Crunchy Posted 26 March , 2012 Share Posted 26 March , 2012 ANZACs on The Western Front: The Australian War Memorial Battlefield Guide. John Wiley & Sons, 2011, 574pp 15cm x 24cm x 2.5cm Softcover This is a new battlefield guide produced by the Australian War Memorial. It covers every Australian and New Zealand battlefield on the Western Front 1916-1918. Written by Dr Peter Pedersen, Head of the Research Section at the AWM, and the publishers have done a superb job in presentation. The book starts with a brief synopsis of the Australian and New Zealand contribution on the Western Front from 1916 to 1918, followed by 28 chapters, one for each battlefield Australians and New Zealnaders fought on between 1916 to the end of 1918. Each chapter comprises three sections: a short narrative of the battle; a detailed walk or drive of the battlefield covering the battle in more detail from a series of stands: and Local Information on relevant cemeteries, museums, memorials and nearby places of interest. There is a colour map for each tour showing the roads and stands and overlaid with the prominent trenchlines, start lines for the attack, boundaries, and objectives for each division involved in the A & NZ portion of the battlefield. Each battlefield walk/drive guides the visitor on a tour around the battlefield, from the start line to the final objective, stopping at observation points or stands with an explanation of what occurred at that poiint. All 54 Australian and 10 New Zealand VC actions have been located on the ground. Lavishly illustrated with many period photographs and current colour photographs of the ground as it is today, many with overlays of trenchlines, boundaries and lines of attack. Pen pictures of the prinicpal commanders, selected Australian and New Zealand VC winners and issues of interest are included in sepearte boxes. The Chapters are: ANZAC's on The Western Front 1 1916 Bois Grenier/Fleurbaix 2 1916 Fromelles 3 1916 Somme: Pozieres/Moquet Farm 4 1916 Somme: New Zealanders at Flers 5 1916 Somme: Australians at Flers and Guedecourt 6 1917 Australian Advance. German Counter Attack 7 1917 Bullecourt 8 1917 Ypres 9 1917 Messines 10 1917 Menin Road 11 1917 Polygon Wood 12 1917 Broodeseinde 13 1917 Passchendaele 14 1918 From La Signey Farm to Puisieux 15 1918 Dernancourt and Morlancourt 16 1918 Villers- Brettonneux 17 1918 Hazebrouck 18 1918 Hamel 19 1918 The German Army's Black Day 20 1918 Somme South 21 1918 Somme North 22 1918 Mont St Quentin and Peronne 23 1918 Hindenburg Outpost Line 24 1918 Hindenburg Line 25 1918 Montbrehain 26 1918 The New Zealanders at Bapaume 27 1918 The New Zealand Advance 28 1918 The New Zealanders at Le Quesnoy A couple of sample pages: Cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchy Posted 26 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 26 March , 2012 Another couple of sample pages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Armstrong Custer Posted 26 March , 2012 Share Posted 26 March , 2012 Great stuff, Chris - it looks as superb as was expected, and I've no doubt whatsoever that the content will be top notch. Best, George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apple Posted 26 March , 2012 Share Posted 26 March , 2012 Expect French/ Belgian farmers, in certain areas, are going to get sick of people wandering around their fields carrying that book ;-) Is nice though that the Australian War Memorial includes the New Zealanders and is surprisingly there are only a few chapters that seem to be devoted to only one of the two nations. Due to I and II ANZAC Corps, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteStarLine Posted 26 March , 2012 Share Posted 26 March , 2012 Borrowed this from the library and was not disappointed. A lot of work has gone into the mapping, as can be partially seen from post #2. Precise directions for walking or motoring are given and if you stand at a spot, the locations of an advance or a machine gun post are given in both map form and with the aid of visual pointers. I intend to buy a copy for my trip in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchy Posted 26 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 26 March , 2012 surprisingly there are only a few chapters that seem to be devoted to only one of the two nations. Due to I and II ANZAC Corps, I suppose. Hi Apple, Not sure what you mean, but It seems you feel the New Zealanders have been short changed. This is not so. As mentioned in the first post, all of the New Zealand actions on the Western Front are covered, and they are described in the following chapters: The ANZACs on The Western Front (The synopsis) 1 1916 Bois Grenier/Fleurbaix 4 1916 Somme. The New Zealanders at Flers 9 1917 Messines Also includes a seperate section and tour/map of the small NZ actions at Le Basseville/Warnecourt including Andrews' VC action 11 1917 Polygon Wood. Although the New Zealand Division didn't take part in this battle, there is a tour in Nearby Places of Interest on the small action at Polderhoek Chateau in December 1917 in which Nicholas won his VC. 12 1917 Broodeseinde 13 1917 Passchendaele 14 1918 From Le Signy Farm to Puisieux (primarily NZ) 17 1918 Hazebrouck (2nd New Zealand Entrenching Battalion) 26 1918 The New Zealanders at Bapaume 27 1918 The New Zealand Advance 28 1918 The New Zealanders at Le Quesnoy. The reason they are mentioned in fewer chapters (12 of 29) is due to there being one New Zealand Division and five Australian on the Western Front, and consequently the Australians