An Awkward Truth: The Bombing of Darwin February 1942. by Grose, Peter - 2009

Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2009. Reprint ed.. Paperback octavo, very good condition, black & white photos centre spread, corner tip front cover creased, bottom edge rubbed, minimal edgewear & creasing. 258 pp. The Japanese bombing raid on Darwin, on 19 February 1942, was the first wartime assault on Australian soil. The Japanese struck with the same carrier-borne force that devastated Pearl Harbor only ten weeks earlier. There was a difference: more bombs fell on Darwin, more civilians were killed, and more ships were sunk. The people of Darwin abandoned their town, leaving it to looters, a few anti-aircraft batteries, and a handful of dogged defenders with single-shot rifles. Yet the story has remained in the shadows. Drawing on long-hidden documents and first-person accounts, Grose tells what really happened. There was much to be proud of in Darwin that day: courage, mateship, determination and improvisation. But the dark side of the story involves looting, desertion and a calamitous failure of leadership. (1 of 2 available copies.).