''Australia in the Korean War 1950–53'' is the

official history An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced for a government. The term also applies to commissions from non-state bodies includin ...

of Australia's involvement in the Korean War. The series consists of two volumes covering Australia's strategy and diplomacy in the war and the Australian military's combat operations respectively. Both volumes were written by Robert O'Neill, and they were published in 1981 and 1985.

Development and publication

In 1970 Robert O'Neill was selected by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

as the official historian of the Korean War.Edwards (2003), p. 70 O'Neill had served as the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment's intelligence officer during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

,Dennis et al (2008), p. 401 and had later become an academic. At the time of his appointment he was head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. While the official histories of Australia in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

had been written by teams of historians, O'Neill wrote the history of the Korean War with only a single research assistant based at the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

. The Australian Government maintained its tradition of granting independence to the official historian, though the Attorney-General's Department attempted to influence the series' treatment of the journalist and alleged traitor

Wilfred Burchett Wilfred Graham Burchett (16 September 1911 – 27 September 1983) was an Australian journalist known for being the first western journalist to report from Hiroshima after the dropping of the atomic bomb, and for his reporting from "the other si ...

. While the official history was originally planned as a single volume, O'Neill received permission to expand it to two volumes after discovering large amounts of material on the strategy and diplomacy behind Australia's involvement in the war.Edwards (2003), p. 75 In contrast with the official Australian histories of the world wars, O'Neill included footnotes and bibliographies to identify his sources.Edwards (2003), p. 74 The first volume of the series, ''Strategy and Diplomacy'', was published in 1981. It provided a detailed account of Australia's foreign and defence policies before and during the war, including in-depth discussion of the evolution of the ANZUS Treaty. The series' second volume, entitled ''Combat Operations'', was published in 1985. The book's account of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

and

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

's operations in Korea is highly detailed. Because the three services rarely operated together O'Neill was able to treat their operations separately when writing the book.

Reception

''Australia in the Korean War 1950–53'' was generally well received by critics, though some argued that it was overly detailed. The ''Oxford Companion to Australian Military History'' states that the series is "scholarly and meticulous". Historian

Jeffrey Grey Jeffrey Guy Grey (19 March 1959 – 26 July 2016) was an Australian military historian. He wrote two volumes of ''The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975'', and several other high-profile works o ...

writes that the second volume is "essential reading, although the level of detail is not necessary for the general reader".Grey (2008), p. 318 Peter Edwards, the editor of ''

The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975 ''The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975'' covers Australia's involvement in the Malayan Emergency, Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation and Vietnam War. The series is an official history and was fu ...

'', states that the first volume in the series has been of most importance to Australian

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

due to its "detailed and authoritative" coverage of the ANZUS treaty. There was little public interest in the books after they were released, however, and sales of both volumes were slow.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Australia in the Korean War 1950-53 Korean War books Military history of Australia during the Korean War Series of history books Official military history books Book series introduced in 1981