Soldiers and Gentlemen: Australian Battalion Commanders in the Great War, 1914-1918

Hardback

Main Details

Title Soldiers and Gentlemen: Australian Battalion Commanders in the Great War, 1914-1918
Authors and Contributors      By (author) William Westerman
SeriesAustralian Army History Series
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:320
Dimensions(mm): Height 228,Width 152
Category/GenreHistory
Australia, New Zealand & Pacific history
Military history
First world war
ISBN/Barcode 9781107190627
ClassificationsDewey:940.394
Audience
General
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises; 2 Maps; 48 Halftones, black and white; 8 Line drawings, black and white

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 14 February 2017
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Soldiers and Gentlemen: Australian Battalion Commanders in the Great War, 1914-1918 is the first book to examine the background, role and conduct of Australian commanding officers during the First World War. Though they held positions of power, commanding officers inhabited a leadership no man's land - they exerted great influence over their units, but they were also largely excluded from the decision-making process and faced the same risks as junior officers on the battlefield. A soldier's well-being and success in battle was heavily dependent on a commanding officer's competence, but little is known about the men who filled these roles. In his groundbreaking book, William Westerman explores the stories of the vitally important, yet often forgotten, commanding officers. Theirs is a story of the timeless challenges of military leadership, and this book prevents them from slipping from the public memory to enhance our knowledge of the conflict.

Author Biography

William Westerman is a researcher for the Official History of Australian Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also holds a position at the University of New South Wales, Canberra as a Teaching Fellow with the Military and Defence Studies Program, Australian Command and Staff College, Canberra.