The Military History Society of NSW

This is the "From the Editor" column of the Winter 2026 Issue of  Reconnaissance , the quarterly magazine of the Military History Society of New South Wales. Earlier in the twentieth century, the Anzac Legend naturally centered on those grinding struggles across the shores and heights of Gallipoli. Only some decades later did the country’s attention turn to the Western Front in France and Belgium, where our soldiers displayed even more heroism and made an undeniable contribution to the victory of 1918. But the Western Front was a universe of warfare embroiling teeming millions of men over long stretches of terrain while absorbing vast resources churned out by the world’s most advanced industrial empires and nations. In some respects, we are still ignorant of many features and dimensions of Australia’s role in that complex upheaval. This issue of Reconnaissance presents a version of Lt-Col David Deasey’s April 2026 lecture shedding light on a little known but important as...