Library Guides: World War I: Home

Source: Australian War Memorial, London

World War I is often seen as the moment that Australian came into its own as a nation, with our newly federated nation going through what has been called a "baptism of fire". World War I, also known as the Great War, was the single largest loss of life experienced globally at that time, and had huge ramifications across the world. Read through the resources below and click through the tabs at the top of the page to learn more about World War I and Australia's role.

First World War 1914-1918 (Australian War Memorial, n.d.)

Australia’s involvement in the First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war on 4 August 1914, and both Prime Minister Joseph Cook and Opposition Leader Andrew Fisher, who were in the midst of an election campaign, pledged full support for Britain. The outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great enthusiasm. Read through this resource to learn more.

World War I and Australia, 1914 to 1918 (Department of Veteran Affairs, n.d.)

At the end of June 1914, Australians read in their newspapers about the political assassination of an heir to a European throne. The murder increased existing tensions between the mighty empires of Europe. It set in train a series of events that led to war. German troops entered Belgium in August. Then the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. As a dominion of the British Empire, Australia willingly joined the war. Read through this website to learn more.

Australians in WWI (Australian War Memorial, London, n.d.)

On 4 August 1914, the British Empire declared war on Germany and her allies. The outbreak of war was greeted with great enthusiasm in Australia, which at the time was still a young nation, and the government of Prime Minister Andrew Fisher pledged his country’s full support to Britain, the mother country. Read through this website for a short summary of Australia's involvement in WWI.

World War I and Australia (State Library of NSW, n.d.)

Australia was in the middle of a double-dissolution election when Britain declared war against Germany in August 1914. With Britain now at war, all dominions of the British Empire were also at war with Germany — including Australia. The Prime Minister, Joseph Cook as well as opposition leader, Andrew Fisher — who would win the election and become the Prime Minister — both pledged Australia’s full support. The campaign to recruit volunteers for the Australian Imperial Force began straightaway. Read through this website to learn more and find useful resources.

Australia & World War I (State Library of Victoria, n.d.)

World War I was Australia's first major military conflict and is often called our 'baptism by fire'. Most Australians thought the war would be over quickly and that soldiering would be a chance to see the world and make England proud of her colony. The cruel reality of the war was brought home by soldiers who wrote about their experiences. Read through this website to learn more and find useful resources.

Army: World War I, 1914-1918 (National Archives of Australia, n.d.)

The National Archives holds records of Australian servicemen and women from World War I. Find service records for the following groups:

First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF)
Australian Flying Corps (AFC) – predecessor of the Royal Australian Air Force
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) – combined force sent to German New Guinea in August 1914
Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train (RANBT) – helped the landing of men and equipment from Royal Australian Navy (RAN) vessels
Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS)
Home or Depot units for people who served within Australia
non-combatants such as artists, photographers, chaplains and historians

They also have over 500 photos of World War I servicemen.

The Great War 1914-1918

A guide to WWI battlefields and history of the First World War. This site provides an overview of the First World War battlefields on the Western Front by showing you where they are and what you can see there today.

World War One (BBC, n.d.)

This website provides a wonderful array of materials, including actual footage, discussion papers, interactive maps and other resources. It also includes good information about the campaigns and battles of World War I.

First World War

A multimedia history of World War that is easy to navigate, and contains helpful sub-sections such as propaganda posters from a range of combatant nations, in-depth articles and vintage photographs.

The World War I Document Archive

This archive of primary documents from World War One has been assembled by volunteers of the World War I Military History List (WWI-L). International in focus, the archive intends to present in one location primary documents concerning the Great War. This is a great place to find primary sources.

40 maps that explain World War I (Vox, 2014, August 4)

On August 4, 1914, German troops began pouring over the border into Belgium, starting the first major battle of World War I. The Great War killed 10 million people, redrew the map of Europe, and marked the rise of the United States as a global power. Here are 40 maps that explain the conflict — why it started, how the Allies won, and why the world has never been the same.

Europeana 1914-1918

This archive brings together material contributed by the public, national library collections, and film archives to offer a unique perspective of the First World War, showing it from every side of the battle lines and with insights from every point of view.

