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Since starting the podcast, I\\u2019ve looked at the aspects of the war from the point of view of various countries. But, one glaring omission has been any Australian narrative of the war.

The Australians fought across the world on the land, sea and in the air air; notably in the Pacific and the Middle East, which is what we\\u2019ll be discussing in this episode.

With the fall of France, her overseas territories predominantly remained loyal to the French Vichy regime. This was true for Syria and Lebanon. To the south were the British in Egypt.

With Rommel in the Western Desert and Germans fostering an uprising in Iraq, the British feared Germany might take control over of Syria and Lebanon. From there, the Nazis could supply the rebels in Iraq and threaten Egypt from two sides.\\xa0Churchill ordered General Wavell to go on the offensive and take the French territories. The British didn\\u2019t envisage\\xa0the French putting up much of a fight.

The Australian 7th Division would\\xa0make up the bulk of the allied attacking force.

Joining me is Richard James. Richard is the author of\\xa0Australia\\u2019s War with France: The Campaign in Syria and Lebanon 1941.

I\'d like to thank David Phillipson, president of the Australian-based\\xa0History Guild,\\xa0charity which promotes historical literacy for all. David reached out to suggest I have a chat with James. If you\\u2019re interested in finding out more about the\\xa0History Guild,\\xa0go to historyguild.org.

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