World of words from Bonaparte to
Bin Laden

1812: Through Fire and Ice with Napoleon
By Eugene Labaume. Helion and Co. 200pp. $75
Reviewer: PTE John Wellfare What

What interested me most about this book was the idea of reading about the experiences of an individual, fighting in one of the most infamous campaigns in history. Perhaps my high expectations are the reason I felt a little let down; Through Fire and Ice with Napoleon is not personal enough.

Most of the descriptions of the action could be drawn from any number of history books on the subject. There are some enticing snippets of intricate detail but these are too few and far between.

1812: Through Fire and Ice with Napoleon neglects to even mention the name of the translator, let alone offer a paragraph or two for him to give his views on the subject matter, which is a common courtesy.

Still, this is a worthwhile presentation of the events and if you haven’t read anything else on the subject you could do worse than to start here.

One sentence appearing near the end conveys the familiar concept of many eyewitness accounts of war and rings true time and again.

“Such was the fatal lot of the soldiers, who, compelled to fight, are always the principal victims of the calamities which flow from the quarrels of kings.”

Spitfires Over Darwin, 1943
By Jim Grant. Tech Write Solutions. 221pp.
Reviewer: AIRCDRE Mark Lax

This is the second edition of Jim Grant’s Spitfires Over Darwin, 1943, which enjoyed remarkable success during its
first run. Grant, an instrument maker with No. 457 Squadron, was sent to the Territory in its defence against the seemingly unstoppable Japanese after serving with the unit in the UK.

457 Sqn flew Spitfires under irrepressible Group Captain Clive “Killer” Caldwell and, together with No. 54 Squadron RAF and No. 452 Squadron made up No. 1 Fighter Wing.

To them fell the entire defence of the north in those confused times. After the Japanese raids started in February 1942, the Wing was hastily formed in UK, arriving in Australia in October.

It was not on ops “up north” until the following year, although as history now shows, this was after the majority of the raids had taken place. 1WG faced 13 raids in just over 40 weeks, meaning boredom, isolation and the hot conditions would take their toll.

Grant had always wanted to know more about the war going on around him, so in the early 1990s he undertook the task of researching the full story. The result is this book which covers the year of activity, focusing on the raids themselves.

Illustrated with more than 50 B&W photos from Grant’s own album, it is one man’s view of what happened and adds nicely to our knowledge of the time the war came to Australia.

A good, easy read and recommended. Spitfires Over Darwin, 1943 is available for $32.50 (includes postage) from Tech Write Solutions, PO Box 2003, South Melbourne, Vic 3205; or email tchwrite@eisa.net.au.

Task Force Dagger the Hunt for Bin Laden
By Robin Moore. Pan MacMillan. 392pp. $33.
Reviewer: CAPT Jason Logue

Robin Moore had amazing access to USSF personnel in order to write this book.

On face value it is a great story, not great in the Black Hawk Down sense, but more of a collection of adventures as the author unravels the activities of each of the teams in the 5th Special Forces Group.

The story telling style is akin to a group of guys sitting around drinking beer and telling war stories.

There are some inaccuracies, particularly when dealing with other SF units involved in the operations in Afghanistan.

Although the author makes attempts to bring UK, Australian and other SF units into the story, they are for the large part, token accounts. The information, according to his list of references, used to detail these accounts has come from press clippings.

There is no reference to any of the official ADF information detailing the activities of the SASR. The account of SASR activities in the final chapter describing the move to Iraq could be described as “fiction based on truth”.