World War History: Newspaper Clippings, 1914 to 1926

Newspaper clippings from the 400-volume, World War History: Daily Records and Comments as Appeared in American and Foreign Newspapers, 1914-1926. The clippings yield significant information about the political, social, cultural, and economic impact of the war as it is taking place and its aftermath....and contain war-related editorials, features, cartoons, photos, maps, and more.

Allies: a coalition of countries led by France, Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and their colonies during the First World War (1914–1918).

Archduke Ferdinand: archduke of Austria and heir apparent to Francis Joseph I; his assassination at Sarajevo triggered the outbreak of World War I.

Armistice: an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; a truce.

ANZAC: a soldier in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (1914–18).

Artillery: large-calibre guns used in warfare on land.

Australian Light Horse: mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I.

Black Hand: a secret military society formed in 1901 by officers in the Army of the Kingdom of Serbia.

Censorship: the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

Central Powers: one of the two main coalitions that fought World War I. It consisted of German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Kingdom of Bulgaria and was also known as the Quadruple Alliance.

Conscription: compulsory enlistment for state service, typically into the armed forces.

Contraband: any item that is illegal to be possessed or sold.

Convoy: a group of ships or vehicles travelling together, typically one accompanied by armed troops, warships, or other vehicles for protection.

Dardanelles: a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between Asia and Europe and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. Together with the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles forms the Turkish Straits.

Digger: a military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand.

Enlist: enrol or be enrolled in the armed services.

Espionage: the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information.

Fourteen Points: a declaration by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson during World War I outlining his proposals for a postwar peace settlement.

Gallipoli: a military campaign in the First World War that took place on the Gallipoli peninsula, from 17 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Entente powers, Britain, France and Russia, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, by taking control of the Turkish straits.

Home front: the civilian population and activities of a nation whose armed forces are engaged in war abroad.

Imperialism: a policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means.

League of Nations: the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War.

Lone Pine: the Battle of Lone Pine was fought between Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and Ottoman Empire forces during the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War, between 6 and 10 August 1915.

Militarism: the belief that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.

Nationalism: ideology based on the idea that the individual's loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests.

Neutral: the formal position taken by a State which is not participating in an armed conflict or which does not want to become involved.

No Man's Land: the narrow, muddy, treeless stretch of land, characterized by numerous shell holes, that separated German and Allied trenches during the First World War. Being in No Man's Land was considered very dangerous since it offered little or no protection for soldiers.

Passchendaele: The Third Battle of Ypres also known as the Battle of Passchendaele was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire.

Propaganda: information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.

Referendum: a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision.

Reparation: a levy on a defeated country forcing it to pay some of the war costs of the winning countries.

Schlieffen Plan: battle plan first proposed in 1905 by Alfred, Graf (count) von Schlieffen, chief of the German general staff, that was designed to allow Germany to wage a successful two-front war.

Self-determination: the process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own government.

Shell shock: a term coined in World War I by British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post traumatic stress disorder many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a reaction to the intensity of the bombardment and fighting that produced a helplessness appearing variously as panic and being scared, flight, or an inability to reason, sleep, walk or talk.

Somme: the Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the Somme, a river in France.

Stalemate: a deadlock, an unresolved situation which no one can win.

Tanks: a heavy armoured fighting vehicle carrying guns and moving on a continuous articulated metal track.

Treaty: a formally concluded and ratified agreement between states.

Treaty of Versailles: the treaty that officially ended World War I, signed at the Palace of Versailles in France.

Trenches: long, deep ditches dug as protective defenses.

Trench foot: a painful condition of the feet caused by long immersion in cold water or mud and marked by blackening and death of surface tissue.

Trench warfare: a type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other.

Triple Alliance: an agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. It was formed on 20 May 1882 and renewed periodically until it expired in 1915 during World War I.

U-Boat: a German submarine used in the First or Second World War.

Victory garden: a vegetable garden, especially a home garden, cultivated to increase food production during a war or period of shortages.

Villers-Bretonneux: a town in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. In the First World War the town was the site of the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. The first tank-against-tank combat in history took place here on 24 April 1918.

Ypres: is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. During the First World War, Ypres (or "Wipers" as it was commonly known by the British troops) was the centre of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces.

