The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918

The eleventh volume of The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 is a companion to the earlier volumes that dealt with Australia’s military operations. Scott’s work covers the early unanimity with which the war was greeted, the growing unease at the cost of war, the anguish of the conscription referenda and the political turmoil that followed. Scott discusses censorship, the internment of aliens, the formation and equipment of Australia’s forces and the development of a war economy.

The Outbreak of War. The Political Scene. The Censorship. The Censorship (continued). The Enemy Within the Gates. The Governor-General. The Formation of Armies. The Formation of Armies (continued). The Equipment of Armies. Matters of Policy. Matters of Policy (continued). The First Conscription Referendum. Political Metamorphoses. Political Metamorphoses (continued). The Second Conscription Referendum. The Last Months of the War. Finance. Finance (continued). Australian Trade During the War. Australian Trade During the War (continued). Metals. The Wool Purchase. The Wheat Pool. Shipping. Pricing and Price Fixing. Labour Questions and the Industrial Ferment. Labour Questions and the Industrial Ferment (continued). The Patriotic Funds. The Peace Conference. The Peace Conference (continued). The Treaty and its Ratification. Repatriation. Repatriation (continued). Epilogue. 

The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 is a 12-volume series covering Australian involvement in the First World War. The series was edited by C.E.W. Bean, who also wrote six of the volumes, and was published between 1920 and 1942. The first seven volumes deal with the Australian Imperial Force while other volumes cover the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force at Rabaul, the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Flying Corps and the home front; the final volume is a photographic record. Unlike other official histories that have been aimed at military staff, Bean intended the Australian history to be accessible to a non-military audience. The relatively small size of the Australian forces enabled the history to be presented in great detail, giving accounts of individual actions that would not have been possible when covering a larger force.