The Australian Centenary History of Defence Vol. 7 : An Atlas of Australia's Wars (The Australian Centenary History of Defence Ser.)

Ever since men and women learned to read and write, maps and charts have been important in many fields of endeavour. Nowhere have they been more important than in armed conflict, where campaigns have risen or fallen, succeeded or failed, for the want of reliable maps or charts. For historians and for general readers operating in a less threatening environment, the lack of useful maps does not carry the same possibility of disaster, But it does make the process of understandingcomplex manoeuvres in any of the three media- land, sea or air- very difficulty to follow. The purpose of this atlas is to give readers a tangible link between the operations and campaigns described in the text and their expression in graphic form by the maps, which accompany the text and are juxtaposedon the right-hand side of the atlas. Thus the text on every left-hand page is matched with its illuminating set of maps on the right. The atlas covers frontier conflict and colonial wars during the nineteenth century and the ten wars in which Australian's have been involved in the centenary 1901-2001. It also covers peace-keeping operations. The atlas relates a magnificent story of the competence, courage, and self-sacrifice by Australia's armed services.John Coates is the author of 'The Australian Centenary History of Defence Vol. 7 : An Atlas of Australia's Wars (The Australian Centenary History of Defence Ser.)', published 2010 under ISBN 9780195559149 and ISBN 0195559142.