AustLit

'Australian soldiers and their American Allies won the land war against Japan in the Pacific islands because they were healthier than their enemies. The troops' fighting spirit, their armaments, their naval and air support and their generals were certainly key ingredients in the Allied victory. Without good health, however, these other factors would have been nullified.

Malaria, the great scourge of armies throughout history, threatened the health of the Allies and the Japanese alike. The army that could beat malaria would also defeat its military foe because troops shivering, sweating and shaking with malarial fever cannot shoot straight, let alone fight.

In World War II the Allies eventually beat the Japanese — a victory based, to a large part, on the success of the Australian Army Medical Service in defeating malaria. Their Japanese counterpart never won this battle.' (Publisher's blurb)