Australian Military History

This episode we're looking at the work of the unsung heroes of every campaign which Australia has taken part in - the Military Chaplain. We're going to do this by focusing on Walter Dexter, who was as famous during World War 1 as Jacka or John Monash, but has been largely forgotten in the intervening years. I'm speaking with Professor Daniel Reynaud who has written a book on Walter Dexter's life, and trust me it's an absolute corker of a story. If you prefer, you can check out the video on Youtube by following the link below. https://youtu.be/U3NiyrKs6j8https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/https://www.patreon.com/c/u46029761?view_as=patron&vanity=u46029761

In this bonus episode I interview Aaron Dryden about his book, Between Two Wars, based upon the story of his great grandfather's experiences through WW1 and WW2 and his eventual fate at the Sandakan Prisoner of War camp.https://www.amazon.com.au/Between-Two-Wars-Aaron-Dryden-ebook/dp/B0G441WXNS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ET9QEE6JJB5U&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5z7rjnDZolTUhGtW2Jt6CXjTo-YGA_D7Q06rXmD1xLWgjr45nzxvm9AAs2-XGwlQqeqVMH1EGAmm1P_KjXQHW3E3v9NLFlMt3RUEF1YjzlDu-e2ITxSGqV8r1YLRN8IKV5fJMJ2WUVIqbpD-NKlsKGvD4MeBnS7r0SvgnsSL7G6GyuD8csjciNzTvyS3c9cNxO3aOFBn0vl8AGd_2aABrKjOkHOzNBwfmAegeg3YW6I.nDW-kLhisdOHDawGNmL4CT6yCg4Qar1GPdm_--ugT6o&dib_tag=se&keywords=between+two+wars&qid=1774865043&s=books&sprefix=between+two+wars%2Cstripbooks%2C372&sr=1-1https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCsCe3QTQr3MSY6xpQ5Lfqpw/videos/upload?filter=%5B%5D&sort=%7B%22columnType%22%3A%22date%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22DESCENDING%22%7D

After the fall of Singapore 80 000 British, Indian and Australian troops became prisoners of the Japanese Imperial Army. Many of these men would be subjected to the horrors of the Thai Burma railway, but around 2 500 were to suffer and even worse fate. They would be sent to Borneo to build an airstrip for the Japanese near the village of Sandakan. After years of brutality, with the fear of an Allied landing somewhere on Borneo, the Japanese authorities decided to move the prisoners over 250 km to the village of Renau, signaling a new level of suffering for the POWs. https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/https://www.patreon.com/c/u46029761?view_as=patron&vanity=u46029761

As promised in my last episode, I hereby present to you all a Christmas present to say thank you for your support throughout the year. Have a good one.

Having advanced beyond the village of Pozieres, the 1st and 3rd Brigades of the 1st Division now attempted to realign themselves with the Old German (OG) Lines. The fighting by now was chaotic with orders being issued for local attacks, often without neighbouring units being aware. Miscommunicated orders also didn't help things. But advances were made, lost and made again. The 25th and 26th July 1916 would see the Australians subjected to further bombardment during the days and launching attacks at night. But by the 26th, the men were at the end of their endurance and the process of relieving the 1st Division with the 2nd Division began. https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/patreon.com/u46029761

After securing the ground on the southern edge of Pozieres village, along the Bapaume Road, the 1st Australian Division was ordered to use patrols to capture the remainder of the village, which higher command believed to be empty of Germans. The patrols met some success with positions established on the northern side of the village, but the Germans weren't going to let the Australians have it all their own way. The 24th July 1916 marked the beginning of what would become the signature feature of the battle for Pozieres; artillery.https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/patreon.com/u46029761

In 1916, the British launched the now infamous Battle of the Somme. Three weeks after the opening of the battle, the high ground around a small village in French Picardy remained in German hands. In the AIF's first major assault on the Western Front, the task of seizing Pozieres fell on the 1st Australian Division. The 23rd July would mark the beginning of the battle which would incur the greatest loss of life in Australian military history.https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.com/patreon.com/u46029761

I recently interviewed Roland Perry about his new book Oliphant, the biography of arguably Australia's greatest mind and a man who played an instrumental role in the defeat of both Nazi Germany and Japan.https://www.patreon.com/c/u46029761?view_as=patronhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToyQ3ufqmB0

With the capture of Magdhaba and with El Arish more or less secured, the Desert Column was poised to leave the Sinai behind and entre Palestine. There was only one potential threat to that advance, the old Egyptian police post of Rafa. This strong defensive position gave the Turks better access to water than the British and Commonwealth forces could muster and so at the start of the day, the Turks held all the aces, unless of course they didn't know the attack was coming.https://www.australianmilitaryhistorypodcast.compatreon.com/u46029761