1
of
1
The Diggers of Kapyong
The story of the Aussies who changed the course of the Korean War
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 48 ratings, 3 reviews)
Brief Description
'In the only war in which Australian soldiers ever faced off against the might of Mao, this is a revealing and spellbinding account of an extraordinary victory.' - Peter FitzSimons We charged and we began to get shot down . . . there were so many...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3799
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
The Diggers of Kapyong
$3799
Unit price
/
Unavailable
The gripping account of Australia in the Korean War and how 3RAR battalion held back an entire Chinese army division to prevent Seoul being overrun.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
'In the only war in which Australian soldiers ever faced off against the might of Mao, this is a revealing and spellbinding account of an extraordinary victory.' - Peter FitzSimons
We charged and we began to get shot down . . . there were so many bullets coming that it was like walking, running into a very stiff breeze. Most of the section had been knocked out and I'm within ten foot of the Chinese trench when bang, something hit me. It just blew the legs out from underneath me.
April 1951. After ten months of fighting, the Korean War hangs in the balance. A single Australian battalion, backed by Kiwi gunners and American tanks, is dug in on a hilltop overlooking the Kapyong Valley, north of Seoul. Together with a Canadian battalion on a nearby hill, they are all that stands between Mao's army and the South Korean capital.
Since pouring across the North Korean border to support Kim Il Sung's communist fighters, the Chinese have launched offensive after offensive in an attempt to drive General MacArthur's UN forces off the peninsula. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides have been killed or have frozen to death in the cruel Korean winter. On the barren hills above the Kapyong Valley, the heavily outnumbered Diggers of 3RAR wait in darkness for a battle that could decide the war's outcome.
Told through the eyes of the soldiers, The Diggers of Kapyong is the compelling account of the mateship, sacrifice and heroism that defined Australia's role in a bloody war whose bitter legacy still resonates today.
'Gilling puts things in Cold War historical perspective and, using the testimonies of soldiers looking back on those two days of intense, sometimes hand-to-hand fighting, creates a detailed and atmospheric picture of the day and nighttime battles, the mayhem and resistance against the odds.' - Sydney Morning Herald
'Once in a while an astonishing book comes along. This is one such book.' - Newcastle Herald
'Gives real insight into one of the major battles of the Korean War. The individual stories of the various soldiers are fascinating . . . a compelling overview of the battle and its implications.' - Canberra Daily
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781761068690
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 26 March 2024
Country: Australia
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 399g
Pages: 288
About the Author
Tom Gilling is an acclaimed novelist and non-fiction writer. His first two novels, The Sooterkin and Miles McGinty, were New York Times notable books of the year. His non-fiction works include Bastard Behind the Lines and The Lost Battalions. He is also co-author with Clive Small of the bestselling true crime books Smack Express, Blood Money, Evil Life and Milat.
Also by Tom Gilling
View all-
Milat
Milat - the serial killer who preyed on young hitchhikers. The backpackers - the innocent victims of a brutal murderer. Belanglo - a place that became synonymous with pure evil. It was the biggest and most complex manhunt in Australian history, an investigation that gripped a nation. Behind the many false leads and dead ends, precious clues emerged that pointed...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Miles Mcginty
Miles McGinty and Isabel Dowling are born on the same night in 1856 into different worlds. Miles is the illegitimate son of a great actress, Isabel a rebellious daughter whose mother is desperate to marry her off. Both are destined to defy convention - and gravity.Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$2900Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Dreamland
The long-awaited new novel by the author of The Sooterkin and Miles McGinty. It was just a little lie. But it has landed Nick Carmody in serious trouble. It didn't seem muchβto say he was the one driving Danny Grogan's car when it was caught by a speed camera. And Danny's billionaire father has promised to make the lie worth...Paperback$3800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Things I Carry Around
A born storyteller, Troy Cassar-Daley has at last turned his talent to sharing his own inspiring life. 'Troy's achievements are many, and perhaps the finest may be his ability to make us listen to his heart.' Joy McKean For the first time, Troy talks about his early life - how his parent's divorce changed things for him, about missing his...Paperback$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Bastard Behind the Lines
The way I look at it is this... When you're behind the line and get yourself into trouble, you've got to get your bloody self out irrespective of anybody else. That's why I like it. Scottish-born but a Queenslander to the bone, Jock McLaren was a true Australian hero. As a prisoner he escaped twice, first from Changi and later...Paperback$3799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Start Digging, You Bastards!