were involved in a greater number of battles. Chapter 8 Ypres is a walking tour of the town, including Hill 60, Poperinghe and Nieuport, rather than a battlefield, so neither the Australians nor the New Zealanders are prominent in it. Hope this clarifies your concerns. Cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leighc Posted 27 March , 2012 Share Posted 27 March , 2012 Expect French/ Belgian farmers, in certain areas, are going to get sick of people wandering around their fields carrying that book ;-) Is nice though that the Australian War Memorial includes the New Zealanders and is surprisingly there are only a few chapters that seem to be devoted to only one of the two nations. Due to I and II ANZAC Corps, I suppose. Pity only the Australian rising sun is on the cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frev Posted 27 March , 2012 Share Posted 27 March , 2012 Chris - no doubt this book wouldn't have been half as good without your valuable help. My thanks to you, Peter & the AWM. I have had it recommended to me from all quarters - so many comments of: "if only we'd had it on our last trip....." Never too late - myself and the rest of my Tour mates, will all be armed with a copy on our trip this year. Cheers, Frev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apple Posted 27 March , 2012 Share Posted 27 March , 2012 Hi Apple, Not sure what you mean, but It seems you feel the New Zealanders have been short changed. Cheers Chris Chris, No, no, no that's really not what I meant. As I was writing my mail, I remember questioning whether I should use the word nice. Was concerned people might think I was being sarcastic, which wasn't my intention. Is wonderful (and nice) that an Australian publication includes our trans Tasman cousins. Antony P.S. Although, from my understanding of Australian constitutional law, New Zealand is, according to a strict interpretation of Australian law, part of N.S.W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarke Posted 27 March , 2012 Share Posted 27 March , 2012 Started reading only yesterday and am very impressed with the high level of detail. A lot of hard work involved in this book and would recommend to others. Cheers Clarke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 27 March , 2012 Share Posted 27 March , 2012 It would appear that this book is not currently available in the UK. Only Amazon has it listed, with a launch date of 30th June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Wright Posted 27 March , 2012 Share Posted 27 March , 2012 It would appear that this book is not currently available in the UK. Only Amazon has it listed, with a launch date of 30th June. Hi Ken. I've just ordered it from Amazon, got a delivery date of 11th July, based on UK launch of 30th June. Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchy Posted 28 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 March , 2012 Hi Frev, Thank you for your kind words. I hope you, and everyone who uses it, get as much enjoyment out of the book as we did working on it. It was a labour of love, and for me it was a treat working with as fine an historian as Peter, and one who writes as well as he does. He has a real knack of presenting the information in a very readable and human style. The bonus for me was doing something I never thought I would - walking every Australian and New Zealand battlefield on the Western Front, many of them two or three times as we "proved" the tours on the ground. I must put a plug in for Linesman; it was an excellent tool that allowed us to accurately plot the information on the ground, and on the maps. It saved us many hours. Have a great trip over there. Kind regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchy Posted 28 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 March , 2012 No, no, no that's really not what I meant. Is wonderful (and nice) that an Australian publication includes our trans Tasman cousins. Antony Hi Antony, Thank you for your reply. Both the publisher and we were conscious of the fact that in using ANZAC in the title, the book had to include the New Zealanders. Theirs is an often forgotten story, and it needs to be told. Consequently, it was the toughest to research in the detail we wanted to present it, but with perseverance, and a bit of luck, I think we have done them the justice they deserve. I hope you enjoy the book, and get to use it "over there". Kind Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWorrall Posted 28 March , 2012 Share Posted 28 March , 2012 Mine is on order, roll on early July. Sadly will not arrive before I head over for 10 days at the start of July, unless the publication date comes forward. Crunchy: Given that this is meant to be used in the field, as well as a work of reference, is there some way in which it can be published in a format which makes it portable? A 600-odd page book is a heavy beast, and it's going to get scuffed, thumbed and soiled in use. Making it available on something like an iPad (with it's in-built GPS functions) would make it very serviceable for that kind of use. Even if only the routes could be published that way, it would be a huge step in the right direction. You mentioned Linesman above, perhaps you could make the walks available as Linesman Routes, or Tracks? Those of us with the application on a portable device could make use of them that way. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin spof Posted 28 March , 2012 Admin Share Posted 28 March , 2012 I've ordered a copy directly from the AWM and it will hopefully be here in time for my trip to Fromelles for the 9th May 1915 anniversaryfollowed by a trip to Polygon Wood. Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Wright Posted 28 March , 2012 Share Posted 28 March , 2012 Mine is on order, roll on early July. Sadly will not arrive before I head over for 10 days at the start of July, unless the publication date comes forward. Crunchy: Given that this is meant to be used in the field, as well as a work of reference, is there some way in which it can be published in a format which makes it portable? A 600-odd page book is a heavy beast, and it's going to get scuffed, thumbed and soiled in use. Making it available on something like an iPad (with it's in-built GPS functions) would make it very serviceable for that kind of use. Even if only the routes could be published that way, it would be a huge step in the right direction. You mentioned Linesman above, perhaps you could make the walks available as Linesman Routes, or Tracks? Those of us with the application on a portable device could make use of them that way. Simon. Hi Simon. When i ordered my copy there was a Kindle copy also available for purchase. Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchy Posted 28 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 March , 2012 Hi Simon, I had thought an electronic version with GPS like Tomtom would be very useful, but is up to the AWM to determine if they will go that far. Its their book. I think you will find it reasonably robust; the cover seems to be plasticised and the paper is high quality. As Tim says there is a Kindle version which will be lighter. Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 28 March , 2012 Share Posted 28 March , 2012 Congratulations Chris (and Peter). I look forward to meeting up again, hopefully in Canberra. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWorrall Posted 30 March , 2012 Share Posted 30 March , 2012 Hi Simon, I had thought an electronic version with GPS like Tomtom would be very useful, but is up to the AWM to determine if they will go that far. Its their book. I think you will find it reasonably robust; the cover seems to be plasticised and the paper is high quality. As Tim says there is a Kindle version which will be lighter. Regards Chris Chris, Thank you for taking the time to reply. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWorrall Posted 30 March , 2012 Share Posted 30 March , 2012 Hi Simon. When i ordered my copy there was a Kindle copy also available for purchase. Tim. Yes, I saw that Tim. But I'm one of that dinosaur species which prefers real books. I don't own a Kindle and see no reason to buy one. No GPS. No colour screen. They are fine if all you want to do is read text in monochrome. Step outside of that parameter and they are still lacking in features. Moreover e-Books are not admissible as references for the postgrad degree I'm currently studying, which is another reason for me not to go for Kindle. Given these circumstances I'd rather have the book to read, and part of the content in digital form tied to geo-referenced mapping, so that it can easily be taken into the field and used on-site. The technology to do this is built into many mobile devices these days. More and more people are familiar with these concepts and own the technology. The only block to this happening is whether AWM sees it as a viable exercise, one assumes based upon commercial criteria. One can hope that, with centenaries now visible, the AWM and other kindred organisations, will seek to make this kind of material widely available and encourage people to purchase them and use them. The whys and wherefores of an e-Reader are somewhat off-topic. But the availability and utility of alternative forms of this very useful book, or parts of it, are very much on-topic Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShirlD Posted 30 March , 2012 Share Posted 30 March , 2012 My family have given this to me as a present Now I just need to get long service leave and go and visit! I love your comment Crunchy 'it was a labour of love',. that is always the secret ingredient in my opinion. Cheers Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River97 Posted 30 March , 2012 Share Posted 30 March , 2012 The wife gave this to me as a birthday present about a month ago and will come in handy next year. Very well laid out and easy to read. Cheers Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted 5 April , 2012 Share Posted 5 April , 2012 Hi Chris I enjoyed going through this book and it will be very handy on the next trip to the Western Front. I guess there is only so much info that can go into the book but did you ever discuss putting info on the 3rd Australian Tunnellers? A very interesting unit that for most of their war experience were based away from the AIF as they did their work near Lens. The cemetery at Hersin would be well worth a visit for Australians on the Western Front. Regards Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moggs Posted 5 April , 2012 Share Posted 5 April , 2012 Mine turned up late yesterday. I'm very impressed with the care to the detail as well as the overall layout. Even though I wish it was available when I was there over the past few years, it is still a valuable resource. Just glancing through it was like being back in France and Belgium all over again. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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