Australian Military History

Having been forced out of Finschhafen and Jivevaneng, the Japanese forces on the Huon Peninsula launched a counter-attack, aimed at recapturing the Australian-held Scarlett Beach. This is where stores and reinforcements were being landed by the Australian and American forces. Lose Scarlett Beach and the entire area would become precarious. Fortunately, a plan of the coming offensive had been discovered on a dead Japanese officer and so General Wootten knew roughly where and when things were going to happen. But knowing this, and being able to do something about it, were two completely different things. His already stretched 9 Division would be severely tested. https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=46029761&view_as=patron

With the fall of Finshhafen, the 20th Brigade of the 9th Division was keen to push on to their next major objective in the Huon Peninsula campaign; Sattelberg. It appeared that the Japanese who had retreated were all heading in that direction, so all haste was needed in order to prevent them from settling in. Unfortunately, the areas which the Brigade had already seized were only thinly held and far from secure. Support was coming in the form of one battalion from the 24th Brigade, but until they arrived no proper offensive action could be undertaken. Meanwhile the Japanese were hatching plans to retake all that they had lost. The question of supply would decide the fate of the whole campaign.https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/patreon.com/user?u=46029761

Born in New Zealand, Nancy Wake grew up in Australia. At her first opportunity she took off overseas and, after training as a journalist, found herself with a front row seat to the rise of Nazi Germany. When war broke out and Germany captured Paris and Northern France, Nancy and her husband went to work helping Allied soldiers flee occupied France to England. In the process Nancy became the Gestapo's most wanted operative. Forced to flee, leaving behind her husband, Nancy arrived in England and joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE). There she began to really make trouble for the Germans, including an epic bicycle ride that would go down in history as one of the most audacious acts of the French resistance during the war.https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/patreon.com/user?u=46029761

With the 15th Brigade all be annihilated, the 14th and 8th Brigades tried desperately to hold onto their gains. But with their right flank open and the left under intense counter attack, the scattered parties were in a desperate situation. Spirited defensive counter attacks held the Germans at bay for a while, but diminishing supplies and the strength of German attacks snuffed out the pockets one by one. And then, when the Germans reoccupied their own trenches behind the Australians, cutting them off from their own front lines, things started to fall apart.https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/patreon.com/user?u=46029761

With the initial attack halted, the men of the 5th Australian Division set about holding onto what they had managed to take. But confusion and lack of communication meant that the commanders back from the fighting didn't fully understand the situation. In ignorance of the true situation further attacks were ordered, then cancelled. But the battered 15th Brigade didn't get notified of the cancellation until it was too late. https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/patreon.com/user?u=46029761

As promised, something to break up the Fromelles episodes a bit. I present unto Thee an attempt to explain the structure of the Australian Army throughout the years. I shall unravel the mysteries that surround battalions, platoons and Brigades, what's the difference between Non Commissioned and Commissioned ranks and just how it all combines to make the whole thing work.