Author(s): Jim Haynes

Military

World War II was the most defining moment in Australia's history. More than a million Australians served in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East, and against Japan in southeast Asia and other parts of the Pacific. ON ALL FRONTS looks at the key milestones of Australia's participation in the major theatres of World War II, from the tenacity of the Rats of Tobruk to the bitter battles of Greece and Crete, and the Allied triumph at El Alamein. Once Japan entered the war, the Australians were called to serve in the Pacific, bravely doing their duty when Singapore fell and struggling against a fierce and unrelenting enemy on the notorious Kokoda Track. The realities of war finally came to our own shores in 1942, when Japanese aircraft bombed towns in northwest Australia and Sydney Harbour came under attack from Japanese midget submarines. Jim Haynes presents little known accounts of the battles that Australians troops were called to, giving a glimpse into the human and social impact on Australians. ON ALL FRONTS celebrates the strength and determination of Australians who rose up to meet the extraordinary challenges faced on the frontline and back on the home front.