The Battle of the Bismarck Sea - Michael Veitch

The Battle of the Bismarck Sea
With Michael Veitch
Part of Australia at War week on WW2TV
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In March 1943, in the sky and sea near New Guinea, Australian and American pilots faced some of the darkest days of the war. Bestselling author Michael Veitch joins us to tell the dramatic tale of the battle that thwarted Japan's final, desperate lunge for the South West Pacific. More importantly for Australians, the victory decisively removed any possibility that Australia might be invaded by Japanese forces. It was, for the nations one of the most significant times in their history - a week when their very future was profoundly in the balance.
From Melbourne, Australian Michael Veitch is well known as an author, actor, TV comedian and radio presenter. In the 1980s he wrote and performed in acclaimed comedy shows such as The D-Generation, Fast Forward and Full Frontal. From 2006 to 2009, Veitch presented ABC Television's flagship arts magazine program, Sunday Arts.
He is also a prolific and highly regarded military history and aviation author. His books include the critically acclaimed accounts of Australian airmen in WWII, 44 Days, Heroes of the Skies, Fly, Flak, Barney Greatrex and Turning Point and The Battle of the Bismarck Sea.
Additional Resources
The Battle of the Java Sea - 80th Anniversary Special • The Battle of the Java...
The Catastrophe of Convoy PQ-17 (Arctic Convoy) • The Catastrophe of Con...
The Battle of the Coral Sea • The Battle of the Cora...
WW2 - Bismark Convoy Smashed ! • WW2 - Bismark Convoy S...
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea by Michael Veitch
USA www.amazon.com/Battle-Bismarc...
UK uk.bookshop.org/a/5843/978073...
Australia www.hachette.com.au/michael-v...
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[@WW2TV]

When I started this channel I had no idea that I would be able to attract such legendary writers. If you have enjoyed this show, please don't forget to click like, leave a comment for other viewers and if you have not done so already please SUSBSCRIBE so you don't miss our next streams. You can also become a member of this channel and support me financially here kzbin.info/door/UC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA. Links to any books discussed, WW2TV merchandise, our social media pages and other WW2TV shows to watch can all be found in the full KZbin description. Lastly, my own book Angels of Mercy is always available online - more info here www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html

[@gregryan9037]

Excellent ... I love reading Michael's work

[@robthornton6360]

Hi Paul and Michael, the 30 Squadron Wireless Operator on the right in the picture towards the end is my Grandfather Bruce Robertson who is still with us, recently turned 104 and eloquently spoke of his experience at the annual Battle of the Bismarck Sea Service at Richmond AirForce Base. He remains President of the 30 Squadron Association and this Thursday will lead the Squadron in the Sydney ANZAC Day march. If you happen to be in Sydney there will be a Squadron Association luncheon which is always a moving experience. All of our family have Michael’s books and appreciate very much the awareness he is bringing to such an important part of our history. Many thanks, Rob Thornton

[@leonardoglesby1730]

My father (now 98 years old) was a P-47 replacement pilot for the 9th Fighter Squadron, 5th Air Force, 49th Fighter Group, initially based at Dobodura New Guinea. After three months their squadron replaced the P-47's with P-38's which he flew for the rest of his two tours taking him from New Guinea, Leyte, Formosa, Okinawa and to Japan.

[@BWNSPTV]

I don't know how many umpteen million times I've heard the phrase 'amateurs talk tactics professional soldiers talk logistics' but I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I've heard anyone, Australian or otherwise state the fact that by war's end, Australia didn't have a Lend Lease debt. The United States of America owed us, a debt that Australia forgave & cancelled after the Empire of Japan were defeated. As the relationship friendship became an alliance (ANZUS) that was forged in war. Australians & Americans fought side by side on the Western Front Of The First World War & every single major conflict since. Australia only has two formal treaty alliance agreements with other nations, New Zealand & the United States. Many historians & others, consider it to be the most successful alliance to date in recorded history which continues strengthening to the present day. ✌️☮️❤️🇦🇺🥂

[@larrytischler570]

The two fingers held up was the sign FOR VICTORY in WWII. The chicken foot in the circle was a sign for communism. Both were consider as peace in the 70s.

