The Last 100 Days

With special guest:

• Dr Will Davies
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Surprisingly little has been written about the last 100 days of World War 1.

This is the time when the Australian Imperial Force had some of their greatest victories. It was also the time when Adolf Hitler was wounded in battle before coming to the unshakeable conclusion that Germany had been betrayed in agreeing to sue for peace.

This imbalance in the accounts of the conflict has been addressed by Will Davies in his new book The Last 100 Days: The Australian Road to Victory in the First World War. In his book Will reveals why he has been described as being more than an historian because he has the rare gift of being a story weaver. As with his other books on the events of World War One this story will remain etched in your memory.

Will Davies provides the detail of the battle tactics but is also able to let us in on some of the events that appeal particularly to an Australian audience. There are even some funny stories involving in one case the Australian 15^th Brigade’s commander, General Pompey Elliott who did not want to be left out when his soldiers advanced on Peronne.

Fast-paced and tense, the story of The Last 100 Days is animated by the voices of Australian soldiers as they endured the war’s closing stages with humour and stoicism. At the same time Will does not avoid the waste involved in fighting up to the last seconds before the Armistice was signed at 11am Parisian time on the 11^th November 1918. We hear about the last soldiers to die for the main countries involved in the conflict and we hear about the surprising reaction of the troops as news reached them that the fighting had finally ended. It was a time for commemorating their mates who had not survived and then for their thoughts to turn to far-distant Australia where friends and family anxiously awaited news.

In this special program we bring to you the authentic voices of our military representatives who are still revered in France and Belgium. In Germany they have a special kind of respect. This program will make you proud to call yourself an Australian.

Dr Will Davies

Dr Will Davies is an historian, writer and filmmaker who began working with Film Australia (Commonwealth Film Unit) following his graduation from the ANU.  After a stint abroad where he worked at the BBC, he worked freelance in the emerging Australian film industry including stints on a number of feature films including Phar Lap, Monkey Grip and Hostage.  In 1983 he produced his first television documentary and for the next thirty years, produced a broad range of documentaries, corporate films and educational programmes, mainly for the ABC and SBS, but also for Australian commercial channels and overseas broadcasters.

Will’s latest books are The Forgotten: the Chinese Labour Corps and the Chinese Anzacs in the Great War and Secret and Special.

He is a former member of the NSW Anzac Council and leads battlefield tours to the Western Front. In 2018 Will was awarded a PhD from the ANU and among other projects, is working to build a war memorial school in the French village of Pozieres.

Song selection by our guest: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle

Note: This program is an encore presentation of the one aired on 8 November 2018.

Podcast (mp3)