An Australian Band of Brothers: Don Company, Second 43rd Battalion, 9th Division

This riveting book follows a small group of Australian front-line
soldiers from their enlistment in the dark days of 1940 to the end of
World War II.
No ordinary soldiers, they were members of Don
Company of the Second 43rd Battalion, part of the famous 9th Australian
Division, which — during campaigns in Tobruk, El Alamein, New Guinea,
and Borneo — sustained more casualties and won more medals than any
other Australian division. It is an evocative and detailed account of
the day-to-day war of three infantry soldiers whose experiences included
night patrols at Tobruk, advancing steadily through German barrages at
Alamein, charging enemy machine guns in New Guinea, and repelling
Japanese charges on Borneo.
Inspired by American historian
Stephen Ambrose’s landmark book, Band of Brothers, about the US Army’s
Easy Company of the 506th Regiment, Mark Johnston, one of our best
military historians, here gives an Australian company the same
treatment. Using the frank and detailed personal letters, diaries, and
memoirs of three Australian soldiers, he brings to life their campaigns,
battles, and interactions with their comrades and enemies. His book is a
unique and powerful account of the everyday experiences of a small unit
of Australian soldiers on the front line.