	Battles of the First World War The Battles of the First World War Podcast is a podcast that looks to go in-depth into the battles of the Great War of 1914-1918. The goal is to really go into the details of how and why these battles unfolded and happened as they did. In telling the narrative of these clashes we can revisit some of the stories of the men and women who lived, fought, and died during the first titanic struggle of the 20th Century, for these people have stories that deserve to be told.
	The Old Front Line Walk the battlefields of the First World War with Military Historian, Paul Reed. In these podcasts, Paul brings together over 35 years of studying the Great War, from the stories of veterans he interviewed, to when he spent more than a decade living on the Old Front Line in the heart of the Somme battlefields.
	World War I Podcast World War I created many of the political, cultural, and economic fault lines of the world today. Produced by the MacArthur Memorial, this podcast explores the causes, the major players, the battles, the technology, and the popular culture of World War I.
	Mentioned in Dispatches A podcast on all aspects of the Great War from the UK's leading First World War history society The Western Front Association.
	WW1 Digger History Podcast WWI Digger Stories Podcast reproduces the diaries, memoirs and letters of the real participants in the war that changed the course of the 20th Century. What was it like to be in the trenches, on the ships or behind the big guns where death stalked in infinite ways and it was impossible to make friends unless you were prepared to lose them at any moment.
	History of the Great War History of the Great War is a weekly podcast that covers the First World War that occurred from 1914 and 1918.
	The Great War podcast A chronological look at the origins and battles of the First World War from 1890-1920.
	Key Battles of World War One World War One is the watershed moment in modern history. In this series, history professors Scott Rank and James Early look at the 10 key battles that determined the outcome of the war between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire) and the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, United States).
	Fix Bayonets! A show that intends to share the story of the First World War in a way that is unlike any before - from three very important perspectives: bird's eye, ground level, and perhaps most importantly... human.
	Voices of the First World War Dan Snow brings together the sound archive collections of the Imperial War Museums and the BBC to tell the story of World War I through the voices of those who were.
	Collected: Stories from the Australian War Memorial Collected is a podcast series exploring the artefacts that make up the National Collection of the Australian War Memorial. Join journalist Louise Maher as she takes a closer look at the obscure, popular, strange, and wonderful items in the collection. Through conversations with historians and curators, and first-hand accounts from the people connected with these artefacts, Maher peels back the layers of history and uncovers the stories that the public don’t always get to hear.

