In 1945, 240 Australians died taking the small Borneo island of Tarakan from the Japanese. The tragedy of Tarakan was that by the time they succeeded, they need not have begun.
Peter Stanley explores that battle, what it was like and what it means to us over fifty years on. He traces the operation from its origins in MacArthur's GHQ, down to the rifle sections patrolling in Tarakan's rugged jungle.
Tarakan: An Australian Tragedy suggests new ways of looking at Australia's experience of war. It critically appraises the view that the Borneo campaign was unnecessary, arguing that it was a justifiable operation doomed by the politics of coalition warfare and by bad planning.
Tarakan: An Australian Tragedy illuminates the Australian experience of war. Through it, we can hear the men on Tarakan - scared, angry, humorous, proud, bitter and, above all, Australian - the voices of a vanished Australia.
Tarakan: An Australian Tragedy is the story of people at war, how it affected them, and how we have remembered it and them.
By:
Peter Stanley
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Country of Publication: Australia
Edition: illustrated edition
Dimensions:
Height: 230mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 17mm
Weight: 508g
ISBN: 9781864482782
ISBN 10: 1864482788
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 April 1997
Recommended Age: From
Audience:
College/higher education
,
General/trade
,
Primary
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Foreword List of maps Acknowledgements Introduction: Tarakan, fifty years on 1. 'We're heading for Japan': Tarakan - stepping stone to nowhere 2. 'The boys who do the landing': the men and units of Oboe One Force 3. 'To capture Tarakan': planning Operation Oboe One 4. 'The barrage is lifting; we're just about to land': P-Day, 1 May 1945 5. 'Heading for the airstrip': the first week - the airstrip, Tarakan Hill and Sykes 6. 'Then push up from the beachhead': the second week - Tiger, Crazy Ridge and Helen 7. 'Carry on without a frown': the third week - the patrol fight and the airstrip 8. 'We've got to climb the razorback': Freda and Margy 9. 'There's the fire from Nippon's pill box': the corporals' fight for Fukukaku 10. 'This lousy joint': capitulation 11. 'Oboe One is over': occupation and departure, 1945 12. 'We're sure to have the memory': looking back on Tarakan APPENDICES I Order of battle, Oboe One Force, May 1945 II Casualties, Oboe One Force, May-December 1945 III Roll of Honour, Australian forces on Tarakan, May-December 1945 IV Note on sources and Bibliography Endnotes Index
Reviews for Tarakan: An Australian tragedy
?This book is a most valuable as a handy, one-volume collection of anecdotes and one-line descriptions of many of the struggles of press and speech freedoms humankind has witnessed and endured since antiquity. For the teacher of journalism history or communication law course, the book provides impressive examples and information to enliven and enrich lectures on press freedom topics. For the researcher, the volume can serve as a starting point by providing possible research topics and clues to where to begin the search for further information. For the reader intersted in getting a sense of the big picture of free speech and press struggles throughout time, this volume fits the bill nicely.?-American Journalism (Editor's Choice)
