Australia's Road to War - 1936 to 1941 - Dr Peter Layton

Australia built a coherent defence industrial strategy in the 1920s and 30s that actually worked when tested by total war — yet we've forgotten most of what made it succeed. This seminar recording pairs Dr Peter Layton's analysis of the interwar Munitions Supply Board with Major General Jason Blake's discussion of current Army modernisation. This is a special seminar presentation in conjunction with the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company's Firepower Seminar Series , "Firepower: Lessons from World War II" Our presenter is Dr Peter Layton and it is followed by our Panel Discussion with Major General Jason Blaine, DSC, AM, CSC and Dr Mark Bailey and Dr Peter Layton. Key learnings: • How the self-containment strategy and 243 shadow factories enabled Australia to achieve munitions self-sufficiency by 1943 • Why Essington Lewis had to bypass service bureaucracies that refused to place orders even after the Fall of France • What the five-to-six-year lead time for establishing missile production means for current capability timelines Full show notes and transcript: Support the podcast: More episodes: Follow on X:

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Australia's Road to War - 1936 to 1941 - Dr Peter Layton is an episode from The Principles of War - Lessons from Military History on Strategy, Tactics and Leadership. by James Eling.

This episode is 01:25:08 long.

This episode was published on Apr 27, 2026.

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