Peninsula Records & Books
The Legend of Albert Jacka - Peter Fitzsimmons
The Legend of Albert Jacka - Peter Fitzsimmons
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Title: The Legend of Albert Jacka
Author: Peter FitzSimons
The Legend of Albert Jacka by Peter FitzSimons tells the incredible story of Albert "Bert" Jacka, one of Australia’s most revered World War I heroes. From his humble beginnings in rural Victoria, Jacka would rise to fame as a fearless soldier whose courage on the battlefields of Gallipoli and France became legendary. Enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force at 21, Jacka quickly made his mark during a fierce battle at Gallipoli, where he single-handedly held off a Turkish attack and became the first Australian soldier to receive the Victoria Cross.
FitzSimons takes readers through Jacka’s harrowing experiences, from Gallipoli to the brutal trenches of France, where he would earn further accolades at Pozieres and Bullecourt for his extraordinary bravery and strategic genius. But Jacka’s story is not only about his victories; it also sheds light on the relentless physical and emotional toll of war. With FitzSimons’ vivid storytelling, The Legend of Albert Jacka is a powerful tribute to an Australian icon whose valour and sacrifices continue to inspire.
Read if you like:
- Gallipoli by Les Carlyon,
- Tobruk by Peter FitzSimons
- The Digger’s Code by John Hamilton
Blurb
Blurb
Our heroes can come from the most ordinary of places. As a shy lad growing up in country Victoria, no one in the district had any idea the man Albert Jacka would become.
Albert 'Bert' Jacka was 21 when Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914. Bert soon enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and the young private was assigned to 14th Battalion D Company. By the time they shipped out to Egypt he'd been made a Lance Corporal.
On 26 April 1915, 14th Battalion landed at Gallipoli under the command of Brigadier General Monash's 4th Infantry Brigade. It was here, on 20 May, that Lance Corporal Albert Jacka proved he was 'the bravest of the brave'. The Turks were gaining ground with a full-scale frontal attack and as his comrades lay dead or dying in the trenches around him, Jacka single-handedly held off the enemy onslaught. The Turks retreated.
Jacka's extraordinary efforts saw him awarded the Victoria Cross, the first for an Australian soldier in World War I. He was a national hero, but Jacka's wartime exploits had only just begun: moving on to France, he battled the Germans at Pozières, earning a Military Cross for what historian Charles Bean called 'the most dramatic and effective act of individual audacity in the history of the AIF'. Then at Bullecourt, his efforts would again turn the tide against the enemy. There would be more
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