The Military History Society of NSW

From October 1899 a bitter conflict between the British and two Dutch South African republics (the Anglo-Boer War) raged across the South African veldt. British Commander Lord Roberts left South Africa before the end of 1900 and declared victory. But the war was far from over. His successor Lord Kitchener knew a change of strategy was necessary to fight an effective guerrilla insurgency. He introduced a scorched earth policy of burning farms and crops, and concentration camps to remove non-combatants from the field. Excesses in war and brutal treatment of prisoners are synonymous with human conflict. This war was no exception. Incidents of brutality, including summary executions, occurred on both sides. Increasingly desperate, Kitchener turned to the Bushveldt Carbineers (mostly Australians) who successfully played the Boers at their own game. Yet their operations resulted in the arrest, trial and sentencing of Lieutenants Harry Morant, Peter Handcock (from Bathurst, NSW) and G...

  ANZAC forces first encountered soldiers of the Ottoman Army on the Gallipoli Peninsula on the morning of 25 April 1915. ‘Johnny Turk’ as he came to be known, proved to be a stubborn opponent and skilled fighter defending his homeland, but less widely known is why the Ottoman Empire as whole was fighting alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary. Together, these three empires made up the Central Powers of World War One. Military historian and author David Wilson will speak on what was arguably the most turbulent decade of reform and consequence in the Ottoman Empire. We will look at the strategic position of the empire at the beginning of the 20th Century and see why it was known as ‘The Sick Man of Europe’ and what factors influenced the structure of the Ottoman armed forces during this critical period. We will also look at several strategic level leaders and also the humble, but stalwart “ mehmet ” (foot soldier) who fought in a multiplicity of campaigns across the vast Ottoman Em...

Reconnaissance is the quarterly magazine of The Military History Society of New South Wales Welcome to the Autumn 2021 issue of Reconnaissance . Most Australians know little about the country’s quite substantial military contribution to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. Perhaps this is because much of it happened before federation. But they probably know at least one thing. That is the tragic-romantic story of outback horse-breaker cum bush poet Harry Morant, ‘The Breaker’, who along with fellow trooper Peter Handcock was executed by the British high command on 27 February 1902, allegedly for murdering Boer prisoners. The Morant case has been the subject of numerous books, documentaries, and, of course, the award-winning movie by Bruce Beresford. It has long been attended by controversy and continues to arouse strong passions to this day. Attitudes to the executions seem to shift back and forth according to latter-day feelings about Australian nationalism, the honouring of military h...

Welcome to the Summer 2020 issue of Reconnaissance, the quarterly magazine of the Military History Society of New South Wales . Australians have long cherished the classic image of the Digger. That dauntless fighter who, combining individualism − boarding on insubordination − with wily resourcefulness, routed the enemy and put docile Tommies to shame. A thread of disputation about the Digger image runs through Australian military history. Part of this focuses on how Australian soldiers accepted or bucked conventional discipline. On one view, the reputation is a myth and Australians submitted to discipline more or less the same way as, say, their British counterparts. Others contend the Diggers were genuinely different, either because their superiors, military and political, understood their egalitarian temperament and handled them differently or because Australians simply baulked at treatment they considered degrading, sometimes violently. We are fortunate in this issue of Reconnai...

DESPATCH was the official journal of the Military History Society of New South Wales (formerly known and the New South Wales Military Historical Society) from 1968 to 2008, when it was succeeded by the Society's current journal RECONNAISSANCE. Below is a catalogue and index of issues of Despatch from July 1968 to September 1974. Vol.3 no.7 July 1968: Horses and war part 1 p6. Vol.3 no.8 August 1968: Horses and war part 2 p6. Vol.3 no.9 September 1968: Arms and accoutrements of Washington’s Army circa 1778 p7. Major George Augustine Taylor p11. The Cameronians for Australia? p12. Vol.3 no.10 October 1968: Formation of the New South Wales Military Historical Society p1. Medal notes p3. 2nd Division memorial at Mont St Quentin p8. ‘Splice the main brace’: origin of term p10. Vol.3 no.11 November 1968: Old banner pike found p3. British regiments in Australia part 1 (list) p5. Retirement of the ‘Bulolo’ p6. ‘The Slashers’ reefs p8. V.C. winner retires: Warrant Officer J.H. Gordo...

Email: president@militaryhistorynsw.com.au Telephone: 0419 698 783 MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF NSW PROPOSAL FOR RANDWICK CITY COUNCIL’S HERITAGE REVIEW OF ANZAC PARADE Randwick City Council in Sydney is conducting an Anzac Parade Heritage Study to investigate the potential heritage significance of Anzac Parade and has revived a long-forgotten vision to complement the Anzac Parade Memorial Obelisk near Moore Park Road with a memorial at the Parade’s southern end at La Perouse. The Council has invited stakeholders to participate and we are grateful for this opportunity to make a contribution. Historical background Anzac Parade, named Randwick Road before 1917, is particularly significant in the military history of New South Wales since it was the parade route used by Australian soldiers on their way to embarkation for various theatres of the First World War. Surrounded by cheering crowds, on 18 August 1914 troops of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) marc...

By Katrina Kittel In the course of researching my book Shooting Through: Campo 106 Escaped POWs after the Italian Armistice , archival sources helped me to identify approximately 790 Australians who had been transferred from Italy’s Campo 57 to Campo 106 in April 1943. These prisoners of war (POWs) worked rice and maize farms scattered on the Piedmont plain of northern Italy, between Turin and Milan.   POW group at a Campo 106 farm mid-1943 The NSW-raised cohort of Campo 106 POWs comprised about 135 men from city and regional areas of the state. They were from various military units: 32 from 2/13 Battalion, 9 from 2/17 Battalion; 43 from 2/3 Anti-tank Regiment; 16 from 2/3 Pioneer Battalion; 5 from 2/32 Battalion; and 29 from other units.   These NSW men found opportunities to escape - or simply walk out - from Campo 106 farms during their five-month stint as farm workers. Most ‘shot through’ following the 8 September 1943 promulgation of the Italian Armistice. Most headed ...