C. E. W. Bean (1879–1968)

Not a book for anyone, even those who have an interest in military history. However, you will not find a better series of books explaining in both broad brush and fine detail; the history of the Australian Forces and the home-front in WWI.
This volume of a multi-volume series of WWI, covers the establishment of the Australian Imperial Force and up to the end of the 1st Phase of the Gallipoli campaign.
Like other histories, this does cover the major strategy and key events, but unlike most histories this book also covers in detail what takes place behind the scenes of the whole mammoth enterprise and for the military actions you often go to platoon level and in many cases descriptions of the efforts of individual soldiers. A worthy official history and a fantastic resource from a person who was at all the actions on the day of near enough to them, basically a first and/or second hand study of the events.
Anyone with a deep interest in WWI in general and in Australia's efforts in particular can not go past this book and its sister volumes!… (more)

The third volume of the Official History of the Australian Army in World War One continues with the arrival of the Australian troops in France, following their withdrawal from Gallipoli. The book encompasses the disaster of Fromelles and the Australian involvement in the Battle of the Somme at Poziers and Moquet Farm. As with previous volumes, Bean writes the story of each battle from every side: commanders, soldiers, the enemy, and the forensic evidence left in the soil. Bean, as an Official historian, gives exhaustive details of units and movements, but makes the whole palatable with his stories of individuals and his own eye-witness descriptions of the action. The Australian soldiers' (and Bean's) doubts about the competence of British High Command grows through this period. As an Australian history of World War One this is essential reading, but it also stands alone for the picture it gives of operations - and particularly tactics - on the Somme in 1916. Despite its age, and bulk, this is an immensely readable book. Copies are very hard to get hold of, and command very high prices. Fortunately the Australian War Memorial has digitised the entire series and offers them as pdf files, chapter by chapter at the War Memorial website.… (more)

This is the second volume in CEW Bean's 12 Volume history of Australia's involvement in World War One, and the concluding volume of the two that describe the events at Gallipoli in 1915. Bean continues his hugely detailed and human description of the action, from the perspective of both sides in the conflict. The impossibility of the allied position, and the ingenuity which the Australians employed in defending and extending their positions, and in their undetected withdrawal is one of two themes played out in Bean's narrative. The contrasting theme is the shocking failure of British troops to take advantage of their landing to the north of the Australian position, and the frantic, heroic and ultimately doomed attempt of Australian and New Zealand troops to take the peak that dominated the entire battlefield. In this volume Bean reveals his own disillusionment with some of the British and Australian military commanders, but as ever he maintains and celebrates the stoicism, courage and humanity of the 'little men' on both sides. This is a very readable volume, written by a former journalist, but a set of modern maps and photographs will make the text a little easier to follow. Copies of this book are highly collectable, but a free copy of the text is available at the Australian War Memorial website.… (more)

This is a book which - as part of a set - has considerable value. As such it is more often owned than read. Nevertheless it is exceptionally well written by a former journalist who was embedded with the Australian troops at Gallipoli in the First World War. Bean was present at every battle involving Australian troops in Gallipoli and France bar one. His descriptions of actions combined his eyewitness experiences, first hand accounts, reports from both sides of the battlefield (Allied and Axis) and archeological work done after the war. Bean brought a skeptical view to the ability of higher command to conduct battles, and to the ability of anyone to report them accurately. However, he maintained a highly idealistic view of the virtues of the common soldier. Bean's preference to detail every action down to the level of individual soldiers makes the text somewhat dense at times, but this is balanced by the human quality this gives his storytelling. As the official historian he takes care to describe all of the elements of battle (army units on both sides), which again may daunt the reader, but his presence at those battles is obvious in the vividness of his description of the actions. The futility, courage, and humanity and inhumanity of war comes through clearly in his narrative, and his attention to the perspective of the 'other side' is generous and thoughtful. Bean was the General Editor of all twelve volumes of the Australian Official History of WW1, and the author of the first six volumes. All are worth reading, but particularly these first two. While this volume has photos and a great many maps, an appreciation of his description of the landscape over which this fighting occurred is immeasurably enhanced with any modern photographic record of ANZAC cove and Sulva Bay. The book is hard to obtain, but the text is available free online at the Australian War Memorial website.… (more)