A Bloody Road Home is the story of 2 New Zealand Division in World War Two. Commanded by the New Zealand-raised and educated Lieutenant General Sir Bernard 'Tiny' Freyberg, in six years of war it became one of the finest fighting divisions in the British and Commonwealth Armies. The first ever single-volume history of the Division, A Bloody Road Home is a story of trial and error, failure and success. Told in the words of the officers and soldiers who served, it charts the Division's formation in Egypt through to the campaigns of Greece, Crete and North Africa. From the battle for Tobruk to the advance on Tunis; to the onslaught up the spine of Italy from Orsogna via Monte Cassino, Florence; and to the final encounter at Trieste in 1945, no stone is left unturned. Acclaimed military historian Christopher Pugsley skilfully examines the Division's operations at a tactical and leadership level - according both praise and blame - and relays the experiences of everyday soldiers in their own words, to powerful effect. A magnificent story of New Zealand endeavour and achievement, and a landmark text in every sense of the word, A Bloody Road Home is an exacting revision of accepted history and a celebration of the men who so bravely served.

Author Biography

DR CHRISTOPHER PUGSLEY is a freelance historian, recently retired from his position as senior lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom. A former New Zealand Infantry officer, he is an authority on New Zealanders at war. His publications include: Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story (1984, shortlisted for the Wattie's New Zealand Book of the Year); On the Fringe of Hell: New Zealanders and Military Discipline in the First World War (1991); Te Hokowhitu a Tu: The Maori Pioneer Battalion in the First World War (1995); From Emergency to Confrontation: The New Zealand Armed Forces in Malaya and Borneo, 1949 - 1966 (2003, shortlisted for the Templer Medal);The Anzac Experience: New Zealand, Australia and Empire in the First World War (2004, shortlisted for the Templer Medal and Montana New Zealand Book Awards, History); Battle Zone Normandy: Operation COBRA (2004); and Fighting for Empire: New Zealand and the Great War of 1914 - 1918 (2014). He also co-edited: The German Empire and Britain's Pacific Dominions, 1871 - 1919 (2000); Sandhurst: A Tradition of Leadership (2005); and The Great Adventure Ends: New Zealand and France on the Western Front