The Last Man Standing: Herb Ashby and the Battle of El Alamein'Where was the rest of the company? Why is no one else firing? A quick look behind revealed the shocking truth. Herb was alone. No one was following there was no one able to follow. He was the last man standing.' The Australians played a crucial role in the Allied victory in the Battle of El Alamein, one of the turning points of the Second World War. Rommel said after the battle, I could have won North Africa with a division of Australians under my command'. Yet victory came at a heavy price, with more than a thousand Australians lost in the battle. Peter Dornan tells the story of the Battle of El Alamein through the eyes of Herb Ashby of the 2/48th Battalion, who at eighteen years of age left his home in Mount Gambier to fight a war on the other side of the world. Herb Ashby was wounded in the Siege of Tobruk and was decorated for his services in the Battle of El Alamein. With three Victoria Crosses awarded posthumously to his battalion during the campaign, including two to his platoon, Herb assisted the 2/48th to become the most highly decorated Australian battalion in the war. Peter Dornan's The Last Man Standing is a vividly recounted story of tragedy and triumph, and tremendous courage in extraordinary times. |
Contents
Part ITobruk | |
The Early Years | |
The Middle East | |
Tobruk | |
Hill of Jesus 8 Tel el Eisa | |
Prelude to El Alamein | |
Part IIIEl Alamein | |
The First Punch | |
Trig 29 | |
Consolidation | |
Pushing North | |
Precursor to Operation Supercharge | |
The Salient | |
Lebanon | |
Part IILittle El Alamein | |
Shammama | |
The Breakout | |
The Years After Further Reading | |
Other editions - View all
The Last Man Standing: Herb Ashby and the Battle of El Alamein Peter Dornan No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
17 Platoon 2/48th Battalion 26th Brigade 9th Division Afrika Korps Alamein Allied antitank guns artillery attack Australian Australian 9th Division battle battlefield bombers bombs Bren Bren carriers Bren gun British bullets burst Captain carriers Company convoy darkness deadly Desert Air Force desperately dust Eighth Army Eisa El Alamein enemy enemy’s exploded fighting friends front German going grenade ground gunner Gurney Hammer Headquarters helmet Herb knew Herb noticed Herb watched Herb’s Hill of Jesus infantry Italian Kibby killed kilometres machine guns machinegun fire mates Mersa Matruh metres minefields minutes Montgomery morning mortar Mount Gambier moved night officer Panzer planes platoon commander Point 24 positions prisoners quickly raced railway line realised Regiment Ridge rifle Robbins Rommel sand sergeant Shammama shells ship smoke soldiers Spandau Stukas tanks Tel el Eisa Tobruk Tommy gun trenches Trig 29 troops trucks Valentine tanks vehicles waiting Whaite wounded yelled