Another mouth to feed : children in war & depression 1900-1945 by Melanie Guile
Publication Date: 2005
Life during the first half of 1900s was uncertain, as children faced the effects of hunger, unemployment and war. Read about children during war and the Depression, and learn about their challenges and struggles.
The Anzac Spirit by Michael Andrews
Publication Date: 2004
The Anzac spirit defines Australia's military past. No other name so evokes the idea of unity in Australians. It was born in a terrible military defeat; a time marked by great acts of bravery by common soldiers and great acts of arrogance and stupidity by some of their commanders and political leaders.
ANZACS : the pain and the glory of Gallipoli by Peter Bowers
Publication Date: 1999
Features stories on Australia's last three remaining soldiers to serve at Gallipoli: Alec Campbell, Roy Longmore and Walter Parker and celebrates the powerful legacy of all Anzacs.
Armistice by Ruth Starke & David Kennett
Publication Date: 2018
On 11 November 1918, the Allied powers signed an agreement with Germany to end the Great War and to begin peace negotiations. But it would be more than seven months before the Versailles Peace Treaty would finally be signed and peace declared on 28 June 1919. In this book, many voices recall the day the fighting stopped, and the months that followed before peace rang out around the world. Stories of hope, joy, resignation, loss and despair are told through the eyes of many different participants, including the war-wounded Adolf Hitler who vows to avenge the enemies of Germany; a young French girl who returns to find her house in ruins, and the German lawyer who sees the devastation of northern France for the first time on his way to Versailles. Direct accounts from real participants such as 33rd President of the United States Harry S Truman, World War 1 German fighter pilot ace Herman Goring, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Jean Marie Foch, mingle with factually based descriptions from a host of characters, including a starving victim of the German Blockade; an angry French War veteran waiting for news of the peace negotiations and a young girl celebrating the declaration of peace at Versailles on 28 June 1919.
Australia and the First World War, 1914-18 by A.K. Macdougall
Publication Date: 2004
Australians eagerly went to war in 1914, anxious to prove their loyalty and worth to the British Empire. By war's end in 1918, Australia's all-volunteer army - the 'Diggers' - had fought on Gallipoli, in the Middle East, and had endured the Western Front in France, where they suffered the highest per capita casualties in the British Empire. Australia emerged weakened by her terrible losses, but strengthened by a sense of nationhood.
The Australian Light Horse by Kathrine Bell
Publication Date: 2009
The story of the Australian Light Horse is exciting and forms an important part of our Nation's great tradition of bravery in times of war.
Australian women at war by Patsy Adam-Smith
Publication Date: 2014
This magnificent work is a history of how Australian women have responded to war -- from|1900, when the first nurses sailed to the Boer War, to 1945 and its aftermath. Recording the achievements of our women for all time, it tells of their bravery, self-sacrifice, endurance and devotion. Australian Women at War is a tribute to Australian women.
Australians at home : World War I by Michael McKernan
Publication Date: 2014
The battlefield bravery of the Australian soldier in the First World War is legendary. This book tells of the experiences of Australian men, women and children away from the fighting front, and of how they coped during the long war years. It is the story of those who stayed at home, of city and country, schools and churces, of German-Australians, and of Australian soldiers in Britain. This is a story of fear, frustration, anxiety and hope. It is much a part of the Great War as all of the accounts of the old soldiers.
Australians at war : the illustrated history by A.K. Macdougall
Publication Date: 2012
Richly illustrated, with photographs from the nation's archives, this narrative history of Australia's experience of war has never been out of print since its first publication in 1991. Now expanded to include the early conflicts as well as the modern-day campaigns, this handsome new edition captures the entirety of Australia's extraordinary fighting history.
Australians in the First World War by Dana Walkens
Publication Date: 2009
The First World War broke out late in 1914 and ended on November 11 1918. Over 200,000 Australians were killed or wounded in the war. Of all the wars Australia has been involved in, the First World War has been the most costly in terms of deaths|and injuries. Yet Australia was never invaded or even threatened with invasion. The battlefields were thousands of kilometres away in Europe and the Middle East. Learn how this war impacted Australia and the home front.
Australians on the Western Front by Department of Veterans' Affairs
Publication Date: 2006
During World War I the Western Front was a continuous line of trenches stretching from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. The story of what happened to Australians on the Western Front is less well known and recognised than that of Gallipoli. The|military campaigns fought by the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in France and Belgium between April 1916 and November 1918|cost the lives of more than 45,000 Australians.
The beach they called Gallipoli by Jackie French & Bruce Whateley
Publication Date: 2014
