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

This episode is the first of a two part interview with retired LTCOL Gary McKay, who was a Platoon Commander in Vietnam, in D Coy, 4 RAR.  He fought in Op Ivanhoe at the battle of Nui Le, where he was wounded.  For his awarded the Military Cross for his performance during the battle.  He was later the Commanding Officer of 8/9 RAR between 1988 and 1990. This episode continues our Kokoda Campaign Podcast series. It specifically looks at how Australian soldiers were prepared for combat in the jungle and also looks at what makes jungle combat one of the most difficult types of terrain to fight in. As you are listening to Gary's story, compare that with the soldiers from the Second World War fighting the early jungle battles.  The legacy of those hard won lessons on the Kokoda Track can clearly be heard in Gary's story. 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 episode continues our Kokoda Campaign Podcast series. This episode is Part 5 of our interview with Dr with Dr Adrian Threlfall, an expert in how the Australian Army learned to learn about combat in the jungles of Malaya, Singapore, Papua, New Guinea, and many other islands to the north of Australia. This episode looks at the introduction of the Jungle Scales Division into the Australian Army, the development of the Owen Gun and finally how the Japanese adapted to Australian tactically improvements in Jungle Warfare. 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 episode continues our Kokoda Campaign Podcast series. This episode is Part 4 of our interview with Dr with Dr Adrian Threlfall, an expert in how the Australian Army learned to learn about combat in the jungles of Malaya, Singapore, Papua, New Guinea, and many other islands to the north of Australia. This episode discusses the development of the Jungle Warfare Training Centre, Canungra, the role that it played in preparing soldiers for combat in the Jungle and the legacy it created for the Australian Army as experts in jungle warfare. 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 episode continues our Kokoda Campaign Podcast series. This episode looks at Jungle Warfare Doctrine Development, with Dr Adrian Threlfall, an expert in how the Australian Army learned to learn about combat in the jungles of Malaya, Singapore, Papua, New Guinea, and many other islands to the north of Australia. We look at how the soldiers prepared for combat in the Jungle against the Imperial Japanese Army.  What were the barriers to the lessons learnt process?  We look at the British Army and allies in Burma, the Marines on Guadalcanal and the Australian Army in New Guinea. 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.