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Review by Daniel Leahy Australians at War is an eight part series that aired on the ABC in 2001. It covers every military campaign that Australia has been involved in since 1899.

Each disc contains four episodes:

Disc 1
1 - “We’re On A Long Trek Now” (55:47 min)
2 - “Who’ll Come A Fighting The Kaiser With Me” (54:34 min)
3 - “Mateship Was The Greatest Thing” (55:30 min)
4 - “Here We Go Again” (56:00 min)

Disc 2
5 - “The Thin Khaki Line” (55:58 min)
6 - “The Forgotten War” (55:45 min)
7 - “Trying Not To Remember” (55:46 min)
8 - “Faith Enough For All Of Us” (56:01 min)

Episode 4, “Here We Go Again” is mainly concerned with the beginnings of the Second World War and Australians fighting under British control in North Africa and Europe. Yet, it does include footage and information about Australians in Singapore; the sinking of HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales; Australian involvement with the fighting in Malaya; and ends with the sinking of HMAS Perth on February 28, 1942.

“The Thin Khaki Line” opens up with some recently unearthed video of the bombing of Darwin - the first foreign attack on Australian soil. It goes on to explain the Americans arriving in Australia; the submarine attack on Sydney Harbour; and of course, the infamous battles of the Kokoda trail and Milne Bay.

Both of these episodes include rare footage from the campaigns detailed, letters to and from the home front, interviews with veterans and much more. And as the DVD states, this is “the most comprehensive visual record ever made of out wartime history”.