Many books have been written about the battles of Gallipoli; the men who went to war and what they faced, the letters, and the tears of those left behind. But this is a book about Gallipoli, the place, and what happened on Gallipoli Beach from April -|December 1915. With beautiful and painterly illustrations by Bruce Whatley this is a book that explores the beach where the battles took place. In focusing on the actual place of war, the book will also examine many other aspects of WW1, from the soldiers and the|conditions they fought in, to the civilians at home. This is more than a book about ANZACS; this is a book about and for all of the nationalities who fought at that cove, not matter what side they were on.
The broken years : Australian soldiers in the Great War by Bill Gammage
Publication Date: 2010
First published in 1974, The Broken Years, based on the diaries and letters of Australian soliders in the Great War, has|been a widely read classic ever since.
Brothers at war : a first world war family history by Sarah Ridley & Eliza Ridley-Johnson
Publication Date: 2013
At the turn of the 20th Century four brothers were born into the Baker family, Lionel, Arthur, Maurice and Harold. Over a hundred years later Eliza, one of Arthur Baker's great grandchildren, and her mother, Sarah, decided to find out about these ancestors. They delved into the past to uncover for themselves the story of Lionel, Arthur and Maurice during the First World War. Using letters sent from the Western Front, a diary written in a prisoner of war camp and other documentary evidence, Eliza and Sarah uncover their fascinating family history of the First World War.
Devotion : stories of Australia's wartime nurses by Robyn Siers
Publication Date: 2013
Devotion explores the contribution and courage of Australian nurses in conflicts and|peacekeeping operations from the Boer War to the present. It features stories and images from the|Memorial's rich collection, along with questions for discussion, a map and timeline.
Experiences of the Great War 1914-1918 by Susan Johnston
Publication Date: 1990
Provides students with a wide selection of documents and photographs. Through this material students will see into the experiences of the men and women who lived and died during that war.
The First World War 1914-18 by Christine Hatt
Publication Date: 2007
Original documents are the key to unlocking the secrets of the past. This book uses extracts from primary sources as the starting point for studying significant periods of history and developing skills of enquiry and interpretation.
The first world war by Joyce Swinton
Publication Date: 1995
Europeans ruled the world in 1901. By 1918, all their systems of power and privilege had been transformed by a war|which had lasted four years, killed nearly 9 million, wounded 20 million, and turned much of the European countryside to wasteland. A comprehensive account is presented of the major aspects of this battle. Beginning with a simple explanation of the causes of conflict and concluding with chapters on the reasons for Germany's defeat and the Treaty of Versailles. Special attention is given to the human side of the conflict, in particular the trench warfare, the Western Front and the home fronts of Great Britain, Germany and Australia.
First World War by Jon Richards & Jonathan Vipond
Publication Date: 2017
The First World War helps children get to grips with the immense scale of the First World War. Find out the size of each country's army, see how many km of trenches there were, learn about the average age of soldiers and the amount of underage soldiers fighting, how many people were taken prisoner, how many zeppelins were built, how big the tanks were, what were the major battles and much, much more.
Frightful first World War by Terry Deary & Martin Brown
Publication Date: 2007
It's history with the nasty bits left in! Want to know: why a pair of old socks gave away top German secrets? Why sniffing your own pee could save your life in a gas attack? What the 'Fat King' did with food scraps and dead horses? Discover all the foul facts about the frightful first world war.
Fromelles : Australia's bloodiest day at war by Carole Wilkinson
Publication Date: 2011
The first shots were fired at 11 a.m., 19 July 1916. The Battle of Fromelles lasted less than 24 hours. When it was over, more than 5,000 Australian soldiers had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner - more soldiers died at Fromelles than in the Boer, Korean and Vietnam wars combined. What was the point of this bloody loss of life? And why, almost a century later, did the attention of the world once again turn to Fromelles?
Gallipoli by Alan Moorehead
Publication Date: 1975
In 1915, the Gallipoli campaign was planned as a combined operation entirely untypical of the First World War. Its intention was to force the Dardanelles Narrows by sea and land, to capture Constantinople from the Turks, and so to open the Black Sea to ships from the Mediterranean bearing supplies and arms for the Russians on their immense German front. Had it succeeded, the war might have been brought to a speedy close, with Russia as one of the victors and perhaps strong enough to resist revolution.
Gallipoli by John Laffin
Publication Date: 1999
The Gallipoli campaign is one of the key stories in Australian history. The date that the Australians and New Zealanders landed on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I has been adopted as our national day of war remembrance - ANZAC Day. But there was more to Gallipoli than the famous beach landing. Before any soldiers stepped on Turkish soil there was a mighty naval battle. After the landing on 25 April 1915 there followed eight months on intense fighting that saw many examples of great courage, humour and tragedy. This is the complete story of Gallipoli - from the initial planning to the final evacuation. It answers questions about what happened before and during the months of fighting: Why fight at Gallipoli of all places? Why did the naval attack fail? What were Australians and New Zealanders doing so far from home? And why is a campaign that ended in defeat commemorated unlike any other?
