The Australian Army is the first history of the army which seeks to explain its development. It is a portrait of the Australian Army with its shortcomings and failures, its triumphs and successes. The business of armies is war, and war is a wretched business. There is much in the story of the Australian Army that is admirable, some things that are noble, and a few which should still have the power to inspire generations of Australians to thank those who have
worn the uniform, for the fact that they can avoid first-hand knowledge of the business of war.