Little-known story of elite Australian commandos and their daring, clandestine operations deep in enemy-held territory Many of their missions remain classified
This is a fascinating account of Australia’s M/Z commando unit and the part it played in the Southwest Pacific during World War II. M Unit personnel were secretly landed to set up coast-watching posts and radio stations to monitor Japanese shipping movements and bombing flights. Members of the Z Unit carried out raids in enemy-controlled areas and also attacked targets of opportunity. Many commandos were delivered on their missions by U.S. Navy submarines that sneaked into dangerously shallow waters to put the men ashore. Other operatives were inserted by PT boats, Catalina aircraft, parachute, and snake boats.
In the jungle islands of the southwest Pacific, Australia’s elite M/Z commando teams conducted daring rescue, sabotage, and intelligence missions during World War II. While M Unit secretly set up coast-watching posts to monitor Japanese shipping movements and bombing flights, operatives of Z Unit were inserted deep behind enemy lines, where they attacked Japanese targets in brutal terrain and where capture meant death by beheading. Theirs was a lonely war, but Australian commandos made crucial contributions to Allied victory in the Pacific.
xiii, 194 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm. #0721
The beginnings of Allied intelligence and the Pensacola convoy
The “Rimau” expedition
Commando training : Cecil Anderson’s story
Operation “Python” in Borneo
Operation “Politician” : the USS Bream patrols
The USS Pargo at Woody Island
The “Politician” patrols of the USS Bluegill
The USS Boarfish and “Politician” at Tourane Bay
Operation “Starfish” and the USS Rock
The USS Perch II and “Platypus” at Balikpapan
The USS Hawkbill and Operation “Crocodile”
“Semut” operations and the invasion of Sarawak
“Semut IV” : Rowan Waddy’s story
Rescue from New Britain: Fred Hargesheimer’s story.