Forgotten Anzacs: The Campaign in Greece, 1941 - Softcover

Ewer, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1921372753 ISBN 13: 9781921372759

Publisher: Scribe Publications Pty Ltd., 2010

Synopsis

Every school child in Australia and New Zealand is brought up on the legend of the Anzacs. This, though, is the largely unknown story of another Anzac force which fought not at Gallipoli, but in Greece a generation later. On 12 April 1941, General Thomas Blamey, commander of the Australian Imperial Force in the Mediterranean, issued an order of the day announcing the formation of a new Anzac Corps. Australian and New Zealand troops were at the time fighting side by side in Greece against an invading German army that had been triumphant everywhere. With the very existence of his force in the balance, Blamey invoked the spirit of Gallipoli to inspire his troops, suggesting that, "The task ahead though difficult is not nearly so desperate as that which our fathers faced in April twenty-six years ago. We go to it together with stout hearts and certainty of success." Those hopes would be quickly dashed. Desperately outnumbered, and fighting in deeply inhospitable conditions, the Anzacs found themselves engaging in a long retreat through Greece, under constant air attack. Most of the Anzac Corps was evacuated by the end of April, but many men got only as far as Crete. Fighting a German paratroop invasion there in May, large numbers were taken captive and spent four long years as prisoners of the Nazis. The campaign in Greece turned out to have uncanny parallels to the original Gallipoli operation: both were inspired by Winston Churchill, both were badly planned by British military leaders, and both ended in defeat and evacuation. British bungling at Gallipoli was one thing; but in Greece, Churchill authorised his commanders to leave the Anzacs to their fate if their rescue compromised wider British interests. Just as Gallipoli provided military academies the world over with lessons in how not to conduct a complex feat of arms, Churchill’s Greek adventure reinforced fundamental lessons in modern warfare — heavy tanks could not be stopped by men armed with rifles, and Stuka dive-bombers would not be deflected by promises of air support from London that were never honoured. Until now, there has been no history on the campaign in Greece and Crete written from a truly Anzac perspective. Based on rarely accessed archives and more than 30 interviews with Australian, Greek, and New Zealand veterans, this superb book gives overdue recognition to the brave, forgotten Anzacs of 1941.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter Ewer completed a first-class honours degree in politics at Macquarie University in 1983, and a doctorate in technology and culture from RMIT University in 2005 that also won a university research prize. Dr Ewer is currently an official in the Victorian Department of Justice, and has published in local and international history journals.

Review:

"This is an important contribution to Australian war literature . . . an engrossing history of a very important Anzac campaign."  —Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald

"Peter Ewer is one of very few Australian military historians to understand what Anzac means. This is a book that skillfully moves between the battalions of both nations bringing to the forefront whichever component the story demands, regardless of its place of origin. Ewer's true recognition of Anzac nourishes his account and he builds on that strength as he also looks at the campaign from Greek, German, and British perspectives."  —Michael McKernan, Canberra Times

"Forgotten Anzacs is a timely tribute to those who took part in a neglected chapter in our military history." — Greg Thom, Herald Sun

"For those of us who were there, this is an outstanding history of both the Australian and New Zealand campaign in 1941." — Gordon Beal, 2/8th Field Company; prisoner of war, 1941-1945

"This book makes fascinating reading and does a long way in recognising these forgotten Anzacs." — Peter Masters, Australian Defence magazine

"This clear and well-written account of the campaign should do much to rescue the forgotten Anzacs from neglect by subsequent generations." — Jeffrey Grey, Australian Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribe Publications Pty Ltd.
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1921372753
• ISBN 13: 9781921372759
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432