{"product_id":"the-lost-battalions-a-battle-that-could-not-be-won-an-island-that-could-not-be-defended-an-ally-that-could-not-be-trusted-9781761474460","title":"The Lost Battalions: A battle that could not be won. An island that could not be defended. An ally that could not be trusted.","description":"\u003cp\u003eA little known story of two Australian battalions abandoned in Java during  World War II and the heroes who kept them alive in the worst of Japan's prisoner of war camps.\u003c\/p\u003eThey were thrown into a hopeless fight against an overwhelming enemy. Later, hundreds died as prisoners of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and in the freezing coal mines of Taiwan and Japan. Through it all, wrote Weary Dunlop, they showed 'fortitude beyond anything I could have believed possible'. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUntil now, the story of the 2000 diggers marooned on Java in February 1942 has been a footnote to the fall of Singapore and the bloody campaign in New Guinea. Led by an Adelaide lawyer, Brigadier Arthur Blackburn VC, and fighting with scrounged weapons, two Australian battalions - plus an assortment of cooks, laundrymen and deserters from Singapore - held up the might of the Imperial Japanese Army until ordered by their Dutch allies to surrender.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on personal diaries, official records and interviews with two of the last living survivors, this book tells the extraordinary story of the 'lads from Java', who laid down their weapons, but refused to give in. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'[Gilling] has made superb use of an Australian Army History Research Grant to afford us a greater understanding of what the lost Australian warriors on Java experienced as a consequence of failed imperial wartime policy.' -\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Australian\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An engaging account . . . Gilling makes good use of diaries, memoirs and interviews with survivors.' -\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGood Reading\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781761474460\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 30 Jun 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Allen \u0026amp; Unwin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: Sydney, Australia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)298\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 298\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eTOM GILLING is an acclaimed novelist and non-fiction writer. His first two novels, \u003ci\u003eThe Sooterkin\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMiles McGinty\u003c\/i\u003e, were \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003enotable books of the year. His non-fiction works include\u003ci\u003e Bastard Behind the Lines\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eStart Digging, You Bastards! \u003c\/i\u003eHe is also co-author with Clive Small of the bestselling true crime books \u003ci\u003eSmack Express\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBlood Money\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEvil Life\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMilat\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e","brand":"Tom Gilling","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48979757727961,"sku":"9781761474460","price":32.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781761474460.jpg?v=1784470355","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-lost-battalions-a-battle-that-could-not-be-won-an-island-that-could-not-be-defended-an-ally-that-could-not-be-trusted-9781761474460","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}