World War 1990: ANZACs

Any historical or alternate history novel we write is going to require a ton of research. This was especially true for World War 1990: ANZACs as we knew almost nothing about the Australian and New Zealand Armed forces.

Being in a 'rough neighborhood' as Prime Minister John Howard liked to say, Australia takes its defence commitments seriously.

In 1990 the Australian Army had one standing division and two reserve divisions, the navy boasted over 70 ships, and the RAAF two squadrons of F-18s and two squadrons of F-111. The above mentioned standing army division was based on two armored regiments, each outfitted with Leopard tanks. That is a considerable amount a firepower.

New Zealand could put a brigade in the field, three destroyers and a squadron of A-4s.

Both nations maintained SAS squadrons.

For a few months after the fall of Singapore and the Philippines and the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse, Australia was defenseless with one division lost at Singapore and three fighting in the Middle East. Prime Minister Menzies demanded the return of Australia's divisions and open fought with Churchill over the matter.

Ever since the Australian military has been prepared to fight regional conflicts South Asia in conjunction with other Commonwealth nations (New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia).

The Search for Tactical Victory gave us a good summation of Australian efforts in Vietnam. Out of Sight, Out of Mind talked of Australian naval policy and general Australian strategic thinking. Australian Military Slang was a laugh-riot and we strongly recommend it, though not in mixed company. The Australian Army from Whitlam to Howard talks about the army in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Cold War policy and the War on Terror.




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World War 1990: ANZACs

One of the fun things about this novel has been the research.

I know own a half dozen books about the Australian military and I must say, I'm impressed. Australia, as former Prime Minister John Howard used to say, is in a rough neighborhood. It also had and has several defense commitments.

During the Cold War Australian forces participated in all of  Britain's actions in Asia and contributed units to the Vietnam War. Of course since 9/11, when John Howard again said, 'This is no time to be an 80 percent ally,' Australia has sent contributions to Afghanistan and Iraq.

In 1990 the Royal Australian Navy boasted twenty or so modern surface warships, two squadrons of F-18 Hornets, two squadrons of F-111 Aardvarks and the cadre to create three to four army divisions including a mechanized and an armored brigade.

This is a nation that takes its defence commitments seriously.

You'll love what they do in ANZACs.

A few notes on Operation Pacific Storm

The 4th novel in the World War: 1990 series is coming along fine.

This will feature a combined South Asian force taking putative action against Vietnam. As the reader will imagine, the bulk of these forces will be Australian.

In 1990 Australia had quite an impressive military. On land they had one standing infantry division plus the capability to form two more. These included armored and mechanized elements and even an airborne brigade. Now, this was a light infantry formation completely inappropriate for the European battlefield. They certainly could have gone to the Middle East, but in the conflict the Australians were best used as a grand strategic reserve in case trouble arose in South Asia. In 1990 the Australian Army had decades of experience fighting in the jungle from Malaya to Borneo to Vietnam.

In the air the RAAF had two squadrons of F-18 fighters and two squadrons of F-111 fighter-bombers, making the RAAF the most powerful air force in the region.

The Royal Australian Navy boasted an impressive array of destroyers and frigates. The RAN also had half a dozen extremely quiet Oberon submarines. Now, Australia scrapped her last aircraft carrier, the Melbourne, in 1982, but I'm resurrecting it here. Melbourne could either carrier a squadron of A-4 Strike Fighters or a few dozen helicopters.

Australia also possessed an SAS Regiment, also vastly experienced in jungle warfare and special ops.

Now, a thousand miles to the East lies New Zealand. Upon researching their military hte author was a tad disappointed. In 1990 New Zealand had a pair of infantry battalions an artillery and armored squadron. In Pacific storm these are combined to form the 1st Provisional New Zealand Brigade. New Zealand had a squadron of A-4s  and a trio of frigates. Interesting, beside this neglected regular force the Kiwis maintained and SAS Regiment.

Despite their small size, In this novel, the Kiwis are going to be a lot of fun.