Phillip Bradley

Throughout history, mounted troops have been known as elite men of arms, and the Australian Light Horse is a part of that legendary tradition. Part cavalry and part infantry, and often recognised by the emu feathers in their slouch hats, the light horsemen were described by the official historian, H.S. Gullett, as 'in body and spirit the true product of...

"Java is heaven, Burma is hell, but you never come back alive from New Guinea" – Japanese military saying The capture of Lae was the most complex operation for the Australian army in the Second World War. In many ways, it was also a rehearsal for the D-Day invasion of France, with an amphibious landing combined with the first successful...

Hell's Battlefield is the first book that tells the whole story of the Australians against the Japanese in New Guinea during World War II, from invasion in 1942 to the brutal end game in 1945. Besides giving new perspectives on the Kokoda campaign, the book covers the battles that preceded and those that followed, most of which have previously received...

'You climb and climb . . . This is the field of battle . . . tonight some of us will be dead . . . You'll never forget Shaggy Ridge.' – Shawn O'Leary From the killing ground of Kaiapit to the treacherous heights of the Finisterre Range, for four months in 1943-44, the Australian army fought to drive the...

'I love Phillip Bradley's stuff, and this is a very fine book, about one of the most extraordinary times in Australian military history.' - Peter FitzSimons 'We sprang to our feet with one mighty yell and ran and jumped into the German trench and got to work with bayonets and bombs. We were in there no more than half an...