[@donwarren76]

My father, tech. sgt James B Warren, was in the 65th squadron of the 43rd heavy bomb group, 5th army Air Force. He arrived Australia March 1942 on the troopship Queen Mary. He was trained as a B-17 engine mechanic. He volunteered as engineer - top turret gunner and was stationed at Jackson field 7 miles from Port Moorseby. They lacked everything; planes, parts, everything. Army inductees were taking basic training on the Queen Mary on the way over to Australia. They were bombed at Jackson (7 mile airdrome) several times a week. He flew 2 days in the Battle of Bismarck Sea. His crew was awarded DFCs personally by Gen Kenney at a time almost all flight crew were replacements . Crew losses were extremely high. My father called it a “damn fool’s cross” and said he thought Kenny partly wanted to advertise that the crew survived that long. My father loved and admired the Australians and he was NOT easily impressed.

[@lappin6482]

Great work by Michael, looking forward to his return!!!!

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

The Commerce Destroyers, the Bristol Beaufighter with it's 4- 20mm cannons, modified A-20's and B-25's (at one time the B-25's had 12 + the 2 gun dorsal ball turret, that's 14 Forward facing .50 Cal. machine guns ). These three aircraft absolutely shredded the Japanese commerce shipping.

[@dannorkol4345]

Superb guest. Bravo on the booking and bravo Michael. Brought back memories of a great old school wargame of the theater, FlatTop

[@TheVigilant109]

Excellent presentation. Thank you Michael for a fascinating talk

[@alexparky8013]

Michael was a great guest, can't wait to hear from him again. Well done

[@sage2308]

You have a rare talent for bringing us some wonderful speakers. Thank you so very much for an amazing talk on a scandously unreported theatre of WWII.

[@graemewalker7595]

Looking forward to another presentation from Michael, this one was excellent. Thank you

[@billytoohey8887]

The blokes who returned to work on the Railways from Vietnam, in the sheds where they built the Beaufighters incidentally, gave me lessons in preparation for my turn. One lesson involved trade with the Yanks. The price for a Jeep was four slabs of any Australian beer.Some things never change. I never went to Vietnam by the way.

[@gregcollins7602]

It's great to hear y'all talking about contributions of Pappy Gunn.

[@scottgrimwood8868]

Michael was absolutely brilliant! Michael' knowledge and passionn for the subject comes through. Again WW2TV brings in an amazing presenter. I hope Michael comes back soon!

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

I'm an American that greatly admires the Aussies, specially having to operate under MacArthur only extended their misery!!! Interested in hearing this. Truth is Australia did it's citizen's well by staying out of the various kinds of Hell each Island offered. Many people carried the war with them the rest of their lives from what they saw and were forced to do.

[@hardroaddavey5399]

Are you saying the actions the Australians were involved in were not hell? Remember they had been fighting in numerous islands of the South West Pacific (New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville) and then into Borneo. My grand-father was a veteran of North Africa and New Guinea Campaigns, he carried a lot of heartache and burden from his participation, as well the malaria that he had bouts of until his passing 30 years ago.

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

@@hardroaddavey5399 I'm talking about the central raids and MacArthur cutting out the Aussies, if what you say is what you read you must read again, no one is saying they didn't have as much hell as anyone else

[@philbosworth3789]

A really in depth presentation by Michael describing this 'turkey shoot'. I hope he comes back to give another presentation soon.

[@WW2TV]

Michael will be on to talk about Coast Watchers later this year

[@Pam_N]

Great detail and story telling. Well done and well deserved spot light on Australia and this victory.

[@ramal5708]

The Dutch with US supplied aircraft like the B-25 and P-40 also had their share of air combat in the Solomons, particularly over New Guinea and Papua

[@mathewkelly9968]

75 Sqn RAAF at Port Moresby and Milne Bay deserves it own episode .

[@WW2TV]

I definitely want to do a Milne Bay show at some point

[@timsampson7336]

Great show. Mike is a very engaging presenter and the information was very interesting. Please have him back.

[@DalonCole]

Just bought the book. It’s outstanding

[@1089maul]

Woody/Michael, Thank you for such an interesting presentation! I know little of the Pacific War but this was a fascinating insight. Regards, Bob

[@gordonbutler5142]

Wonderful discussion. Great content as always.

[@WW2TV]

Much appreciated!

[@sparkey6746]

It wasn't "America" that sidelined Australia's contributions, but the deliberate actions of Douglas "Dougout Doug" MacArthur. Another excellent presentation, thank you.

