The Last Man Standing: Herb Ashby and the Battle of El Alamein

by Peter Dornan

'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.

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2006

Reviews

[Julia Gilchrist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The personal story of Herb Ashby really helped me to better understand the battle and the different emotions, responses, thoughts and reactions a soldier might go through in the theatre of war. I've read many military history books that capture battalion movements through skirmishes, firefights, flanking fire and all kinds of scenarios. This includes Rising '44 by Norman Davies. I have also read histories encapsulating the wider conflict of WW2, such as Fromelles: Our Darkest Day by Patrick Lindsay. I've read biographies of key commanders too, that look at the strategic decisions, tactics and burden of leadership, as well as the burden if being overwhelmed. A good example of the former is Monash by Roland Perry, and the latter invokes any history or biography of Gallipoli or even, Churchills belated response to realising the failure of the Gallipoli campaign. The difference in Last Man Standing is partly the simple clarity of the writing. The military jargon was sparing and descriptive passages were deployed that illustrated what a theatre of war looks like, the lighting, traced bullets being described like rubies on a necklace. These types of observations came out of the authors interviews and research into his subject, Herb. Because of this truly personal approach, it has made it far easier for me to understand the importance of El Alamein and what it took to achieve the objective. Definitely would recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the courage of these men and particularly, if you want an author who can guide you through what that kind of courage looks like on a battlefield, through a soldier's thoughts, recollections and memories.