The story of the men of what would become ‘one of the finest battalions which served in the war’, the West Australian 11th Infantry Battalion, AIF, during the grueling Gallipoli campaign of 1915. The narrative follows the battalion members as they leave their homes and lives in Western Australia, embark for overseas, experience the excitement and boredom of exotic Egypt, and undergo their baptism of fire in the first wave of the Australian and New Zealand landings at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Game To the Last casts its net wide to find and tell these men’s stories and is the culmination of many years’ research. Author James Hurst has visited the men’s training grounds and battlefields, homes and graves. Many previously unpublished personal accounts provide the heart of the narrative while extensive research provides context and colour. James Hurst is with the Army History Unit, Department of Defence.
xix, 267 p., [32] p. of plates : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm. #130322X
1 Fittest, Strongest, Most Ardent 1
2 The Great Convoy 15
3 The Land Of The Dead: Egypt 21
4 All Very Colourful: Lemnos 33
5 Lord, What A Day: The Landing 38
6 To Command Such Men: The Gaba Tepe Raid 54
7 A Trifle Busy: May 68
8 How Many Of Us Will See Home Again? 86
9 Very Monotonous, Being Shelled All The Time: June 96
10 Making Targets Of Ourselves: Silt Spur 106
11 The Few That Are Left Are Like Brothers: July 117
12 I’Ve Lost Some More Mates, Mother: The Assault On 128
Turkish Despair (Leane’S Trench)
13 It Is The Excitement That Takes It Out Of You: 147
Counter-Attack At Leane’S Trench
14 Too Tired To Write More: August 165
15 Terrible To Think It Was All For Nothing: 175
September-November
16 Many A Strong Man’S Eyes Grew Moist: 190
Mudros-Egypt
17 A Man Can Never Escape His Fate 195
Afterword: When His Mates Return And He Is 211
Not There.
Australia. Army. Australian Infantry Battalion, 11th — History. | World War, 1914-1918 — Campaigns — Turkey — Gallipoli Peninsula. | World War, 1914-1918 — Regimental histories — Australia. | World War 1 | Australian Army | Gallipoli | Army personnel | Western Australia | History, 1901-1945 | Biography