Double Diamonds: Australian Commandos in the Pacific War, 1941-45

by Karl James

During the Second World War, in the mountains and jungles of Timor, Bougainville and New Guinea, Australian commando units fought arduous campaigns against the Japanese. The story of these elite independent companies and commando squadrons, whose soldiers wore the distinctive double-diamond insignia, is told here for the first time. Through 130 powerful images from the Australian War Memorial’s unparalleled collection – some never published before – Double Diamonds captures the operational history of these units and the personal stories of the men who served in them, many of whom lost their lives or the friends who trained and fought alongside them.

232 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 4 out of 5]

During WWII, in the mountains and jungles of Timor, Bougainville, and New Guinea, Australian commando units fought arduous campaigns against the Japanese. These elite independent companies and commando squadrons, whose soldiers wore the distinctive double-diamond insignia.Through 130 powerful images from the Australian War Memorial’s unparalleled collection – some never published before – Double Diamonds captures the operational history of these units and the personal stories of the men who served in them, many of whom lost their lives or the friends who trained and fought alongside them.
The operatives were trained in unarmed combat and jungle living. They were briefed not to keep cameras, diaries, or notes. The records, if captured, could endanger the mission and reveal vital intelligence. Despite this, some of the operatives brought cameras with them, and others kept records.The work of members of Z Special Unit in Borneo was to remain hidden under secrecy legislation for 30 years after the war; the men did not march on Anzac Day and rarely spoke of the events or met with members of their unit.Z Special Force participated in the following engagements:
Operation Scorpion

Operation Jaywick

Operation Rimau

Operation Binatang

Borneo campaign:

Operation Semut

Operation Agas

Operation Python

Operation Copper

Operation Opossum

Operation Platypus

The unit carried out a total of 81 covert operations in the South West Pacific theatre, with parties inserted by parachute or submarine to provide intelligence and conduct guerrilla warfare.The Inter-Allied Services Department (IASD), was an Allied military intelligence unit, established in March 1942.In June 1942, an ISD raiding/commando unit was organised—designated Z Special Unit.It was renamed Special Operations Australia (SOA) and in 1943 became known as the Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD).Several training schools were established in various locations across Australia,the most notable being Camp Z in Refuge Bay, an offshoot of Broken Bay to the north of Sydney, Z Experimental Station (also known as the "House on the Hill" or ZES.)

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written illustrated history of Australia’s Independent Commando Companies during 1941-1945, Double Diamonds contains both the broad-brush of operations and selected vignettes that go into a little more detail around key actions like the taking of Kaiapit. Images have been well selected and reproduced in good quality (given the limitations of image capture during the period). Captions for the images (and the choice of images) consistently excellent, with references to their Australian War Memorial item number for and a list of further reading for those that want to delve deeper. Easy to recommend.

[John Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nicely laid out pictorial and text record of Australian Commandos in the Second World War, presenting many items from the collection of the Australian War Memorial.