The Men Who Came Out of the Ground: A gripping account of Australia's first commando campaign

(Paperback)

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'Breathtaking in its scope and riveting in its research.'

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

It was early 1942, Australia was in dire straits. The seemingly all-conquering Japanese military forces had rolled over south-east Asia. Singapore had Fallen. Only a few hundred men remained in Timor. These

soldiers, the 2/2 Australian Independent Company - Sparrow Force - were all that stood between Japanese forces and Papua New Guinea.

A Special Forces unit set up to fight a different kind of war, many were bushmen and crack shots, and all were trained to fight behind enemy lines. Mobilising the support of the locals, they adapted their bush skills to become the masters of this new kind of commando warfare.

Always greatly outnumbered but relentless in their harassing campaign of skirmishes and ambushes, Sparrow Force tied down thousands of Japanese in a fierce guerrilla war - not just matching them but beating them. The Timor campaign became a defining moment Australia's military history.

Expertly researched by Paul Cleary, THE MEN WHO CAME OUT OF THE GROUND is now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.

Reviews

Paul Cleary has brought to life one of the great success stories of World War II. - DAILY TELEGRAPH

breathtaking in its scope and riveting in its research. - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

A cracker of a read - THE AGE

A throat-gripping, blow-by-blow account of the skirmishes of hand-picked elite fighting impossible odds what happened, the victories, the stuff-ups and official cover-ups. - WEST AUSTRALIAN

Author Bio

Paul Cleary is an Australian journalist and the author of five books. Shortly after East Timor gained independence, he served as an adviser to the first prime minister and developed a strong interest in the country's history. To research this book he travelled extensively around East Timor during two field trips and interviewed the last-surviving veterans in every Australian state.