Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939 - 1945 [Australian Army History Series].

New York: Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2011. Hardback octavo, dustjacket, very good condition (in very good dustjacket), maps, tables, black & white text-photos, minor edgewear jacket. 347 pp. Allan Converse uniquely reflects upon the experience of two divisions from different armies facing similar challenges in the Second World War in Europe (Sicily, Normandy), North Africa (Tobruk, Alamein) and southeast Asia and Pacific (Borneo, Papua New Guinea). In this comparative study of Australian and British divisions at war, he draws on primary sources as well as recent scholarship on morale and combat efficiency. He shows how it was a combination of leadership, loyalty and tactics, rather than intrinsic popular mythology surrounding the Australian Digger and the British Tommy, which resulted in victory for Churchill's armies. The author is an American history lecturer. From the Cambridge University Press ’Australian Army History Series'.