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Reading list

Australian involvement in the First World War

Further online resources

First World War 1914-1918
First World War battle maps
First World War Embarkation Roll
First World War Nominal Roll
First World War biographies of generals
First World War (Information sheet)
Australian military units - First World War
Official history of Australia in the First World War 1914-1918

The major reference is C.E.W. Bean Official history of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 in six volumes. Other volumes in this series are: F. M. Cutlack, Australian Flying Corps; H. S. Gullett, Sinai and Palestine; A. W. Jose, The Royal Australian Navy; S. S . Mackenzie, The Australians at Rabaul; Ernest Scott, Australia during the war and A. G. Butler, The Official history of the Australian army medical services in the war of 1914-1918 in three volumes. All of these are published in association with the Australian War Memorial and are available through our website.

David Anderson, Australian battles on the Western Front during World War I (Canberra: Dept. of the Parliamentary Library, 1993). [Excellent brief history with chronology of battles and dates; divisional structure given.]

C. E.W. Bean, Gallipoli mission (Sydney: ABC Enterprises in association with the Australian War Memorial, 1990). [Gallipoli battlefield revisited three years after the war; the last chapter discusses the War Graves Commission plans for cemeteries and memorials there. Appendices give information on strategy of the Turks, their commanders and Turkish place names; a poem by Lester Lawrence entitled "The Graves of Gallipoli".]

C. E.W. Bean, ANZAC to Amiens (Canberra, ACT: Australian War Memorial, 1946). [A condensed history of the 12 volume set, Official history of Australia in the war of 1914-18.]

Joan Beaumont (ed.), Australia 's war 1914-1918 (St. Leonards, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 1995). [Contains a chronology of events and glossary, well referenced and concise with views on Australian politics, economy and society during the war, the ANZAC legend and conscription.]

John Coates, An atlas of Australia 's wars. Australian centenary of defence , vol. 7 (Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press, 2001). [Outlines major Australian campaigns and battles with maps.]

Kit Denton, Gallipoli, one long grave (North Sydney, NSW: Time-Life Series, 1986). [Illustrated, well researched. Includes information on Turkish Army, units which made up the ANZAC Force and homefront material including enlistment.]

Bill Gammage, The broken years; Australia 's soldiers in the great war (Ringwood, Vic: Penguin Books, 1990). [Soldiers' accounts illustrate the Australian experience of war in Gallipoli, Egypt, Palestine and France. Contains extracts from letters, diaries and other personal records, plus several maps and numerous photos.]

Jeffrey Grey, A military history of Australia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999): 87-123. [Good overview of Australian political history with analysis of campaigns. Topics covered include Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF); rationale for selection of AIF commanders and war census of eligible manpower. Contains maps.]

Ion Idriess, The desert column: the classic account of the Palestine and Sinai campaigns (North Ryde, NSW: Angus and Robertson, 1985). [ A collection of diary entries from the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment that gives a perspective on the campaigns at Gallipoli, Palestine and Sinai.]

Ian Jones, The Australian Light Horse (North Sydney, NSW: Time-Life Series, 1987). [Good introduction to history of Light Horse from Gallipoli to Beersheeba, with maps and illustrations of equipment.]

John Laffin, Guide to the Australian battlefields of the Western Front 1916-1918 (Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press, 1992). [Includes details of locations of cemeteries in France and Belgium as well as history of battlefields with maps and photos. Contains epitaphs, commemorations and new memorials.]

Clem J. Lloyd and Jacqui Rees, The last shilling : a history of repatriation in Australia (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1994). [In 1918 the Repatriation Department was set up to administer hospitals, scholarships, training programs, the Soldier Settlement Scheme and home loans for returned veterans. This history provides a graphic insight into the lives of many Australians post-war.]

Michael McKernan, The Australian people and the Great War (Melbourne, Vic.: Thomas Nelson, 1980). [Detailed account of the impact of war on Australian society and the aftermath. Covers religion, women, sport and country life; contains photographs and reproductions of posters and cartoons.]

Charles Schaedel, Men and machines of the Australian Flying Corps 1914-19 (Dandenong, Vic.: Kookaburra Technical Publications, 1972). [Brief history of AFC, aircraft and stories of individuals and sorties, illustrations and photos.]

Alistair Thomson, Anzac memories: living with the legend (Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press, 1994). [Explores mateship, the ANZAC legend and C.E.W. Bean's role in shaping it. Contains interviews with veterans and analysis of repercussions of repatriation on Australian society.]

Craig Wilcox (ed.), The Great War: gains and losses - ANZAC and Empire (Canberra: Australian War Memorial and Australian National University, 1995). [Condensed seminar papers by historians, including Ken Inglis, Geoffrey Blainey and Hank Nelson which assess the value of the involvement of Australia, New Zealand and Britain in the Great War.]