The Third Force: ANGAU's New Guinea War, 1942-46 (Australian Army History) [Hardcover]

Alan Powell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Australian Army History | Publication Date: October 9, 2003

The Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU), an Australian Army unit, superseded the civilian government of Papua New Guinea early in 1942 and administered the area until mid-1946. This book traces all major aspects of ANGAU's war. It provides the only full-length study of Papua New Guinean interaction with Australian and American armed forces in the Second World War, filling a considerable gap in the study of Australia's colonial administration and in New Guinea's political and military history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The author .. has done a meticulous job of tracing all aspects of ANGAU's war, filling a gap in the record of the Pacific War."-- Pacific War

" The Third Force fills a large gap in the historiography of the Southwest Pacific area, and does so in superb fashion."-- Military History

About the Author

Alan Powell is at Northern Territory University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195516397
• ISBN-13: 978-0195516395
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,266,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) of the Australian Army in WW2, August 23, 2010

By 

Kiwi (Mississauga, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Third Force: ANGAU's New Guinea War, 1942-46 (Australian Army History) (Hardcover)

"The Third Force" reassesses Australia's record as a colonial power and examines the role both the Allied forces and the Papua New Guineans played during World War II. Powell persuasuvely argues there could have been no New Guinea victory without the immense contribution of the native peoples. Drawing on oral history and military archives, the book provides a unique history of Australia's New Guinea war record and colonial administration.

The Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) of the Australian Army superseded the civilian governments of Papua and New Guinea early in 1942 and administered the area until mid-1946. This book traces all major aspects of ANGAU's war. It provides the only full length study of Papua New Guinean interaction with Australian and US armed forces during World War II. With meticulous detail The Third Force, utilising new and little known material, examines the founding of ANGAU, its direct military role in the New Guinea fighting, the nature and achievements of its Australian and Papua New Guinean personnel, the function and structure of the wartime administration, and its eventual supersession by the returning civil government.

Aimed at general readers as well as military historians, this book fills a considerable gap in the study of Australia's colonial administration and New Guinea's political and military history. It will also be of importance to those interested in the Australian and US depolyment in the Pacific, modern Papua New Guinean history and Australia's race relations in the region.

MACP: Yup, in a hurry, but at least it gives you an idea of what the book is about.