Gallipoli 1915 by Richard Reid
Publication Date: 2002
Gallipoli 1915 presents a new look at the old legend of Anzac - an account of how ordinary blokes from any different countries coped in extraordinary circumstances not only in battle but back in the trenches. These men, whose 'fingers were too frozen to pull the trigger', buried their best mates, slept in holes in the ground and struggled with lice infested clothes. This book presents a remarkable and absorbing series of photographs from Australia's major archival collections, many previously unseen. These images often taken by the soldiers themselves, combined with illustrations created for the newspapers, were the images responsible for creating the public memory of Gallipoli back in Australia. The photographs are brought to life by the commentary of historian, Dr Richard Reid of the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Apart from the images, moving extracts from soldiers letters and diaries, along with the official dispatches of war correspondents present at Gallipoli, paint an unforgettable record of the sacrifices, courage and determination embodied in the Anzac story.
Gallipoli and the Middle East, 1915-18 by A.K. Macdougall
Publication Date: 2004
When an army of Australians and New Zealanders - the 'ANZACS' - landed on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli in 1915, they won a reputation for reckless bravery, despite the failure of the campaign. Australia's spirited mounted troops - the Light Horse Brigade - subsequently fought through the entire Middle East campaign until victory in 1918.
Gallipoli diaries : the Anzac's own story day by day by Jonathan King
Publication Date: 2003
For the first time, the Gallipoli story is told in the words of the ordinary soldier fighting in the trenches. Day by day, starting with the landing on 25 April 1915, the world of the Gallipoli soldier is starkly revealed.
The Gallipoli story by Patrick Carlyon
Publication Date: 2015
An unforgettable and tough journey deep into the heartland of the Gallipoli campaign, award-winning journalist Patrick Carlyon digs past the myths to explore the lives and choices of the men -- soldiers, politicians and generals alike -- who found themselves caught up in a battle fought far from home.
The good son : a story from the First World War, told in miniature by Pierre-Jacques Ober
Publication Date: 2019
It is Christmastime, 1914, and World War I rages. A young French soldier named Pierre had quietly left his regiment to visit his family for two days, and when he returned, he was imprisoned. Now he faces execution for desertion, and as he waits in isolation, he meditates on big questions: the nature of patriotism, the horrors of war, the joys of friendship, the love of family, and how even in times of danger, there is a whole world inside every one of us. And how sometimes that world is the only refuge. Its publication coinciding with the centennial of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, this moving and sparely narrated story, based on true events, is reenacted in fascinating miniature scenes that convey the emotional complexity of the tale. Notes from the creators explore the innovative process and their personal connection to the story.
Home front by Craig Wilcox
Publication Date: 2011
This commemorative publication contains a brief essay on the impact of the First World War on Australian society and more than 100 images. Focuses on the experience of the millions of Australians who lived through the four years of World War I in their homes and workplaces, rather than in the army or navy.
In Flanders fields by Norman Jorgensen & Brian Harrison Lever
Publication Date: 2002
Early on Christmas morning the guns stop firing. A deathly silence creeps over the pitted and ruined landscape. A young soldier peers through a periscope over the top of the trench. Way out in no-man's-land he sees a small red shape moving on barbed wire. A brightly coloured robin is trapped. One wing is flapping helplessly.
John Simpson Kirkpatrick by Allan Drummond
Publication Date: 2000
John Simpson Kirkpatrick is better known as the Man with the Donkey. He was a hero of the Gallipoli campaign, though he never fired a shot in anger. In many ways he is typical of the young Australians who set out on a great adventure in 1915 and never|came back. He was a larrikin, did not like bosses and never had a permanent job. But when the going got tough, he was the sort of bloke you would like to have beside you. An Australian hero alright, which is not a bad effort for an Englishman!
Living through World War I by Nicola Barber
Publication Date: 2012
Explores the history of World War I, including the important players, battles, and consequences.
Lone Pine by Susie Brown, Margaret Warner & Sebastian Ciaffaglionef
Publication Date: 2014
From a battlefiald at Gallipoli, a soldier sends a pine cone home to his mother. Little does he know that his simple gift will become a national symbol of remembrance. Based on a true story, Lone Pine is a moving account of both a personal experience and a nation-defining event.
he lost diggers by Ross Coulthart
Publication Date: 2012
Photographs from a collection of fragile First World War photographic glass plate |presented to the Australian War Memorial after their discovery, in 2011, in the attic of a farmhouse in the French town of Vignacourt. These photographs feature Australian soldiers in informal settings just outside the battle lines.
