Across the Sea to War - Australia and NZ Troop Convoys from 1865 - Book Review

This book contains invaluable information on the various troopships that departed Australian and New Zealand in the First World War.
It tells of the ships traveling in convoys in the first year of the conflict due to the presence of German naval forces in the seas. After the defeat of the German naval forces, convoys were dispensed with. The book restores the role of these troopships and convoys in the history of the First World War. 
It tells the story of the ships, there conversion to troopships from liners, and relates the experience of the soldiers and nurses who travelled on them to war.
Ships like the Euripides, Ulysses and Themistocles. It tells of their voyages around Australia, across the Indian Ocean, to Colombo, India, the Suez Canal and to Egypt. From there they went on to Gallipoli - via Lemnos - and subsequently to Thessaloniki and Western France.

The majority of the book also contains in-depth coverage of the troop convoys of the Second World War.

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the story of how the Anzacs travelled to war.
Sadly, the one deficiency of the book is that it fails to record the presence of the troopships in the great harbour of Mudros, Lemnos. This needs to be rectified.

If you would like to purchase this book click here

1st Division AIF reinforcements play cricket aboard the HMAT Themistocles (A32), part of the 2nd Australian convoy to that left Australia on 31 December 1914. Jan 1915. AWM C01927