Australian stories from military history

Many of us may be aware of the February 19 raid on Darwin in 1942 which saw significant losses and damage of lives, structures and shipping.Yet many Australians may not know that this was only the first in a series of air raids and incursions by the Japanese over the north of Australia that was to last a period of over 2 years and resulted in losses of over 60 aircraft and nearly 200 aircrew to the Empire of Japan.Joining me this episode to discuss the Japanese air war over northern Australia is Dr Tom Lewis.  Tom is the author of  The Empire strikes south: Japan’s air war against Northern Australia 1942-45.Tom has recently released Eagles over Darwin: American Airmen defending Northern Australia in 1942.  During our conversation we did briefly segue into matters related to another work Tom released last year, Atomic salvation: How the A-Bomb attacks saved the lives of 32 Million people.  Other titles that Tom has written include:Carrier attack - Darwin 1942 : The Complete Guide to Australia's own Pearl Harbor (with Peter Ingman)Darwin Bombed - A Young Person's Guide to the Japanese attack of 19 February 1942Zero hour in Broome : the untold story of the attacks on Northwest Australia in 1942 (with Peter Ingman)

Since Federation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have served in Australia's military forces in times of war and peace.This is despite for many years, being denied their full citizenship rights on their return to civilian life.  That said, military service was an inspiration to aboriginal activism in the cause of seeking equal rights and recognition.Joining me this episode is Dr Noah Riseman, a contributor to the book, Serving our country : indigenous Australians, war, defence and citizenship.You can find more details about the book here.

On the 4th of July in 1918, during World War 1, a battle took place around the town of Le Hamel in northern France.  Though relatively small in scale, the operation was to have far reaching consequences in concepts of modern warfare and for how the war on the western front was to be conducted by the Allies until it’s conclusion in November.  The operation, planned by Lt Gen Sir John Monash, would be successfully executed by his new command, the Australian Corps.  It would be first time Australian and American soldiers shared the field of battle together.Joining me this episode to discuss the operation is Stephen Dando Collins, author of the book, “Heroes of Hamel”.You can find out more about Stephen's book at his website here.