Meet the ANZACs by Claire Saxby & Max James Berry
Publication Date: 2014
ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is the name given to the troops who fought in the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I. The name ANZAC is now a symbol of bravery and mateship. This is the story of how the ANZAC legend began.
My first world war by Daniel James
Publication Date: 2009
The First World War was a massive struggle between imperial powers that occupied four terrible years from 1914 to 1918. This book describes major events of the war in the actual words of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations. Taken from|the extensive archives of the Imperial War Museum, this is a fascinating study of how people coped with recruitment, the horrors of trench warfare, shortages on the home front and much more.
My mother's eyes : the story of a boy soldier by Mark Wilson
Publication Date: 2009
William was only sixteen years old when he enlisted for the First World War. Like many other under-age boys at the time, he was accepted into the Australian Imperial Force and sent to the battlefields of France. His letters home from the front reveal how, for the boy soldiers, the 'great adventure' became a tragedy.
One minute's silence by David Metzenthen & Michael Camilleri
Publication Date: 2014
A moving and powerful reflection on the meaning of Remembrance Day.
The poppy by Andrew Plant
Publication Date: 2014
The Poppy is the true story of one of Australia's greatest victories, and of a promise kept for nearly a century. On Anzac Day, 1918, a desperate night counter-attack in the French village of Villers-Bretonneux became one of Australia's greatest victories. A|bond was forged that night between France and Australia that has never been broken. Villers-Bretonneux is 'The town that never forgets'. What was achieved that terrible night - and what happened after - is a story that, likewise, Australians should never forget.
Remembering the fallen of the First World War by Sarah Ridley
Publication Date: 2015
Remembering the Fallen of the First World War takes a fascinating and detailed look at how servicemen killed during the First World War were commemorated. Beginning during the war itself, the book investigates the options available at the time -|repatriation and normal burial were initially considered, but the sheer number of the dead precluded this, so cemeteries close to the battlefields became the only realistic option. The book chronicles the work of Sir Fabian Ware and the Imperial (now Commonwealth)|War Graves Commission in setting up permanent and beautifully maintained cemeteries after the war as well as local war memorials, plaques in churches, books of remembrance and so forth. The book also includes poetry written and artwork created to honour the fallen, and offers advice on how young readers can find their ancestors' war graves.
To end all wars : the First World War 1914-1918 by Harry Mayfield
Publication Date: 1990
A textbook covering the first world war including possible reasons for the start of the war as well as various campaigns operated during the First World War.
Tommy goes to war by Malcolm Brown
Publication Date: 1978
What was it like to serve on the Western Front in the First World War? This question and more are answered through extracts from letters and diaries written at the time by the ordinary serving man, whether officer of other rank, in or just out of the trenches. None of this material has been published before. Much of it has been transcribed from dog-eared, mud-stained letters and notebooks, many of which have been scarcely glanced at since they were first written, often in conditions of danger and squalor, sixty or more years ago. Nearly 200 illustrations - postcards, cartoons, unpublished drawings, official documents of the time and a large number of striking photographs, some from the vast resources of the Imperial War Museum, others borrowed from family albums or culled from trunks in dusty attics - complete the compelling, disturbing story of the Great War.
Victoria at war 1914-1918 by Michael McKernan
Call Number: 2014
During the First World War, in Melbourne and communities throughout Victoria, schoolchildren knitted socks for the troops serving in Gallipoli, the Middle East and on the Western Front. Their families set up Red Cross branches to support the 91,000 Victorian servicemen and women overseas. Victoria at War records the achievements of the state's soldiers, nurses and their families -|including the Whitelaws from Gippsland with six sons enlisting, 'Bert' Jacka, the first Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War, and commander Sir John Monash. By the end of the war 19,000 Victorian service people were dead and 42,000|wounded. Bestselling military historian Michael McKernan tells stories from the home front and battlefield that commemorates the generosity, devotion, sacrifice and spirit of a community pushed towards breaking point.
Victory on the western front : the decisive battles of World War One by Martin Marix Evans
As the outset of 1918 Germany faced certain defeat as a result of Allied technical innovation in tanks and aircraft, and the American entry into the war. Victory could only be gained by the immediate application of overwhelming force in new tactical form: the 'fire-waltz' artillery barrage and the storm-trooper infantry attack. This book examines both the Germans' tactics and the Allies' preferred solution to fighting this war, the combination of artillery, tanks, infantry and aircraft, and argues that this reached a level of sophistication in command and control never before achieved. The war of attrition was far from over, but as more Americans arrived in France, the ghastly cost became affordable. For the Germans, it became a question of whether they could negotiate an armistice before their armies were utterly destroyed.
