Almost everyone has heard of Lawrence of Arabia. Yet few know that the Anzacs gave 'life-blood' to Lawrence and the Arab armies. Without Anzac assistance, Lawrence may well have failed. We've been saturated with Gallipoli and France and the Anzac legend that grew up from those made-famous battlefields; yet victory in Palestine and North Africa became revenge for Gallipoli. Well before Gallipoli, and the turn of the century, the first time that a British colony anywhere in the empire sent an armed force overseas to assist Mother England, New South Wales sent troops to Sudan in 1885. The Australians who went saw little action in North Africa but this was to be the start of a long tradition. A must-read for military history enthusiasts, The Desert ANZACS shines a light on this underrepresented chapter of our history.
