The Royal United Services Institute

The following is a list of the journal articless that have been prepared for viewing online as pdf documents (Adobe Acrobat reader required - visit www.adobe.com and download (free)). Hold down [Ctrl] then press [F] to search for a paper.  Where the button is green, members of the public can view the presentation, simply click on the button, if there is no button, the paper is not available to view online contact us if you wish to ask for it to be made available.

If the button is red, a member login is required to view it.

United Service, Volume 59, Number 4, December 2008

– ISSN 1038-1554
Editor: Brigadier David Leece PSM RFD ED (Retd)

Lectures and Presentations

The Australian Army – Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie Australia’s naval, military and air forces have evolved into a unified Australian Defence Force which deploys purpose-specific joint task forces to conduct operations under the direction of Headquarters Joint Operations Command. In this paper, the new Chief of Army outlines the role of the Army within the new Australian Defence Force command and control paradigm, explains the need for Army’s structure to be adapted to that paradigm and provides an insight into the intellectual underpinning of Army’s ongoing modernisation.

Challenges facing the Australian Army’s Land Command – Major General Mark Kelly Land Command has commanded the bulk of the Army’s conventional land forces since its inception as a functional command in November 1973. Since this time, Field Force Command (as it was known until 1987) and Land Command have been responsible for ensuring Army’s conventional forces are trained, equipped, manned and ready to deploy on operations. In this paper, the Land Commander details the contemporary challenges facing the command as it contends with a high operational tempo in a period of strategic uncertainty.

The Royal Australian Navy in Malaya, Malaysia and Singapore, 1948-1971 – Dr Ian Pfennigwerth Between 1948, when Australia assumed strategic responsibility for British Commonwealth sea lines of communication to and from South-East Asia, and 1971, when the Five-Power Defence Arrangements came into effect, ships and men of the Royal Australian Navy served with almost unnoticed distinction in defending the newly emerging nations of Malaya, Malaysia and Singapore. In this paper, Ian Pfennigwerth outlines the role the Navy played during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, the early development of the Royal Malayan Navy and Indonesia’s ‘confrontation’ of Malaysia in the early-mid 1960s.

Contributed Essay

Fromelles 1916: Is the Australian Official History more ‘truthful’ than the British? – Mr Chris Baker The report of the Battles Nomenclature Committee, published in May 1921, gave title to an inglorious episode that took place south of Armentières on 19 July 1916: the Attack at Fromelles. This essay examines the treatment of this event by the Australian and British official historians, including the different philosophical approaches guiding the historians, and assesses the relative accuracy and ‘truthfulness’ of the resulting histories.

Commemorative Feature

Coral and Balmoral: Vietnam, May-June 1968 – Brigadier David Leece 2008 is the 40th anniversary of the battle for fire support bases Coral and Balmoral, where some 2000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers were confronted by more than 5000 North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong troops between 12 May and 6 June 1968. It was the largest Australian engagement of the Vietnam War and Australia’s largest land battle since World War II.

Book Reviews

	Climate wars by Gwynne Dyer – reviewed by Dr David Leece In 2007, Professor Alan Dupont forecast that global climate change would pose extraordinary challenges to 21st century society and become the international security issue of the century. Since then several books have been published that expand on this theme. They vary in quality, but this one by Gwynne Dyer is one of the best. I commend it particularly to younger Defence Force officers, staff college students, diplomats and the like who want a glimpse of the world over the span of their careers.
	The Collins class submarine story by Peter Yule and Derek Woolner – reviewed by Rear Admiral Tony Hunt The construction of the Collins-class submarines was Australia’s largest and most expensive military purchase of the 20th century. This book tells the story of the project from its origins in the late 1970s to the final delivery of the sixth boat in 2003. The nation now has a fleet of exceptional submarines, much advantage was gained within local industry and the political storm surrounding the project seems to have abated. This is a well constructed history of an important national project and essential pre-reading for future directors of major projects.

Cover

	Lieutenant General K. J. Gillespie, AO, DSC, CSM, Chief of Army, who was the guest-of-honour at the Institute’s 120th Anniversary Dinner on 22 August 2008. General Gillespie’s address commences on page 9. [Photo: Department of Defence]

United Service, Volume 59, Number 3, September 2008

– ISSN 1038-1554
Editor: Brigadier David Leece PSM RFD ED (Retd)

Lectures and Presentations

Countering the improvised explosive devices threat – Phil Winter, Alex Meiliunas and Steve Bliss The improvised explosive device (IED) has become an enemy weapon of choice in the urban guerrilla warfare being waged against coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Australian Defence Force has formed a counter-IED task force to study this development and to devise counter measures. In this paper, the nature of the threat is explained and actions being taken to counter it are outlined.

Contributed Review

Bioterrorism: menace of microbiological science – Bruce Short Air Vice-Marshal Bruce Short, former Surgeon–General of the ADF, reviews the development of biological warfare technologies and the international safeguards and monitoring systems enacted since World War I. He describes some recent agents that have been weaponised by genetic engineering; outlines the Soviet experience with inhalational anthrax disease; and overviews recently developed global public health surveillance systems which may provide early warning of bioterrorism.

