The long road to Changi / Peter Ewer.

Long road to Changi : Australia's greatest military defeat and how it broke the bonds of empire

Sydney : ABC Books, [2013]

Ewer, Peter. author.

01-01-2013

328 pages, 8 pages of plates : illustrations, portraits, maps ; 24 cm.

text

volume

940.5425957 EWE (Copy 1) MAIN-MONO 299285 INLIBRARY

Defence personnel

Singapore

World War 2

Anecdotes

Great Britain

History

Japan

World War, 1939-1945 -- Australia.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Great Britain.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Singapore -- Changi.

Australia -- History, Military.

Singapore -- History -- Siege, 1942.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9780733331107

In the 1930s while war raged in Europe, Australians were assured by politicians that the country was safe as long as the Union Jack fluttered over Fortress Singapore. The reality was so different: Britain, over-stretched and under threat, skimped on the forces it needed to hold the base. When Japanese forces began flexing their muscles in the Pacific, a hasty defence plan was put in place. Australian troops, aircrews and sailors were dispatched to Singapore as much for purposes of propaganda as anything else. The understanding was that bronzed Aussies would soon put the Japs in their place. But it was so much wishful thinking. While most books centre on the horrors of the death camps, historian Peter Ewer asks how we came to be in this mess in the first place. Why was an untested Australian military contingent expected to play a leading role in halting the cream of the Japanese army? Why did British commanders and politicians send them there - then blame them for the inevitable defeat? Could this disaster have been averted?

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299285

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