Join the new world

by petergladwell
My first week with Australia's elite Dropbears army unit had no sooner started than we were suddenly rushing to board the biggest air force transport plane I had ever seen.
Word was, we were shipping out to one of the biggest battles in Europe on days 780 and 781.
It was the ultimate act of R/L revenge.
Poland, spurred on by a massive baby boom and eager to give the Germans a taste of their own medicine after R/L WWII were set to attack the last German bastion of Saarland.
Aussies love a good stoush and the Dropbears are no exception and headed out for the battle with gusto.
When we arrived in Saarland it was a bitterly cold European winter and they knew we were in for a fight.
These Germans might have looked like nerdy, humourless backpackers and not the Nazis of old, but they were showing a bit of ticker to defend the last territory of their once great homeland.
But the Dropbears hung in there, helping guide the inexperienced Polish babyboomer troops through the hilly terrain towards the capital Saarbrücken.
Even with their goal in sight, it didn't look like victory was possible, until help arrived in the final minutes of the battle when Eden tanks were airdropped in and to win a very hard-fought battle in the dying seconds.
That night, as our Dropbears joined their Polish brothers and the other Eden troops in celebrations, it was a reminder of how Australia and Poland had fought side by side with our Aussie ancestors in the WWII Seige of Tobruk.
My grandfather was a Rat of Tobrook and he would have been proud of the ticker that our boys showed on the battlefield.
Our Dropbear hero of this Battle was Mack Craft with 3043 damage.
The win wiped Germany off the map and united the Spanish and Polish fronts, effectively giving Eden a stranglehold over Western Europe and further isolating Britain.
The Dropbears were ready for home, but our flight was diverted into Austerias on the northern Atlantic Coast of Spain on Day 782.
It seems the French were keen on getting some of their territories back from our allies the Spanish and the brass decided a little Aussie muscle wouldn't go astray.
The Dropbears fought to defend the Spanish gains in three resistance battles - Midi-Pyrenees,Poitou Charentes, Limousin - and, as always, the French proved they were better lovers than fighers, losing all three.
Dropbear Savonrepus fought with distinction in Midi-Pyrenees narrowly finishing second for an overall Battle Medal with 2324 damage.
Cerri had the highest Dropbear damage in Poitou Charentes with 1253 while the Dropbears leader in Limousin was Mack Craft, who finished third overall in the battle.
There was plenty more celebrations after the triple victories as some of the younger charges found out what it was like making love in the back of a Limousin (LOL!).
After Spain, we travelled to Croatia on day 784 for the battle of Prekmurje.
The Croatians had been great Australian allies during the Brazilian incursion and a lot of the troops thought it was great to be able to repay the favour.
This was much easier going as it was against a rag-tag bunch of Slovenian freedom fighters and the Hungarians, who initially led through the element of surprise, but the eventual Croatian-Aussie victory was quite comfortable.
The next day was to provide a bittersweet moment.
There for the first time on the battlefield, Aussies and Brits were squaring off in the battle to defend Spanish-held Upper Normandy.
It had to be this way.
Ever since the UK did the dirty on the US at the beginning of the North American WWIII, the day for revenge would come.
As we all know, the one thing the Brits are more scared of than a bath is an Aussie coming at them in full flight.
We always love giving it to the former Mother Country in sport and pretty much everything else and this battle was no exception, with the Dropbears helping the Spanish hold on for a comfortable 300k victory.
The Brits definitely weren't in full flight though, and the boys and in the plane home were definitely looking forward to facing them in the future.
Cerri was had the Dropbears' highest damage with 1260. 'Definitely not a woman to be messed with', I thought as I watched her break some noobie Scowser's neck on the battlefield!
After this battle the Dropbears were ordered back home for some brief R&R after a great week.
Five battles, five wins for this elite Aussie fighting team.
It was a hell of a first week being attached to this unit and I sure witnessed some brave and innovative techniques.
The R/L Aussies in the European fronts in World War I and II would've been proud.
Stay tuned for our regular Dropbears updates.

- petergladwell is an award-winning journalist, battlefield bad ass and all-round nice guy attached on assignment to the Dropbears.