Author Sue Rosen’s latest book, Scorched Earth, details Australia’s plan to prevent the invasion of the Japanese following the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Then Prime Minister John Curtin ordered state governments to prepare for the possible invasion and from January 1942, a team frantically pulled together secret plans for a 'scorched earth' strategy.

The strategy detailed battle orders and tactics for citizens to follow in the event of a Japanese invasion.

The goal was to prevent the Japanese from seizing resources for their war machine as they landed, capturing Australians as slaves as they had done in Malaya and elsewhere in Asia.

From 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.

After the war, the scorched earth plans were forgotten about, until now.

Author and historian, Sue Rosen, investigated these plans and has uncovered them in her new book which vividly evokes the fraught atmosphere of the year Australia was threatened with invasion and

Sue has written several books including Bankstown: A sense of identity and We Never Had a Hotbed of Crime! Life in twentieth century South Sydney.

You can find out more about the fascinating Australian war history book, Scorched Earth, when Sue Rosen visits Kempsey Shire Library for an author talk on Wednesday, June 21at 11am.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the Library.

Council’s Team Leader of Library Services, Angie Meers said for anyone interested in Australian war history, particularly World War II, this is a must-attend.

For enquiries and to book, please contact the Library on 6566 3210.