Women at home and war 1900-1945 by Rose Inserra
Publication Date: 2004
The 20th century brought enormous changes for Australian women, especially changes to traditional roles. For the first time, non-Aboriginal women voted in elections and stood for parliament. Hard times hit during the two world wars and the Depression,|yet women became increasingly independent and achieved success in many new fields from which they had been previously excluded. Discover how Australian women lived between 1900 and 1945.
World at War 1914-1939 by Duncan Hill
Publication Date: 2011
The many conflicts that took place around the globe between 1914 and 1939 showed that diplomacy was all too often incapable of arresting military and political ambition, and that the notion of collective security was just a noble idea. This book uses contemporaneous reports and photographs from the Daily Mail archives, including many eyewitness accounts, to show how conflicts of that period developed, describing key battles, tactical decisions and turning points that settled the outcome.
World War 1 by H.P. Willmott
Publication Date: 2008
Published to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the armistice, this dramatic account of World War I combines emotive photography with personal accounts to evoke both the futility and spirit of the Great War. Every aspect of World War I is explored giving you a complete picture of the conflict.
World War I by Robert Hillman
Publication Date: 2011
This series looks at Australia.s involvement in each of the three 20th century wars both on the battlefields and at home: World War 1, World War II and the Vietnam War. Each book examines the reasons for the war, why Australia was involved, where Australians fought, famous battles, women at war, the war effort at home and how the wars ended.
World War I by Jeremy Sinclair
Publication Date: 2013
A collection of learning activities, primary sources, statistics and summaries on Australia's involvement in World War I and the ways in which the conflict affected the nation. Sources present a wide range of perspectives on key issues such as enlistment, conscription, political debates, women's involvement, the Anzac legend, national identity and indigenous soldiers.
World War I : 1914-1918 by Nicolas Brasch
Publication Date: 2009
Examines the causes of World War I and the devastating results of the conflict. It also explores the war's impact on the lives of Australian soldiers serving overseas, as well as those supporting the war effort at home. Specially selected extracts from primary sources bring this period of Australian history to life!
World War I : the Australian experience by Michael Andrews & Lynn Brodie
Publication Date: 2012
This is the story of how Australia unquestioningly entered a conflict on the opposite side of the world. It is a chronicle of great bravery, when poorly trained and naive young men went to a war far from home and returned as Anzacs. Pitted against superior enemy forces, they matured into a cohesive force that played a major role in the ultimate defeat of the enemy. In this book we see how the unprepared troops undertook the futile Gallipoli campaign and survived to fight again. We follow the Light Horse on its heroic campaigns against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and the triumph of the great cavalry charge at Beersheba. And then to the Western Front, the toughest of all campaigns, where Australian forces showed they were the equal of those they fought with and against.
The World War I album by Ross Burns
Publication Date: 1991
Although only the oldest can now directly remember World War I, in the popular memory the war is still associated with a very clear and dramatic set of images of mud, machine guns, trench warfare, tanks lumbering across shell-blasted wastelands, biplanes dogfighting over the Western Front, and dreadnoughts plowing through rough seas. Presents a comprehensive and balanced collection of photographs and other illustrations of every campaign of the war, by land, air and sea, enabling the reader to see how accurate the standard picture is. Shows the changes that took place in the course of the war - how the cavalry and infrantry|maneuvers of 1914 were superseded by the tanks, guns and gas shells of 1918, or the weak and haphazard air patrols of the opening months became the elaborately organised bomber and fighter squadrons of the final offensives. In addition to the static|struggles on the Western Front, there were the more open but equally hard fought battles on the Eastern Front and in Italy, while the war against Turkey saw events as different as the close-range combat at Gallipoli and the desert epic of Lawrence and the Arab|Revolt. Equally new and influential in the war was the largely unseen menace of the German submarine fleet, whose depredations finally served to bring the USA into the war.
World War One a history in 100 stories by Bruce Scates, Rebecca Wheatley & Laura James
Publication Date: 2015
There has been no shortage of heroic stories over the course of the Anzac Centenary: stories of courage and sacrifice,|fortitude and endurance, mateship and resolve. But a hundred years on, there is a need for other stories as well - the stories too often marginalised in favour of nation-building narratives.
Young Anzacs : the contribution of Victorian schools to the Gallipoli Campaign 1915 by Brian McKinlay
Publication Date: 1990
A collection of extracts from the Victorian Readers and School Papers, the Education Gazette, and the Record of War Service. Seventy-five years after the landing at Gallipoli, this book commemorates those events.