Book Review: The Virtuous Wehrmacht: Crafting the Myth of the German Soldier on the Eastern Front, 1941–1944 by David A. Harrisville

Abstract

seen from Washington, London, and Tokyo, rather than Port Moresby or Rabaul. This focus may be helpful for those new to the theatre, however Carafano’s emphasis on context means that readers are 100 pages into the book before there is any discussion of the first shots fired in combat in Papua. Rather than a detailed narrative, Carafano provides a series of vignettes relating to the campaign. The battles for Kokoda and Isurava in July and August are highlighted, as is an overly positive account of Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger and US forces at Buna in December. These actions bookend the campaign, but much happened in between. Despite the work’s title, there is surprisingly little serious discussion of the brutality or nature of the war in Papua and New Guinea. Readers interested in soldiers’ experiences, tactics and operations, logistics, and the nuances of the Australian–American alliance should consult Peter Brune’s A Bastard of a Place: the Australians in Papua (2003); John C. McManus’s Fire and Fortitude: the US Army in the Pacific War, 1941–1943 (2019); and Peter J. Dean’s MacArthur’s Coalition: US and Australian Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, 1942–1945 (2018) for further detail. Carafano does well to draw on English translations of Japanese source material and publications, and avoids representing the Japanese as an anonymous enemy or repeating simplistic wartime stereotypes. The work’s greatest strength, however, is Carafano’s chapter on the vital contribution of the peoples of Papua, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands to the Allies. Often ignored or represented patronisingly as ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ (p. 125), Papuans and New Guineas acted as guides, carriers, labourers, and armed combatants for the Allies (and, at times, the Japanese). Their villages were occupied during the war, communities were relocated, and many – particularly women, children, and the elderly – became displaced refugees. Another point well addressed by Carafano is the theme of war remembrance through (predominantly American) popular culture. ‘Veterans of the Southwest Pacific’, Carafano argues, ‘were perhaps the most frustrated of all, feeling they never got their fair share of attention’. The ‘protracted land campaigns in the Pacific, such as the remote operations in Papua New Guinea, seemed obscure’ when compared to the dominance of the war in Europe (p. 244). He considers representations of the Pacific War through the writing of official histories, soldier memoirs, cinema, and other publications. Brutal War provides a useful introduction to the Second World War in the Southwest Pacific, reminding readers that there was more to the global conflict than Nazis and D-Day.