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‘Breathtaking in its scope and riveting in its research.’
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
It was early 1942, Australia was in dire straits. The seemingly all-conquering Japanese military forces had rolled over south-east Asia. Singapore had Fallen. Only a few hundred men remained in Timor. These
soldiers, the 2/2 Australian Independent Company – Sparrow Force – were all that stood between Japanese forces and Papua New Guinea.
A Special Forces unit set up to fight a different kind of war, many were bushmen and crack shots, and all were trained to fight behind enemy lines. Mobilising the support of the locals, they adapted their bush skills to become the masters of this new kind of commando warfare.
Always greatly outnumbered but relentless in their harassing campaign of skirmishes and ambushes, Sparrow Force tied down thousands of Japanese in a fierce guerrilla war – not just matching them but beating them. The Timor campaign became a defining moment Australia’s military history.
Expertly researched by Paul Cleary, THE MEN WHO CAME OUT OF THE GROUND is now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
It was early 1942, Australia was in dire straits. The seemingly all-conquering Japanese military forces had rolled over south-east Asia. Singapore had Fallen. Only a few hundred men remained in Timor. These
soldiers, the 2/2 Australian Independent Company – Sparrow Force – were all that stood between Japanese forces and Papua New Guinea.
A Special Forces unit set up to fight a different kind of war, many were bushmen and crack shots, and all were trained to fight behind enemy lines. Mobilising the support of the locals, they adapted their bush skills to become the masters of this new kind of commando warfare.
Always greatly outnumbered but relentless in their harassing campaign of skirmishes and ambushes, Sparrow Force tied down thousands of Japanese in a fierce guerrilla war – not just matching them but beating them. The Timor campaign became a defining moment Australia’s military history.
Expertly researched by Paul Cleary, THE MEN WHO CAME OUT OF THE GROUND is now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.
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Reviews
A cracker of a read
This account . . . is breathtaking in its scope and riveting in its research.
Paul Cleary has brought to life one of the great success stories of World War II