Vietnam ANZACs (Elite, 103)

Rating:
Summary: Long overdue treatment for a niche subject
Review: Given that Vietnam War uniforms is a pet subject of Kevin Lyles and knowing that he has devoted a number of years to this project, I had high expectations of this book. I am happy to report that these have largely been fulfilled.

I'll admit this is not exactly an objective review - firstly the author, Kevin Lyles, is my favourite military artist; secondly the title covers a subject which I myself have done an extensive amount of reading and collecting into over the years.

Lyles starts off with a brief political and military background and then describes the gradual build up of ANZAC forces. The text continues on to include differences in warfighting doctrine between the Allies and a brief description of the Battle of Long Tan.

The author illustrates and describes very well the genesis of the ANZAC uniform from the first combat troops to the pull-out 10 years later. In dealing with the complexity of the subject he has logically divided the subject matter into chapters dealing with Australian uniforms; Australian webbing; NZ uniforms & equipment; and finally SASR/NZSAS field dress.

Some of the photos are pics that have appeared in other publications but all illustrate quite well points that the author desired to stress.

The colour plates are simply stunning and illustrate well the uniform genesis from early to late war and covers not only the average 'digger' but also includes special forces, advisors and other corps.

In summary this book is an absolute gem in that it covers quite comprehensively a niche subject that has been largely ignored or simply been wrongly reported by other less-informed publications. The text is packed full of precious tidbits of information and the colour illustrations are .. well, it's Lyles!

Although aimed primarily at the collector/modeller I have to say that if you have any interest at all in the Australian military or the Vietnam War then this book should sit on your bookshelf.