{"product_id":"9781760638009","title":"Scorched Earth: Australia's secret plan for total war under Japanese invasion in World War II","description":"In 1942 the threat of Japanese invasion hung over Australia. The men were away overseas, fighting on other fronts, and civilians were left unprotected at home. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFollowing the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Japanese advance south, Prime Minister Curtin ordered state governments to prepare. From January 1942, a team frantically pulled together secret plans for a 'scorched earth' strategy. The goal was to prevent the Japanese from seizing resources for their war machine as they landed, and capturing Australians as slaves as they had done in Malaya and elsewhere in Asia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom draining domestic water tanks to sinking dinghies and burning crops, from training special citizen squads to evacuating coastal towns, 'Total war, total citizen collaboration' was the motto. Today these plans vividly evoke the fraught atmosphere of the year Australia was threatened with invasion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter the war these top secret plans were forgotten. This is the first time they have ever been made public.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This is a treasure trove, a gold mine, a Christmas-every-day cornucopia of rich Australian history...' Peter Grose, author of \u003ci\u003eAn Awkward Truth\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Very Rude Awakening.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Pty., Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47163181138160,"sku":"9781760638009","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781760638009_p0.jpg?v=1763706174","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781760638009","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}