Where the Flaming Hell Are We? 

The story of young Australians and New Zealanders fighting the Nazis in Greece and Crete

by Craig Collie
Published by Allen & Unwin
RRP$34.99 in paperback | ISBN 9781760879198

In March 1941, forty thousand Australian and New Zealand troops are rushed to Greece in a desperate attempt to stop the Wehrmacht overrunning the country. The operation is doomed to fail, but not before the Aussies and Kiwis succeed in holding up the German advance and evacuating thousands, mainly to Crete, where Hitler next sets his sights.

As the Nazis assault the island, they deploy a devastating new weapon of invasion—paratroopers—for the very first time, meeting desperate resistance as the Allies fight for their lives.

Author Craig Collie, whose earlier books include Code Breakers and On our Doorstep delves into the experiences of the soldiers who fought in the mountains and villages of Greece, and faced entrapment and death on Crete.

He has used a wide variety of sources to enhance the story of unworldly young men who viewed war as a big adventure. Those who returned were inevitably changed by the experience.

VERDICT: A highly readable account of a campaign of which little is known or understood by the wider Australian public.