[@nogoodnameleft]

MacArthur was a hero. Australian PM Curtin was the one who forced FDR to evacuate Mac from Corregidor, btw. Funny how you don't want to talk about that. Curtin was a huge fan of MacArthur and he appointed MacArthur as the de facto Minister of Defense of Australia 😍. You should visit the MacArthur Chambers/Museum and the MacArthur Central shopping mall in Brisbane. I am so happy Australia honored a true hero named MacArthur. If you want to blame somebody, blame PM Curtin for forcing FDR to evacuate MacArthur from Corregidor. Curtin threatened to quit the war and declare neutrality if MacArthur wasn't sent to Australia. You should be more upset at Curtin for not running a better propaganda department than blaming everything on MacArthur. MacArthur was only accountable to the USA for propaganda related issues. And shouldn't you be happy MacArthur didn't use Australian ground troops for the Philippines? New Guinea and Papua were Australian territories so of course Australian troops should be the majority of Allied troops to liberate those territories. Northern Borneo in 1945 was also Commonwealth territory, right?

[@dennisweidner288]

@@nogoodnameleft Just how could Curtin quit the War? The Japanese were headed south toward Australia. Do you think Japan would have suddenly stopped if Australia declared neutrality? You are correct that Curtin and MacArthur and Curtin got along which is hard to fathom given how terribly MacArthur treated the Austrians.

[@nogoodnameleft]

@@dennisweidner288 MacArthur didn't treat them badly at all. The Australians in New Guinea are a bunch of ungrateful selfish POS like the USMC. The Aussies and Marines never had to make tough decisions like MacArthur and Nimitz so they always were able to claim that they had no input in anything worthwhile which was STRATEGY. This means when it was a crushing success by MacArthur they steal credit from MacArthur and claim all the strategic credit when they did nothing at all to strategize while whenever there was a disaster the Aussies and Marines cleansed their hands and would never admit that the poor quality of their own men was the reason for a high death toll or a defeat. Being detached on the Aussies and Marines' initiative from the decision making process is a helluva thing isn't it? New Guinea was Australian territory. Damn right Australians were going to have to sacrifice more than Americans to liberate it. You sound like you are angry that so few American troops died in New Guinea thanks to the genius of MacArthur. As for Curtin, yeah, he was planning to surrender to Japan if MacArthur didn't become his de facto War Minister. If you want to blame someone blame CURTIN alone but I know that he is a beloved PM that most Australians don't dare to criticize.

[@fxdci]

Great show as usual! I love Michaels enthusiasm and knowledge!

[@WW2TV]

Us too!

[@silentotto5099]

The painted on bow wave was an anti-submarine measure. When a sub commander is trying to estimate a ship's speed, the size of the bow wave is one of the clues they use. The painted on bow wave would give the impression that the ship was traveling faster than it actually was, hopefully tricking the skipper to give too much lead to their torpedo and causing it to miss. Of course, sub skippers had other means of determining a ship's speed other than estimating from the size of the bow wave, so the fake bow wave wouldn't often help. But, if for some reason the sub can't take the time to do a more meticulous analysis of the ship's speed and was taking something of a snap shot at the ship, the fake bow wave could fool a sub commander.

[@petestorz172]

Looking at a map, had the Japanese fulfilled their dreams of conquering the arc from Papua, New Guinea to Tonga, it would have limited the roles of Australia and New Zealand, and Australia's Northern Territory and Queensland coast would have been under constant threat of air and even sea attack. The Battles of the Coral Sea, Milne Bay, and the Kokoda Track individually and collectively blocked Japanese efforts to conquer Papua. Australia threw into those battles/campaigns/infernos what they had to throw (and maybe a few kitchen sinks!).

[@MegaBloggs1]

the machine guns on the beaufighter were .303-the 100lb bombs the us used were a fortunate accident-kenny received in Australia by mistake-kenny realized they were very effective for para frags against Japanese airfields-damaging many Japanese aircraft in a single pass

[@treyriver5676]

Glad to see P39 hatred is in good stead here. 13k and below it was as good as any other fighter in early 43.

[@ewokhunter4036]

This was great. I remember Michael as a successful TV sketch show comedian from the 90s. In UK terms it would be like someone from the Fast Show coming to give a talk. Nice, Woody

[@step4024]

Excellent Michael...thanks...excellent Paul. Great listen. A bit of ww2t.v doing the tidying and stuff is great...lol..

[@WW2TV]

Brilliant - thanks for commenting

[@richardschaffer5588]

Check out “The Saga of Pappy Gunn” George Kenney 1959 & “The Bismarck Sea Ran Red” Chris Christiansen” Caliente Press 1979.

