Michael Veitch – författare

'Brilliantly researched and sympathetically told, 44 DAYS is more than just a fitting tribute to brave but overlooked heroes. It's also a top read.' DAILY TELEGRAPHThe epic World War II story of the heroes of Australia's 75 Squadron - and the 44 days when these brave and barely trained pilots fought alone against the Japanese.In March and April 1942, RAAF 75 Squadron bravely defended Port Moresby for 44 days when Australia truly stood alone against the Japanese. This group of raw young recruits scrambled ceaselessly in their Kittyhawk fighters to an extraordinary and heroic battle, the story of which has been left largely untold.The recruits had almost nothing going for them against the Japanese war machine, except for one extraordinary leader named John Jackson, a balding, tubby Queenslander - at 35 possibly the oldest fighter pilot in the world - who said little, led from the front, and who had absolutely no sense of physical fear.Time and time again this brave group were hurled into battle, against all odds and logic, and succeeded in mauling a far superior enemy - whilst also fighting against the air force hierarchy. After relentless attack, the squadron was almost wiped out by the time relief came, having succeeded in their mission - but also paying a terrible price.Michael Veitch, actor, presenter and critically acclaimed author, brings to life the incredible exploits and tragic sacrifices of this courageous squadron of Australian heroes.

'Readers look for and admire good writers and great writing. They will find it, in spades, in The Battle of the Bismarck Sea.' - The Canberra TimesIn the thick of World War II, during the first week of March 1943, Japan made a final, desperate lunge for control of the South West Pacific. In the ensuing Battle of the Bismarck Sea, a force of land-based Australian and American planes attacked a massive convoy of Japanese warships. The odds were against them. But a devastating victory was won and Japan's hopes of regaining the initiative in New Guinea destroyed. More importantly for Australians, the victory decisively removed any possibility that Australia might be invaded by Japanese forces. It was, for us, one of the most significant times in our history - a week when our future was profoundly in the balance. Bestselling author Michael Veitch tells the riveting story of this crucial moment in history - how the bravery of young men and experienced fighters, renegades and rule-followers, overcame some of the darkest days of World War II.

A Coastwatcher's work is ... to sit in hiding like a spider, right in the web of the enemy, unseen and unheard. We became the eyes and ears of the Pacific.' Reg Evans, CoastwatcherHidden deep in the jungles and high in the mountains of the Southwest Pacific during World War II, Australia's secret army - the Coastwatchers - reported every move of the Japanese invaders to Allied intelligence.Following World War I, the Coastwatcher organisation was formed from European planters, missionaries and patrol officers living in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. All volunteers, they were tasked with keeping an eye on Australia's porous northern border and providing early warnings via radio.When World War II came to the Pacific, however, overnight the Coastwatchers found themselves no longer just observers but spies operating behind enemy lines. Besides evading the enemy's desperate efforts to hunt them down, the Coastwatchers battled exhaustion, tropical diseases and malnutrition, as well as the ever-present spectre of capture, torture and death. Yet without the Coastwatchers' crucial courage and intelligence, key moments of the Pacific War may have turned out very differently.From acclaimed author Michael Veitch comes this compelling and vivid history of unsung heroes who risked their lives in service of their country and formed one of history's most successful spy rings.

From bestselling author Michael Veitch (Australia's Secret Army, Turning Point) comes the story of the brilliant, yet controversial campaign which ended Australia's involvement in World War II. Borneo: The Last Campaign tells the story of Operation OBOE, the massive, three-pronged assault on the vast Japanese-held island of Borneo in 1945. It was one of the largest amphibious invasions of the entire war, and a virtually all-Australian operation.Over the final twelve weeks of World War Two, the 1st Australian Army Corps chased down and fought the remnants of the Japanese army over burning oil fields, up languid tropical rivers, along leech-ridden jungle tracks and across endless hills, valleys and ridges. Far from being the easy 'mopping-up' the men had been told to expect, Borneo turned out to be as savage as anything the Aussies had hitherto encountered in the Pacific, as the Japanese - despite the inevitability of their defeat - continued fighting with fanaticism, tenacity and shocking brutality.Immensely complex but brilliantly planned, OBOE called for Australia's two most famous Infantry Divisions - the 7th and 9th - to storm ashore at three separate landing areas supported by US and Australian naval forces and local Dyak guerrilla fighters. Their objectives were to secure Borneo's oil facilities and liberate its long-suffering people. Although now largely forgotten, as well as mired in the controversy that it had little effect on the overall outcome of the war, the skill, bravery and determination showed by the average Australian soldier on Borneo - many of whom were fighting their one and only battle of the war - is beyond question. OBOE involved more than 70,000 Australian military personnel, of which over 2000 became casualties, with nearly 600 killed. It was also where the two final Australian Victoria Crosses of the war were won, as well as literally dozens of other awards for bravery. OBOE was superbly executed, achieved all of its objectives, and was the very last sustained Allied action of World War Two. Drawing on a myriad of firsthand sources and interviews with the two last surviving veterans, Borneo: The Last Campaign examines the lead-up, the landings and the campaign itself in never-before published detail. Once again, Michael Veitch provides a compelling and fascinating account of a part of Australian war history that deserves to be recognised.'Detailed, informed . . . Vivid . . . Veitch's account is an important act of retrieval' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

The Battle for Milne Bay - Japan's first defeat on land in the Second World War - was a defining moment in the evolution of the indomitable Australian fighting spirit. For the men of the AIF, the militia and the RAAF, it was the turning point in the Pacific, and their finest - though now largely forgotten - hour. Forgotten, until now.In August 1942, Japan's forces were unstoppable. Having conquered vast swathes of south-east Asia - Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies - and now invading New Guinea, many feared the Empire of the Rising Sun stood poised to knock down Australia's northern door.But first they needed Port Moresby. In the still of an August night, Japanese marines sailed quietly into Milne Bay, a long, malaria-ridden dead end at the far eastern tip of Papua, to unleash an audacious pincer movement. Unbeknown to them, however, a secret airstrip had been carved out of a coconut plantation by US Engineers, and a garrison of Australian troops had been established, supported by two locally based squadrons of RAAF Kittyhawks, including the men of the famed 75 Squadron. The scene was set for one of the most decisive and vicious battles of the war.For ten days and nights Australia's soldiers and airmen fought the elite of Japan's forces along a sodden jungle track, and forced them back step by muddy, bloody step.In Turning Point, bestselling author Michael Veitch brings to life the incredible exploits and tragic sacrifices of these Australian heroes.