The Principles of War - Lessons from Military History on Strategy, Tactics, Doctrine and Leadership.

This is Part 11 of our series looking at the Kokoda Campaign, focusing on the combat performance of the 53rd Battalion and how the militia were prepared for combat at the tactical, operational and strategic level.

This episode commences our assessment of the operational level, but before we start, we will look at the psychiatric cost of training and fighting in the jungle. David Woolley has done an excellent job in documenting issues on the Kokoda Track and suggests some solutions to increasing resilience for troops.

We look at what the operational level of war is along with the events within MAJGEN Basil Morris' Area of Operations during the Kokoda Campaign.

Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.

This is the third episode in a three part interview with Dr Robert Lyman about 'Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918-40', a book he co-wrote with Lord Dannatt, who served as the Chief of the General Staff from 2006 to 2009.

This episode looks at how lessons are learnt from victories and defeats and the difficulties in developing doctrine when not in combat. We discuss the lessons from logistics doctrine development along with why it took so long for doctrine to be combat ready - for the British in was 2nd El Alamein. Finally we look for the lessons from the interwar period for the contemporary strategic environment.

Check out the show notes for this Professional Military Education podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast. There is also a catalogue of episodes on Leadership, the Principles of War, military history, and Mission Command.

This is the second in a three part interview with Dr Robert Lyman about 'Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918-40', a book he co-wrote with Lord Dannatt, who served as the Chief of the General Staff from 2006 to 2009.

This episode looks at how the lessons learnt in the victories of 1918 with Combined Arms were forgotten in the interwar period. Robert discusses the impact of the desire to avoid another Second World War, the resistance to creating an Expeditionary Army for continental Europe, the economy for the Great Depression and the lack of a Grand Strategy and Endstate led to a British Army that struggled for the first two years of the Second World War.

He also examines the role of Nevile Chamberlain in developing a Strategy for Britain.

How does an Army know if its doctrine is capable of winning battles?

Check out the show notes for this Professional Military Education podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast. There is also a catalogue of episodes on Leadership, the Principles of War, military history and Mission Command.

This is the first in a three part interview with Dr Robert Lyman about 'Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918-40', a book he cowrote with Lord Dannatt, who served as the Chief of the General Staff from 2006 to 2009.

This episode looks at the doctrine development that occurred in the First World War as the British Army developed it's skills in Combined Arms, culminating in the ability to fight and win the battles of the 100 days.

We look to answer the question - how does an Army learn to learn, whilst in contact.

Check out the show notes for this Professional Military Education podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast. There is also a catalog of episodes on Leadership, the Principles of War, military history and Mission Command.

This is Part 10 of our series looking at the Kokoda Campaign, looking at the combat performance of the 39th Battalion.

The 39th Battalion was one of Australia's best Battalions. Formed in Victoria, it's story is similar to that of the 53rd Battalion- but with some key differences. We look at those differences with Dr David Cameron, an expert on the Battles of the Kokoda campaign.

Have a listed Dr David Cameron, an expert on the Kookoda Campaign as he discusses the history and performance of the 39th Battalion.

Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.

Dr David Cameron's Biography

David Cameron received first class Honours in Prehistory, University of Sydney and a PhD in Palaeoanthropology, Australian National University. He has written over twenty books covering Australian Military History, Colonial History, and Evolutionary Science with over 70 internationally peer reviewed papers published in various journals and book chapters. He is a former Australian Research Council Post Doctoral Fellow, School of Archaeology, Australian National University; and an Australian Research Council QEII Fellow in the Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney. He has conducted and led several international fieldwork projects in Europe (Hungary), Asia (Vietnam, India, and Japan), and the Middle East (Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates) and conducted extensive museum studies and conferences (United States, Europe, and Asia). Before retiring in 2023, he was a senior analyst in the Australian Intelligence Community.

Books on the Papua Campaign by Dr Cameron:

Cameron, D.W. (in preparation – December 2024.) The Battle for Milne Bay, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (in preparation – August 2024) Sanananda, Bastard of a Place: The Battle for the Beachhead, 1942-43, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (in press – November 2023) Bloody Buna: The Battle for the Beachhead, 1942-43, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2023) Gona's Gone: The Battle for the Beachhead 1942, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2022) Retaking Kokoda: The Australian Advance Across the Owen Stanleys, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2022) Saving Port Moresby: Fighting at the End of the Kokoda Track, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2022) The Battle for Isurava: Fighting on the Kokoda Track in the heart of the Owen Stanleys, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2020) The Battles for Kokoda Plateau: Three Weeks of Hell Defending the Gateway to the Owen Stanleys, Allen & Unwin Australia

This is Part 9 of our series looking at the Kokoda Campaign, looking at the combat performance of the 39th Battalion.

