"More than a regimental history, 'The battle history of the Royal New South Wales Regiment : volume I' is a meticulously researched record of the momentous events which in three wars - the Soudan War, the Boer War and the Great War - saw Australians forge their unique reputation as soldiers. Personal accounts, from privates through to generals, and factual evidence combine to put a human face on the cold machinery of war. Maps, illustrations and verse are used to highlight the inescapable horrors of war and to provide a moving and gripping story of ordinary Australians performing extraordinary acts of heroism in the course of safeguarding their country and its people. It was their courage of conviction that won for the Royal New South Wales Regiment the huge number of battle honours that it holds. General Maitland has completed a work that Bob Carr, the Premier of New South Wales, describes as "an important and worthy contribution not only to the military history of New South Wales but to the history of the Australian people as a whole". The second volume of this outstanding history resumes with World War II and vividly describes the battles in which the Royal New South Wales Regiment took part. Written from the unique perspective of a major general who rose through the ranks, this is a history that graphically portrays the horrors and the moments of great heroism of ordinary Australians coping with appalling conditions. Accounts of famous battles are interwoven with first-hand descriptions that include hand-to-hand fighting at Tobruk and on the Kokoda Trail, and the experience of a Victoria Cross winner who was shot in the face. Maps, photographs, drawings and paintings enhance the text to give the reader a comprehensive view of every battle fought by the regiment." -- book fly-leaves.