Desert Diggers: Writings from a War Zone âSomewhere in the Middle Eastâ 1940-1942 draws upon hundreds of soldiersâ letters in a fresh and captivating narrative of the war in North Africa.
Desert Diggers follows the first men to volunteer after the outbreak of war in 1939, tracing their adventures in exotic ports before further training in Palestine. A hunger for action grew: âMost of the chaps are ... anxious to get into anything that looks like a fightâ, one soldier wrote to his brother.
From Egypt, âthe hottest and dustiest place on God's earthâ was the Diggersâ next destination and their âbloodingâ in the battles for Bardia and Tobruk. After Rommel failed to storm Tobruk in April-May 1941, Nazi propaganda denigrated the garrison, âcaught like rats in a trapâ. Amid frequent bombing and shelling, Berlinâs scornful broadcasts were an unintended tonic. âFrequently we laughed and joked until the tears came into our eyesâ, a Digger quipped.
From Tobruk, to the blunting of Rommelâs attacks at El Alamein, the price of victory was palpably high: âsome of my best mates didn't come out of itâ, lamented a corporal to his sister. Returning to Australia in 1943, some men maimed or traumatised, brought a further test for the Diggers ...
Told in the words of the men who served, Desert Diggers offers a new personal perspective on the Western Desert campaign. With immediacy and raw emotion, these skillfully woven letters provide a remarkable and compelling account of the Australian experience of war.