This episode discusses the formation of the 39th Battalion, it's preparation for combat and how it performed on the Kokoda Trail. The 39th Battalion is one of the Australian Army's most famous Battalion, a militia battalion that bore the brunt of the Japanese attacks down the Kokoda track. What enabled it to fight so well?

Have a listed Dr David Cameron, an expert on the Kookoda Campaign as he discusses the history and performance of the 39th Battalion.

Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.

Dr David Cameron Biography

David Cameron received first class Honours in Prehistory, University of Sydney and a PhD in Palaeoanthropology, Australian National University. He has written over twenty books covering Australian Military History, Colonial History, and Evolutionary Science with over 70 internationally peer reviewed papers published in various journals and book chapters. He is a former Australian Research Council Post Doctoral Fellow, School of Archaeology, Australian National University; and an Australian Research Council QEII Fellow in the Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney. He has conducted and led several international fieldwork projects in Europe (Hungary), Asia (Vietnam, India, and Japan), and the Middle East (Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates) and conducted extensive museum studies and conferences (United States, Europe, and Asia). Before retiring in 2023, he was a senior analyst in the Australian Intelligence Community.

Books on the Papua Campaign by Dr Cameron:

Cameron, D.W. (in preparation – December 2024.) The Battle for Milne Bay, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (in preparation – August 2024) Sanananda, Bastard of a Place: The Battle for the Beachhead, 1942-43, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (in press – November 2023) Bloody Buna: The Battle for the Beachhead, 1942-43, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2023) Gona's Gone: The Battle for the Beachhead 1942, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2022) Retaking Kokoda: The Australian Advance Across the Owen Stanleys, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2022) Saving Port Moresby: Fighting at the End of the Kokoda Track, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2022) The Battle for Isurava: Fighting on the Kokoda Track in the heart of the Owen Stanleys, Big Sky Publishing

Cameron, D.W. (2020) The Battles for Kokoda Plateau: Three Weeks of Hell Defending the Gateway to the Owen Stanleys, Allen & Unwin Australia

This is Part 8 of our series looking at the Kokoda Campaign, Battle of Isurava, the 53rd Battalion, how they fought and how they were prepared to fight.

This episode looks at the Principles of Training and how they were(n't) applied by New Guinea Force. We compare it with the preparation of the 6th Division in preparation for it's first battle at Bardia. Bardia illustrates what right looks like for preparing troops for combat.

Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.

This is Part 7 of our series looking at the Battle of Isurava, the 53rd Battalion, how they fought and how they were prepared to fight.

This episode looks at the arrival of both the 39th and 53rd Battalions to Port Moresby, the conditions that they encountered and how that impacted their preparation for combat.

What was a day in the life of the soldiers like? How well were the soldiers trained? What were their weapon handling skills like? How well prepared were they for combat in the Jungle?

Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.

This is the fifth episode in our Kokoda Track series looking at the performance of the 53rd Battalion. The 53rd, a militia Battalion, had some incredibly brave men. Virtually untrained, poorly equipped, with inexperienced leaders, they fought a battle-hardened enemy in some of the worst terrain in the world. This episode looks at the fall of Isurava. Japanese troops in increasing numbers, with increasing persistence and increasing ferocity forced Australian troops to withdraw. Australian efforts to retake Kokoda will need to wait for another day. Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.

This is the sixth episode in our Kokoda Track series looking at the performance of the 53rd Battalion. The 53rd, a militia Battalion, had some incredibly brave men. Virtually untrained, poorly equipped and with inexperienced leaders, they fought a battle-hardened enemy in some of the worst terrain in the world.

This episode looks at the mistakes in mobilisation that we made that sowed the seeds for the performance of the Battalion on the Kokoda Track at the Battle of Isurava. What are the similiarities between the formation of the 53rd Battalion and the mobilisation of Russian Reserves for the war in Ukraine?

How was the Battalion formed? What was the Shanghai incident? How did they get to Port Moresby? Why were so many of the troops surprised on the Aquatania after it left port? What lessons are their we can learn from the 53rd Battalion if Australia was required to mobilise rapidly for war in the future?

Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.