Commemorative Features

	The Western Front 1918: an advance towards victory – Philip Carey 1918 has been described as the most dramatic and decisive year in British military history to that time. Defeat stared the Allies in the face early on, yet in the summer the British and French Armies staged a remarkable recovery and began to drive the German armies back. The Australian Imperial Force shared both the crises and successes of that year. In this first of two articles, Brigadier Philip Carey provides an overview of the dramatic events in the summer of 1918 that began the advance to final victory by the Entente Powers.
	HMAS Armidale: a story of survival – Brian Swan This is a story of an Australian corvette and her company who, while doing their job in the Timor Sea on 1December 1942, quite unexpectedly found themselves in an extraordinary situation. It tells of their courage and tenacity against the odds and how these young men rose above themselves to survive the most harrowing 9-day ordeal.

Book Reviews

	Your number’s not dry by Eric Hayes – reviewed by Doug Roser This is an easy-to-read insight into life in the Royal Air Force (RAF) from immediately after World War II until the early 1990s.
	Gallipoli – attack from the sea by Victor Rudenno – reviewed by Ken Broadhead This is a book about the British and French land and sea campaigns against the Turks in the Dardanelles in 1914-16 and the response of the Turks and their German and Austrian allies to them. It explains clearly just how inter-dependent the land and sea campaigns conducted by the British and French were and recounts how offensive naval operations preceded and were concurrent with the land operations right up to the evacuation.
	Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War by G. F. R. Henderson – reviewed by Priscilla Leece The Institute’s Ursula Davidson Library contains a treasure-trove of military literature dating from the late 18th century, and this biography of Lieutenant-General Thomas J. (“Stonewall”) Jackson of American Civil War fame, by one of Victorian England’s leading military historians, is among the best of them.

Cover

	Signaller Sean McCarthy, Special Air Service Regiment, who was killed in a road-side bomb attack in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan, on 8 July 2008, aged 25 years. In an article commencing on page 9, Brigadier Phil Winter and colleagues describe the improvised explosive devices threat and actions being taken by the Australian Defence Force to counter it. Photo: Department of Defence.

United Service, Volume 59, Number 2, June 2008

– ISSN 1038-1554
Editor: Brigadier David Leece PSM RFD ED (Retd)

Commemorative Features

	“Happy Valley”: the Ruhr Valley as Experienced by Bomber Command Aircrews in World War II – Flying Officer Ross Pearson Ross Pearson provides an insight into what the aircrews of Bomber Command experienced when attacking targets in Germany’s industrial heartland during World War II.
	Operation Pedestal – Brigadier David Leece Operation Pedestal, which was undertaken in August 1942 to re-supply the island of Malta, is illustrative of the vital role played by the Merchant Navy in World War II.

Lectures and Presentations

	Air Transport Operations – Past, Present and Future – Air Commodore ‘Jack’ Plenty Air transport is an integral component of contemporary military operations. In the Royal Australian Air Force, this capability is provided by the Air Lift Group. This paper outlines the Air Lift Group, its genesis in World War II, its current capability and the challenges it now faces.
	Researching Gallipoli: the Gallipoli Centenary Turkish Archives Research Project – Associate Professor Harvey Broadbent Little is known from primary historical sources about the Turkish conduct of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, which the Turks refer to as the Canakkale campaign. This knowledge gap is about to be filled by the Gallipoli Centenary Turkish Archives Research Project.
	The Decline of Australian Shipping Since World War II – Dr John Spiers At the end of World War II, the Australian-flagged merchant shipping industry was a vital sector of the Australian transport system. In the post-war period, it was unable to withstand the competitive forces ranged against it. The Government eventually established its own Australian National Line (ANL) which out-competed the private shipowners in many trades, but political decisions imposed on ANL led to its eventual unprofitability and sale in the 1990s. Australia’s extensive shipping needs are now met primarily by foreign-flagged and foreign-crewed vessels.

Book Review

	The Beijing Conspiracy by Brigadier Adrian d’Hagé – reviewed by Brigadier David Leece This is a novel by a highly experienced Australian soldier and security expert which exposes four different terrorist scenarios – contingencies that our intelligence, defence and security agencies must plan and rehearse for and for which they must maintain constant vigilance.

Cover

	HMAS Larrakia training in the Timor Sea with one of the four Augusta Westland 109E helicopters recently leased by the Navy for four years from Raytheon Australia Pty. Ltd. Navy will use the helicopters for aircrew and fleet training, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and personnel transfers. Photo: Department of Defence.

United Service, Volume 59, Number 1, March 2008

– ISSN 1038-1554
Editor: Brigadier David Leece PSM RFD ED (Retd)

Anniversary Feature

	The German offensive of March 1918 – Brigadier Philip Carey To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the great German offensive on the Western Front in March 1918, Philip Carey summarises the strategic situation from both the German and British perspectives, outlines the tactics employed by both sides, and described the overall battle and its outcomes.