[@The_Occasional_Bushwalking_Man]

I've bought and read the book already and can thoroughly recommend it . . .

[@davidlavigne207]

Just watched this fascinating presentation. It was fabulous and informative. Thank you Michael for mentioning Pappy Gunn! Many people do not know that at the time that the Philippines was invaded he was a retired army veteran working as a pilot for the nascent Philippines Airlines. He left his family in Manila and retreated with the American USAAF in order to contribute to the war effort. As for strafing of Japanese survivors in the water I have no sympathy. They had "reaped the whirlwind" in the words of Bomber Harris and I think I would have had no problem pulling the trigger if I had been there. Great account of a crucial battle and how Australia was instrumental in its success.

[@WW2TV]

Thanks David, I will be inviting Michael back to talk about Milne Bay

[@gregcollins7602]

Fyi, Pappy Gunn was a retired Navy Aviator, not retired from the Army.

[@rogerpattube]

As a NZer who lives in Australia who has read Max Hastings and other standard works, along with all of Michael V’s books, yes the Aussies have some claims to fame BUT the Americans did the heavy lifting and dwarfed the efforts of Australians and Kiwis in the Pacific theatre.

[@thomasmadden8412]

Brilliant show, Michael was a great presenter and the information was truly intriguing. Battle of Bismark Sea with the use of ingenuity and American and Australian cooperation was able to stem the tide of Japanese advance. Michael absolutely should come back and talk about some of his other books.

[@philbosworth3789]

Regarding the 'controversial' shooting up of Japanese lifeboats my understanding of this is it was a revenge for what the Japanese did to the survivors of HMAS Armidale and where Teddy Sheean won his somewhat belated VC. What goes around comes around.

[@ThePrader]

They, the IJN, also had the practice of shooting up any allied parachute from a downed plane. There is a documented case where a B-17 was downed and all the crew made it out and their chutes were actually counted. The entire crew were then murdered by Zero pilots as these men hung in their chutes. They made "the rules" of how to treat surviving airmen and sailors. Tough. No sympathy.

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

Dennis Burns that 800 that made it to the Island was the ones pick up out of the ocean when their transport was shot up.

[@treyriver5676]

Fighter included P38 high and.P39,P40 med and low

[@jimplummer4879]

Like you have said before Paul, the world was a lot smaller in 44.

[@robmarsh6668]

Ive always thought of the Bismarck Sea Battle as the first time the chickens came back to roost for Japan's hubris and general unpreparedness for a war 3000 miles from the homeland

[@frankpienkosky5688]

not the first time Japanees survivors were machine gunned in the water....actually saw footage of americans doing this after Midway....only saw it once but obviously it happened...it was a fight to the finish...no quarter offered ....or given...

[@robmarsh6668]

@@frankpienkosky5688 or deserved in the Japanese case. Their behavior still defies reason.

[@parrot849]

Love your description of of MacArthur’s Chief of Staff, Richard Sutherland!! Odious! I understand he was a complete 100% prick of a human being.

[@danielbackley9301]

Just like his boss.

[@michaelwolf564]

Michael, One observation. From 1942 to mid 1943 the land forces in action were 90% Australian AIF and mostly untrained in 1942 Militia troops. Only 1 untrained US Division and support troops were in NG. Macarthur - well a good strategist surround by duds and had no hands on approach to command unlike the Australians. MacArthur was responsible for nearly having 2 Brigades of the 9th Division wiped out at Finschafen in 1943. There is a brilliant video on you Tube by hypo hysterical history.

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

Sometime before this strafing of Japanese in the water a B-17 was shot down by Zero's, All the crewmen got out and their chutes open when the Japanese came back around and machine gunned everyone of those Americans hanging from Chutes, not a one survived, this was also great incentive to give no quarter to those in the water, everyone knew about it, and those strafing knew if it was them in the water they would be gunned by the Japanese.

[@blueycarlton]

Yes the Japanese straffed allied sailors after their ships were sunk, massacred patients in hospitals, raped their way through China and South East Asia. As a result the Australians took very few Japanese prisoners. The hundreds that were taken prisoner were well cared for in Australia and treated well. Until they decided to try a mass escape at Cowra.

