fascinating reading as they cover the actions at their most basic level. Reading an officer’s handwritten account of an action is a bit like hearing a voice from the dead. If I had one disappointment with the book it is that there was not enough of this sort of material. I was left wanting a little more even though Dr Pederson has selected a good wide range.

With the Australian History school curriculum under review at the moment, this is the sort of book that would arouse interest in our students. The attractive presentation invites the student to explore further this vital part of the history of the two countries.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No. 3 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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