On the morning of 3 January 1941, Australians of the 6th Division led an assault against the Italian colonial fortress-village of Bardia in Libya. The ensuing battle was the first battle of the Second World War planned and fought predominantly by Australians. Remarkably the fortress fell to the attackers in a little over two days after the attack began, in a victory heralded at the time in Australia as one of the nation’s greatest military achievements. Subsequent battles may have overshadowed it, however, this book attempts to bring it back into the spotlight.
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The Battle of Bardia
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jetpack – amazon review –
This is a review of the Kindle Edition. The Battle of Bardia is about the capture of Bardia (in Libya) during January of 1941, mainly by Australian forces. It has a great deal of individual detail, as you hear about this sergeant who was shot while peaking over the top of a trench, or this officer who captured over 1,000 with one other soldier and a Bren Carrier. What I find really interesting about the book is that how much went wrong for the Australians in the southern part of the battle in the first day. When you hear how lopsided the casualties were, once prisoners are counted, you wouldn’t think the Aussies had any issues at all.
Philip Jacobs –
This was an interesting read of a conflict of which I was not aware. It sets the scene for the major struggle for Egypt from 1941.
Jetpack –
Very well done … definitely worth purchasing if you want a lot of detail about one battle in the first N. African campaign.