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by George Hulse (Author), Jimmy Thomson (Author)
The untold story of the Australian sappers - army engineers - in World War I.
They were airbrushed out of history. Charles Bean claimed the first Australian ashore at the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915 was an army officer, but he was wrong. Even today, the military hierarchy is reluctant to accept that of the 16,000 men who landed that fateful day, the first Australian soldiers ashore were in fact army engineers. This is the first book about the Australian sappers - army engineers - who fought in World War I. They were usually in the vanguard, clearing defences, building bridges and other roads for the troops who followed. At Gallipoli they used grappling irons and ropes to dismantle the Turkish defences - under enemy fire. On the Western Front, they tunnelled under tunnels into the German zone to lay massive explosives. In Egypt they demolished a Turkish railway in a day. The First Anzacs takes us from Gallipoli to the sands of the Middle East, to the blood-soaked battlefields of France and Belgium. They were engineers, and they also fought as combat soldiers in their own right, present at every major battle and campaign, often with deeds of great courage. Sappers were classic Aussie larrikins, indefatigably practical men who don't take kindly to bureaucracy. There are plenty of great stories, including the three who stole a giant field gun from under German noses at Amiens, and how they sourced drinking water for thirsty men and animals of the Light Horse Brigade in the Battle of Beersheba. 'An excellent insight into the role of the Field Engineers in World War One' Brigadier Mick Say DSC, Head of Corps Royal Australian EngineersAuthor Biography
Lieutenant Colonel George Hulse (Retd) was a combat engineer, a 'Tunnel Rat' in the Vietnam War, and fought at Coral-Balmoral-Australia's largest battle in that war. He served with distinction in Malaysia, Kashmir and Papua New Guinea until his discharge in 1980. George went on to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve and published a book about Australian military working dogs, In Dogs We Trust. George has since had numerous volunteer roles including as Vice President of the Australian Defense Force Trackers and War Dogs Association.
Jimmy Thomson has co-written three books about Australian sappers (with Colonel Sandy MacGregor): Tunnel Rats, A Sappers' War and Tunnel Rats versus the Taliban. A journalist for more than forty-five years, he has written true crime, sports biographies and extensively about apartment living. He writes crime fiction under the name James Dunbar and lives in Kings Cross, Sydney, with his wife, Sue Williams, and their cats.
Number of Pages: 320
Publication Date: August 04, 2026