[@philbosworth3789]

As you brought up international dateline issues, the perfect example to try and replicate - in a chat from speakers either side of this dateline - would be the almost simultaneous attacks on Pearl Harbour & Hong Kong. They look as if they happened on different days which wasn't the case in reality.

[@WW2TV]

Yes that would be interesting

[@blueycarlton]

RAAF No.1 squadron was in action destroying Jap landing barges at Kota Baru? Malaya one hour before the attack on Pearl Harbour.

[@stacyclarkson6202]

The Ozzy's punch above their weight!

[@georgewnewman3201]

I think I've heard of Milne Bay (odd for a yank to say that, isn't it?) I read somewhere that the Japanese successes in SE Asia & SW Pacific were accomplished with only 20 percent (11 Divisions) of the Japanese Army.

[@larrytischler570]

American Navy carriers sank two light IJN carriers thats resulted in the turning around of troops headed toward New Guinea since they no longer had air cover.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

Foster's was the only reasonably cold beer I could find in London.....bought it out of a machine....

[@blueycarlton]

Nobody drinks Fosters in Australia, hardly ever advertised.

[@t1t0s89]

We need a video on Indian and African troops in the war. We are barely considered, despite our contributions in Italy, north Africa and Burma (Myanmar).

[@colinlove5062]

The Airacobra was actually a very good aircraft in the right conditions it was arguably better than the p-40 in pacific conditions once issues with overheating were fixed by 42. By then it’s bad rap meant it was a plane pilots didn’t want and it never caught on with the western ally’s as improvements were made through 44. The Soviets loved it though the fact that it suffered from low performance at high altitude didn’t matter on the eastern front because of the short distance between air bases and the front didn’t allow for pilots to gain altitude before they intercepted the enemy at the same altitude. It matched up well with all but the very newest and best German fighters which were in relatively small numbers it did well in the cold and was rugged and dependable. It was liked better than aircraft like the spitfire because it could run on lower octane gas which was easier to get to remote locations & with the engine upgrades in 43 it matched up well with modern German fighters as they upgraded. It saw frontline service as a interceptor all the way through till early 45 and had the highest kill count of any lend lease aircraft.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

and it proved to be an efficient tank killer with that 37mm gun.....

[@j.dragon651]

Good thing you are telling it. I went to school in the states in the sixties, never a mention really, except they were an ally.

[@billy54bob]

The Eavesdroppers £122+postage from Australia!

[@Neaptide184]

The Japanese Army never used the Zero, not once, not ever. Just saying.

[@WW2TV]

The Australians and Americans used to call the Oscar the Army Zero

[@Neaptide184]

@@WW2TV the American press also had Zero fever. The IJ Army and Navy hated each other, and support to the other service basically was relegated to, “if we do not support them we will be shamed.” Led to some really, really bad decisions at all levels of combat.

[@ramal5708]

Shout out to Marc Mitscher the Commander of all Air Operations in Solomons Islands, who later became the Fast Carrier Task Force commander , he rallied all Army-Navy aircraft, also not only US aircraft but also Dutch, Australian planes as well to conduct air superiority over the Solomons during and after Guadalcanal, Mitscher is a navy man and he managed to get the Army Air Force to work together with him and fulfill his request of aircraft into the area for combat and support roles. Some said that IJAAF and IJN lost most of their experienced pilots in the Solomons campaign and the Solomons is where the tide has turned for the Allies in the Pacific in terms of air superiority, Marc Mitscher was the key factor in maintaining that fighting strength over the Solomons in 1942-1943.

[@dennisweidner288]

I think Michael puts the American contribution to the Pacific War in the proper context. Australia as he points out was a 'minor player'. After the Coral Sea and Midway, Japan no longer had the capacity to invade or even isolate Australia. The battles Australia participated in affected the defense of Australia, but not the outcome of the War. The Pacific War was decided by the U.S. Navy Central Pacific campaign. But it should be mentioned that Australia's really critical contribution was in the Western Desert. We often refer to the British in the Middle East. The British force there was really a Commonwealth Army, and the Australians were an important part of it. Even if Australia had fallen, as tragic as that would have been it would not have affected the outcome of the War. If Suez and the Middle East had fallen to the Germans, it would have had real consequences for the War. Here the Australians were not a minor player.

[@danielbackley9301]

Not sure I as an American would agree with this as it was for the most part the Australians who held the line and defeated the Japanese on New Guinea and one cannot underestimate the importance of the Coastwatchers when it comes to the success of the Solomon Islands campaign. Agree however on the VITAL IMPORTANCE of the Australians, New Zealanders and Indian troops to the victory in North Africa.

