Infantrymen from 18 Brigade advancing inland from Yellow Beach under cover of Australian-crewed Matilda tanks of 1 Armoured Regiment (Australian Imperial Force). Balikpapan, Southeast Borneo. 1945.

War Studies Seminar Series

Since 2013, the War Studies Seminar Series has provided a forum for presentations on a wide range of topics on the myriad aspects of war by outstanding scholars from both Australia and overseas.

Primary Landing Page

The renowned military historian Sir Michael Howard once wrote that military history should be studied in width, depth and context. While history is only one strand of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre's research, Howard’s aphorism highlights a key element of the Centre’s approach to analysing strategic and security challenges.

On

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Mon, 11 Feb 2019

Coalition Strategy and the End of the First World War: The Supreme War Council and War Planning, 1917-1918

November 1917 was a bleak month for the Allies; the Italians had suffered a crushing defeat at Caporetto; the British were concluding their infamous Passchendaele campaign; the French Army seemed s

Mon, 8 Oct 2018

Australia’s maritime frontier conflicts, 1802-1918

Craig Wilcox examines four very different clashes from 1802 to 1918, and sketches what the course of Australian maritime frontier conflict might look like.

Mon, 13 Aug 2018

The Kibeho Massacre, 1995 - What happened and why?

Jean Bou draws on extensive new research to outline what was behind the events and why the peacekeepers responded as they did.

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Mon, 25 Jun 2018

An Australian band of brothers

Mark Johnston discusses the degree to which the research for his book An Australian Band of Brothers confirms or contradicts stereotypes about Australian soldiers in WWII.

Tue, 24 Apr 2018

Morale and combat motivation of British and Anzac troops at Gallipoli

Gary Sheffield examines the morale of soldiers at Gallipoli when fighting in the appalling conditions of the Gallipoli campaign, and what motivated them to go over the top onto enemy fire.

Mon, 9 Apr 2018

Central Bureau and Australia’s code-breaking operations in the Second World War

David Duffy discusses wartime code-breaking in Australia, investigating Australia's sophisticated intelligence network, and revealing the vital roles code-breakers played in Pacific War operations.

Mon, 5 Mar 2018

Transition point: Embracing the 4th age of war

Albert Palazzo discusses the arrival of the 4th age industrial warfare and whether we should be preparing for it.

Mon, 12 Feb 2018

Unwinnable wars: Afghanistan and the limits of western military power

Theo Farrell explores how military culture limits the effectiveness of the NATO mission in Afghanistan.