Anzacs in the Middle East: Australian Soldiers, Their Allies and the Local People in World War II

272 Pages·2013·6.06 MB·English

by  Mark Johnston

Anzacs in the Middle East
Australian soldiers, their allies and
the local people in World War II
ByNovember1939,20000youngAustralianshadvolunteeredtojointhe
SecondAustralianImperialForce.Spurredbyasenseofadventureandduty,
theysetsailtocountriesofwhichtheyknewverylittle.AnzacsintheMiddle
Eastisacompellingexplorationoftheexperiencesofthemorethan
100000AustraliansoldierswhofoughtintheMiddleEastduringWorld
WarII.ThebookexaminestherelationshipsbetweenAustraliansandtheir
allies,andhowtheyrelatedtothelocalpeople,includingGreeks,Egyptians,
Syrians,LebaneseandPalestinians.
MarkJohnstondrawsonextensiveresearchtoprovideanewperspective
onthefamouscampaignsatTobrukandAlamein,aswellassignificantbut
lessfamiliarbattlesatBardia,RetimoandDamascus.Featuringfirst-hand
accountsandstoriesfromthefrontline,AnzacsintheMiddleEastdiscovers
thetruenatureofthe‘larrikinAustralian’andisamust-readforanyone
interestedinAustralia’smilitaryhistory.
MarkJohnstonisHeadofHistoryatScotchCollege,Melbourne,anda
leadingauthorityontheAustralianArmyinWorldWarII.Thisbookisa
companionvolumetohispreviousbooks,AttheFrontLineandFighting
theEnemy.
Other titles in the Australian Army
History Series
Serieseditor
DavidHorner
PhillipBradleyTheBattleforWau:NewGuinea’sFrontline1942–1943
MarkJohnstonTheProud6th:AnIllustratedHistoryofthe6th
AustralianDivision1939–1946
GarthPrattenAustralianBattalionCommandersintheSecond
WorldWar
JeanBouLightHorse:AHistoryofAustralia’sMountedArm
PhillipBradleyToSalamaua
PeterDeanTheArchitectofVictory:TheMilitaryCareerofLieutenant-
GeneralSirFrankHortonBerryman
AllanConverseArmiesofEmpire:The9thAustralianand50thBritish
DivisionsinBattle1939–1945
JohnConnorAnzacandEmpire:GeorgeFosterPearceandthe
FoundationsofAustralianDefence
PeterWilliamsTheKokodaCampaign1942:MythandReality
KarlJamesTheHardSlog:AustraliansintheBougainvilleCampaign,
1944–45
RobertStevensonToWintheBattle:The1stAustralianDivisioninthe
GreatWar,1914–1918
JeffreyGreyASoldier’sSoldier:ABiographyofLieutenant-GeneralSir
ThomasDaly
Anzacs in the
Middle East
AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS, THEIR
ALLIES AND THE LOC AL PEOPLE
IN WORLD WAR II
M A R K J O H N S T O N
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Contents
Photographs vii
Maps ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Abbreviations xiv
Introduction 1
1 Travellingtothe‘greatadventure’ 4
2 ‘Adifferentworld’:TheMiddleEast 22
3 ‘They’retroublesome,youknow’:TheFirstLibyancampaign 52
4 ‘Fightingshouldertoshoulder’:Greece 72
5 ‘Australia,Australia,youaregood’:Crete 95
6 ‘Unityoffeelingandpurpose’:ThesiegeofTobruk 111
7 ‘Theytreatusasadependentnation’:SyriaandLebanon 141
8 ‘GyppoLand’:AlexandriatoAlamein 162
Conclusion 204
Notes 210
Bibliography 235
Index 246
v

Photographs
1 SergeantLangthornewithanunnamedBritishsoldier 21
2 ‘Skylarking’ 28
3 AustraliansoldiersatStAnne’sChurch,Jerusalem 30
4 ‘AussiesinraredrinkingforminAussieClubTelAviv
September1941’ 31
5 AustraliansvisitaJewishsettlement 35
6 EgyptianwomenpassingAustraliansoldiersinKantara 41
7 ‘OurboysmadefriendswithArabboys’ 44
8 BritishGeneralsO’ConnorandWavellwithAustralian
Major-GeneralMackayinTobruk 65
9 TommiesridingaMatildatankinJanuary1941 66
10 ‘NeilInch,PatMooney,JoeJoplingwithanadmirer’ 79
11 AustralianandNewZealandsoldiersoutsideaJerusalem
monument 84
12 ANewZealandMaoriposingforthecamera 105
13 Alliedsoldiersoffivedifferentnationalitieswhodefended
Tobruk 115
14 BrigadierGodfreyandLieutenant-ColonelMatthewduring
thesiegeofTobruk 118
15 2/28thBattalionandthe104thRoyalHorseArtillery
loadingacapturedItalianfieldgun 121
16 Australiansofthe2/15thBattalioninTobruk 134
17 Lieutenant-GeneralLavarackandGeneralCatrouxtalking
aftertheArmisticeDayceremony 150
18 AustraliansoldiersbeingwelcomedinthestreetsofBeirut 151
19 AustraliansonleaveinCairoin1940 174
vii
viii PHOTOGRAPHS
20 PrimeMinisterChurchillandLieutenant-GeneralMorshead 178
21 PrivateCollinswithWinstonChurchill’scigar 179
22 Lieutenant-ColonelEvansandLieutenantDunham,
probablynearTelelEisa,inJuly1942 189
23 GeneralMontgomeryinspectswreckedenemyequipment
atAlamein 197
24 AnAustraliansharingtobaccowithanArab 207
Maps
1 TheEasternMediterranean xvi
2 Libya,1941 56
3 Greece 76
4 Crete 96
5 Tobruk 112
6 SyriaandLebanon 142
7 Alamein 163
ix