[@dennisweidner288]

@@danielbackley9301 Well, this is a touchy subject as I admire the Australians, but the Australians did not play a major role in defeating the Japanese. You use the term 'holding the line', but I ask you, the line to what?. It was the line to Australia. And that was only possible because of American arms. planes, ships, and materials. What would Japan have gained if they had taken Australia? Look a the map. The War was won by the American Central Pacific drive from Pearl to Tokyo. The American South Pacific operations were important to save Australia but were a diversion from the war-winning drive across the Central Pacific. Possession of New Guinea or the Solomon was not a factor in this drive. There were resources in the South Pacific that Japan needed, but the American submarine campaign made it impossible for the Japanese to get those resources back to the Home islands.

[@jackbrunner4126]

Given the success of the skip bombing and modification to B25s with 8 50 cal machine guns ….I have never read about the Allies using the techniques in any of the other battles in the South Pacific. Given how inefficient dive bombers were and worthless the US torpedos were…why didn’t they use Bismarck sea methods later? Couldn’t they have based these bad ass planes in captured bases? Maybe they were to far away to use on Truk or Rabaul, the Mariana’s Turkey shoot, or Leyte Gulf ???

[@danielbackley9301]

Dive bombers inefficient? The Kido Butai would like to have a word with you but there's no telephone service to the bottom of the ocean.

[@lynndonharnell422]

Co-operation only goes so far. Checkout the Battle of Brisbane.

[@allangibson2408]

Which one? In March 1942 there was an armed conflict between White US soldiers and Black US soldiers in Brisbane that ran for ten days. In 26-27 November 1942 Australian soldiers took on the US Military Police with one Australian being shot.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@allangibson2408 this sort of thing was obviously suppressed....

[@treyriver5676]

Army Zero ?

[@jeremycraft8452]

Ki-43, I assume.

[@danielbackley9301]

As far as MacArthur goes in the New Guinea campaign I recommend watching the Unauthorized History of the Pacific podcast on you tube to fin d out what a POS dugout Doug really was.

[@WW2TV]

Or rather than coming on to WW2TV and suggesting another channel, there are the shows we have done about Macarthur

[@danielbackley9301]

@@WW2TV didn't mean any disrespect as I haven't seen all of your videos yet also I'm not sure if you would be quite as harsh as they were on old Doug. My apologies.

[@WW2TV]

@@danielbackley9301 No worries. We've had historians who despise MacArthur, others who like him and quite a few in the middle somewhere, including me

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@danielbackley9301 Doug was obviously obsessed with getting back to the Philippines.....

[@parrot849]

@@WW2TVpaul, can you tell me which of your episodes talk specifically about General MacArthur?

[@Hudsoncolo]

Interesting but the stammering speech makes it hard to follow.

[@WW2TV]

Stammering?

[@mickabikhair675]

Michael has tsken a lot of liberties in his interpretation of the political social environment in Australia and the events.. His opinions are not factual to events on the ground and very selective to try and lay weight on his hypothosis in his books.

[@WW2TV]

In other words, a historian has opinions

[@conmaz]

His comments about the pm of Australia groping the queen was totally inappropriate and nothing to do with battle of Bismarck Sea. Total bullshit.

[@WW2TV]

It was a throwaway humerous comment. Michael was a comedy writer and performer for years, of course he's going to make the odd little joke

[@user-ll4ii5mx9k]

Actually it was Fleet Street who called Keating “The Lizard from Oz” with headline pictures showing his hand close to her back building her forward.

[@BobSmith-pn2yo]

Not a jingoist. But Americans fought battle of Coral Sea. To prevent IJA / IJN from taking Port Morsbey and using it as a base to attack Australia. No one was “pushing Australia around” when we shed blood in that battle.

[@WW2TV]

Bob, I absolutely get your point, but Michael is an Australian, and he would be able to point you to many books where US authors belittle Australia's role. That's why I bring historians on from different Countries

[@danielbackley9301]

@@WW2TV Absolutely correct and it's not just U.S. authors who minimize the contributions of Australians and New Zelanders to the war efforts whether in the Pacific or North Africa

[@blueycarlton]

I'm in my 70s and when I was a child I remember we used to have Coral Sea week celebrations. Where we Australians remembered the contribution of the USN. A top brass USN person/s would visit Canberra and major cities.