'We were to go through and take on targets of opportunity, to shoot up anything we could. Never at any stage can I remember any plan of us coming back, none of that was ever talked about ... We felt it was a suicide mission.' July 1942: the North African campaign rages and the Allies have been forced to retreat...Paperback$3799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Griffith Wars
'Donald Mackay was not just an innocent victim tragically struck down by a criminal act. He was a casualty of the actual fight against organised crime ... killed on active service, as it were ... His name should never be forgotten, his passing must not be allowed to be in vain.' The assassination of Donald Mackay was meant to solve...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Sooterkin
On a squally afternoon in the winter of 1821, Sarah Dyer gives birth to the strangest child ever seen in Van Diemen's Land, a thing more seal than human. The Reverend Mr Kidney at first suspects a virgin birth. Mr Sculley, an anatomist and man of science, hails it as the antipodean answer to the elusive Dutch sooterkin. The pup...Paperback$2900Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Witness
'That bastard's still alive? I'm going to kill him with my bare hands.' POW Bill Moxham At the Australian war crimes trials that followed World War II, one prosecution witness stood out: Warrant Officer Bill Sticpewich. During his three years in the infamous Sandakan POW camp, Sticpewich had seen hundreds of fellow prisoners die of starvation, sickness, and overwork. Others...Paperback$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Lost Battalions
They were thrown into a hopeless fight against an overwhelming enemy. Later, hundreds died as prisoners of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and in the freezing coal mines of Taiwan and Japan. Through it all, wrote Weary Dunlop, they showed fortitude beyond anything I could have believed possible. Until now, the story of the 2000 diggers marooned on Java in...Paperback$3699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Grog
The marines on the First Fleet refused to sail without it. Convicts risked their necks to get hold of it. Rum built a hospital and sparked a revolution, made fortunes, and ruined lives. In a society with few luxuries, liquor was power. It played a crucial role, not just in the lives of individuals like James Squireβthe London chicken thief...PaperbackSold Out -
The Lost Battalions
They were thrown into a hopeless fight against an overwhelming enemy. Later, hundreds died as prisoners of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and in the freezing coal mines of Taiwan and Japan. Through it all, wrote Weary Dunlop, they showed 'fortitude beyond anything I could have believed possible'. Until now, the story of the 2000 diggers marooned on Java in...PaperbackSold Out
More from History & Military
View all-
Saving Elli
One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Spy and the Traitor
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseSuicidal Empathy
The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Man's Search For Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the authorβs groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Betrayal
βTom Bower is the Inspector Morse of investigative biographers, a fluent, phlegmatic storyteller and a master of intricacies.β Sunday Times The British Crown is in crisis, with constitutional threats at home and abroad. At a landmark moment in royal history, can King Charles overcome the scandals that blight the Royal family? Can the broken bonds between the Houses of Sussex...Paperback$3499Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Chief and the Empire
The Chief and the Empire uncovers the extraordinary true tale of Te Tai Tokerau rangatira Te Pahi - the first influential MΔori leader to cross the Tasman - whose curiosity about the PΔkehΔ world forged alliances, saved lives, and ultimately cost him his own. On a visit to Sydney in 1805, Te Pahi was feted as a celebrity, building close...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Discipline
Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...Paperback$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Shattered Lands
'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' β PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation β¦ both original and important' β MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia β India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Goliathβs Curse
Goliathβs Curse by Luke Kemp offers a radical retelling of human history through the lens of collapse, delving into what this means for our uncertain future. This narrative spans from the dawn of our species to the urgent existential threats of the twenty-first century and beyond. It's grounded in the latest research and a comprehensive database of more than 440...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseThe Good Settler
βWhere once I saw a view as I drove around the Taranaki coast along State Highway 45, I now see confiscated land from an invasion road. The creation story I used to subscribe to, the one in which hard-working people came here and settled the land, now jars. Weirdly, even the lawn looks different. The form of things just wonβt...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Banjara
A powerful literary debut from an astonishing new Kiwi voice, focusing on the Indo-Fijian indenture system and how it affected generations across the Pacific.Rajasthan 1888: Avani Rathod, a nomad of the Banjara community, is summoned to teach a blue-eyed colonial officer the trees of her region, but instead is misled into indenture to the sugarcane plantations of Fiji. While on...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
This Way Up
The debut book from the YouTube sensation and all-round cartographical nerds, The Map Men! In their long-awaited debut, YouTubeβs Map Men bring their highly infectious enthusiasm for everything map-related to the printed page for the very first time, in a brilliantly entertaining and eye-catching tome. Packed with humour and fascinating facts, This Way Up takes a deep dive into the...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
