ANZAC
CARTWHEEL
When MacArthur had arrived in Melbourne, he had told his aide Sid Huff to buy him a civilian hat. He hoped he might wear it if he went out for a movie when time permitted. In fact, the hat never left its box. Over the next three years, MacArthur had no time for his favorite entertainment. Running SWPA consumed all…
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RAAF FIGHTERS: THE DESERT CAMPAIGNS, 1939–43
Tomahawk Mk.IIb Unit: 3 Sqn, RAAF Serial: X (AN343) Pilot – F/O Bruce Evans. North Africa. He was shot down and KIA on November 15th, 1941. Kittyhawk Mk.I Unit: 3 Sqn, RAAF Serial: CV-J North Africa, 1943. P-40L (Kittyhawk Mk.II) Unit: 3 Sqn, RAAF Serial: CV-V Pilot – CO of…
RAAF IN SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC 1942–44 PART I
By David Wilson The attack on Darwin on 19 February marked the first attack made on continental Australia by an enemy force. It was not the first attack on Australian territory. On 4 January 1942, 22 Nells bombed the airfield at Lakunai, near Rabaul, New Britain, part of the Australian…
RAAF IN SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC 1942–44 PART II
The outcome of the battles fought in the last six months of 1942 in Papua New Guinea and Guadalcanal were pivotal to the defeat, or victory, of either of the protagonists. On 21 July, the Japanese landed at Gona, and commenced to advance toward Kokoda, thence across the Owen Stanley…
Blocking a Blitzkrieg: the battle of Vevi, 10–13 April 1941 Part I
Codenamed Operation Marita, the German invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece sent the German Second Army, composed of four army corps and a panzer group, into Yugoslavia from Bulgaria, Hungary, and southern Austria. Against Greece, the Germans assembled their Second Army, comprising the XXX Korps in the east, the XVIII Gebirgs…
Blocking a Blitzkrieg: the battle of Vevi, 10–13 April 1941 Part II
The well-equipped and highly motivated fanatics of the SS descended on Vevi with great speed. In countering them, Vasey’s problems at Vevi were prodigious: the Allied position lacked both depth and fixed defences, the weather was poor, and many of his units were tired from the route marches needed to…
Blocking a Blitzkrieg: the battle of Vevi, 10–13 April 1941 Part III
The Battle of Vevi, 10–13 April 1941 The Allied line had therefore already lost cohesion when Witt launched his full assault from 2.00 p.m. This was supported in earnest by the StuG III assault guns. Slocombe was astounded by their presence, as his unit had been unable to get their…