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Finally, I am acutely aware of the debt that I owe to the men of the 7thAustralian Infantry Brigade, whose personal papers and diaries made this studypossible. It was at times difficult analysing their successes and failures, particularlywhen one has not faced similar trials. Theodore Roosevelt put it best when he saidin 1910:It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong manstumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongsto the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat andblood, who strives valiantly …1I can only hope that the officers and soldiers of the brigade who were in theBougainville arena in 1944 and 1945 view this paper from Roosevelt’s perspective.Their experiences, good and bad, are most valuable for those in the modernAustralian Army who carry on their memory.This paper is dedicated to my sister, Dr Elizabeth Karlie Keating.Cover imagesUpper front: Private J.J. Ryan, 9th Battalion, receives medical attention after beingwounded during the attack on Little George Hill, November 1944. Fear of death andmaiming and exposure to dead and wounded men were significant combat stressors.(Credit: Australian War Memorial Negative Number 077315)Lower front: Private R.C. Male, 25th Battalion, receives a cigarette after being woundedin late December 1944. Sound logistics and administration, particularly the provision ofadequate medical support, played key roles in maintaining combat effectiveness. (Credit:Australian War Memorial Negative Number 078035)Back: Extreme physical discomfort and fatigue were potential sources of combat stress.Here Private W.T. Rae rests beside his water-filled weapon pit after an all night vigilagainst possible Japanese infiltration, Bougainville, January 1945. (Credit: Australian WarMemorial Negative Number 078552)1 Theodore Roosevelt, ‘Citizen in a Republic: The Man in the Arena’, address at theSorbonne, Paris, 23 April 1910.iv — A tale of three battalions