Lectures and Presentations

	Sixty years of Australian peacekeeping and peace operations today – Major General Tim Ford Peacekeeping ranks alongside warfighting and the provision of humanitarian aid as vital functions of the Australian Defence Force and Australian Federal Police. Here, Tim Ford traces the history of Australia’s involvement in peacekeeping and describes how the role has taken on a more robust and integrated nature since the end of the cold war.
	Recent changes at the Australian War Memorial – Major General Steve Gower Over the past decade, the Australian War Memorial in Canberra has embarked on an ambitious building programme and its exhibits and other services that it provides have undergone some profound changes. This paper outlines the changes that have been made and explains the vision and philosophy that have underpinned them.

Contributed Papers

	52nd Lowland Division at Gallipoli: a second Flodden – Lieutenant Colonel David Murray In the Gallipoli Campaign, the intensity of the fighting and the horrendous casualties suffered by the 52nd Lowland Division, particularly in the battles of 28 June and 12 July l915, well deserve the description, a “Second Flodden”.
	What may the wreck of the WWII cruiser Sydney reveal? – Dr Tom Lewis In November 1941, HMAS Sydney was patrolling off the West Australian coast when it chanced upon the German raider, Kormoran. In the ensuing engagement, both ships were severely damaged. The Kormoran sank and it is assumed that the Sydney also sank with the loss of all hands, but the wreck has never been found. In this paper, Tom Lewis indicates what the wreck, if found, might tell us about Australia’s greatest naval loss.

Obituaries

	Brigadier Sir Frederick Chilton CBE, DSO – Brigadier David Leece
	Mr Leo Mahony – Air Marshal David Evans

Book Reviews

	Eagle Fleet: the story of a tanker fleet in peace and war by W. E. Lucas – reviewed by Stella Green
	The Khyber Pass by Paddy Docherty – reviewed by David Leece
	Maralinga: Australia’s nuclear waste cover-up by Alan Parkinson – reviewed by David Leece

Cover

The memorial to the Third Australian Division 1916-1918 at Sailly-le-Sec, France. The obelisk stands prominently on the ridge north of the Somme River some 7 km east of Corbie where, on 28-29 March 1918 during the major German offensive of March 1918, the Third Division (Major-General John Monash) halted a German drive on Amiens and stabilised the collapsing British front in that sector. This month is the 90th anniversary of that action and an anniversary feature commences on p. 9. The photograph was taken during the Institute’s pilgrimage to the Western Front in July 1998 on the 80th anniversary of the final offensives of World War I. Photo: David Leece.

United Service, Volume 57, Number 4, December 2006

– ISSN 1038-1554
Editor: Brigadier David Leece PSM RFD ED (Retd)

Lectures and Presentations

	The contribution of the Australian Federal Police to national and international security – Commissioner Mick Keelty The Australian Federal Police is Australia's national policing agency, enforcing Commonwealth criminal law and protecting Commonwealth interests from crime, both within Australia and abroad. It is also Australia's international law representative and the chief source of advice to the Australian Government on policing issues. Here, Mick Keelty outlines the role it performs in national and international security.
	The Armidale Class patrol vessel – Peter Davey and Adrian Woodhouse, with David Leece The Royal Australian Navy’s new Armidale Class patrol is at the leading edge of international patrol boat design based on an off-the-shelf commercial high-performance monohull adapted for the specific needs of the Navy to operate from the tropical conditions of Australia’s north to the South Tasman Rise Fishery which lies some 300 nautical miles south of Tasmania (48°S).
	The RSL and the veteran community: future challenges – Major General Bill Crews The Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) no longer enjoys either the political power of its early years or the full support of all veterans. Yet it continues to be highly effective in representing the interests and providing for the welfare of veterans. Here, its national president briefly traces the events that have brought the RSL to this point and outlines the challenges that it and the wider veteran community now face.
	Australian codebreaking in Word War II – Captain Ian Pfennigwerth Australians played a leading role in the breaking of Japanese codes both before and during World War II. Here, Ian Pfennigwerth describes the origins of the Australian codebreaking effort in the 1920s and traces its development and its contributions to Allied intelligence in the years leading up to and during the War in the Pacific.

Book and DVD Reviews

	Myth Maker: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett; the Englishman Who Sparked Australia’s Gallipoli Legend by Fred and Elizabeth Brenchley – reviewed by Philip Carey
	Tobruk by Peter Fitzsimons – reviewed by Gordon Maitland
	Long Tan – the true story by Bruce Horsfield et al. – reviewed by David Leece

Cover

	Commissioner M. J. Keelty, APM, Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, who was the guest of honour at the Institution’s 118th Anniversary Dinner at Parliament House, Sydney on 18 August 2006. His after-dinner address is published at pp. 11 – 13 of this issue. Photo: Australian Federal Police.