Who our fiercest soldier looks up to

Hosted by Ben Roberts-Smith, the Sunday Night special 'The Power of Ten' focuses on Victoria Cross recipients.

Hosted by Ben Roberts-Smith, the Sunday Night special 'The Power of Ten' focuses on Victoria Cross recipients. Source: Channel 7

HE'S Australia's fiercest soldier. One of the most decorated members of the Australian Defence Force, he was singled out for acts of extraordinary bravery when locked in a bloody gunbattle with an unpredictable enemy in 2010.

But for Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith, there is a group of men who put his achievements on the battlefield in the shade.

Tonight, Roberts-Smith will present a special episode of Sunday Night where he will uncover extraordinary stories of valour that turned 10 of the first Anzacs into legends.

There are not many Australians who can truly say that they've walked in the footsteps of the Anzacs, but Roberts-Smith truly has.

After completing two tours of East Timor, he was posted to the Special Air Service in 2003 and went on to play a crucial role in the war in Afghanistan.

He was awarded the Medal for Gallantry for his actions as a patrol scout and sniper during Operation Slipper, but his most courageous act came during his fifth tour of Afghanistan in 2010.

Modern-day Anzac … SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, MG, leaves a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter in Afghanistan in 2010. Source: News Limited

During the hunt for a senior Taliban commander, Roberts-Smith deliberately exposed his position to the enemy and drew heavy gunfire in order to protect his fellow patrol members.

Locked in a fierce, close-range exchange of bullets, Roberts-Smith valiantly stormed two enemy machinegun posts and shot dead the insurgents.

He was awarded a Victoria Cross for "demonstrating extreme devotion to duty and the most conspicuous gallantry … with a total disregard for his own safety".

So, what inspired this man to such a memorable act of gallantry?

When Roberts-Smith was growing up, his heroes weren't sportsmen like most Aussie boys; he looked up to the first Anzacs.

He was especially inspired by Anzac legend Albert Jacka, who was awarded Australia's first VC in World War I.

Jacka lives large in Anzac mythology for taking on seven Turks who stormed his trench, and killing every one single-handedly.

"He's quite prominent throughout our military history … (but) my connection with it is more personal," Roberts-Smith told news.com.au

Ben Roberts-Smith's Sunday Night specials will reconstruct the trenches from the Battle of Lone Pine. Source: Channel 7

"It's more about a guy that seemed fearless. In the end he took on seven blokes by himself. To me, it triggered that sense in me that this normal bloke wanted to make a difference, so he selflessly exposed himself to the enemy."

In valiantly taking on the Turks, Jacka's story from 1915 echoes the bravery Roberts-Smith would go on to display in 2010 in Afghanistan — but he is quick to reject the comparison.

"We are not in the same club as these guys," Roberts-Smith says. "They are on a pedestal.

"It's more of a case of, you have heroes growing up. It's much like sportsmen, when they are someone to idolise. It's hard to see ourselves as equal … These people are so highly regarded.

"You can never compare battles, you can never compare wars. We are professional soldiers. They were bank managers, carpenters, guys from the bush who were sold the idea that it was a big adventure but when they got there, that became a distant memory. You can't imagine what it's like to live in a trench for eight months. Eating the way they did, getting sick, watching your mates die: We don't have the insight into that.

"Shooting a machine gun then is pretty much the same as shooting a machine gun now — it's the same feeling, same sensation — but what these men went through is what we can't comprehend."

On the sacred site … Ben Roberts-Smith lived at Gallipoli for weeks to film the special reports. Source: Channel 7

However, when shooting the Sunday Night specials, Roberts-Smith came closer than most to understanding the Anzacs' plight.

He spent weeks living on the Gallipoli peninsula with a camera crew and one of Australia's foremost historians, Dr Peter Pedersen, to recreate the key moments of the campaign and offer viewers a "window into the past".

"I don't think many people get the chance to experience what I experienced," he said.

One of the key memories for him was arriving at the shores of Gallipoli at dusk via boat, just as his heroes did a century earlier.

"I arrived on the beach on a horrendous day — the wind was blowing, it was raining — and I remember there was no sound, just the wind as you move in slowly. That's when you get the tingle and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. And as the sun rose and I got on the beach, what you are faced with is the incredible terrain. Trying to scramble up those cliffs would've been a nightmare.

"As an Australian it's a really sacred place where we can feel back on what has made us Australian. You get that sensation, the tingle; there were so many Australians that fought there and died there to maintain the free world. The first thing that happened to us as a nation was Gallipoli. All politics aside, it did help define us as who we are. It's certainly part of the basis for who we are as Australians."

Continuing the Anzac tradition. Picture: Ray Strange Source: Supplied

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith. Picture: Channel 7 Source: News Limited

While walking in the footsteps of the 10 solders who were awarded the Victoria Cross during the Gallipoli campaign, the story of Alfred Shout resonated the most with Roberts-Smith.

Shout is considered one of the bravest men to set foot on Gallipoli — but it was his trademark sense of humour that helped him go down in legend. Unlike many of his fellow soldiers, the carpenter from Sydney had experienced battle before.

"What's amazing is he had been in the Boer War. But even having seen that fighting and probably being fearful, on day one he proved himself and won the Victoria Cross," Roberts-Smith said.

Shout is remembered for throwing a barrage of bombs into a Turkish stronghold and driving the enemy out in August of 1915.

One bomb exploded in his right hand, blowing off half of his face. But despite his horrific injuries, Shout never lost the larrikin spirit that defined the Anzacs.

"He was always telling jokes and always had a smile on his face, even when it was in battle. When he was stretchered out of the trenches, he said, 'Don't worry about it, boys. I will see you in a minute'. He was still willing to motivate the boys."

Shout died from injuries two days later and was buried at sea.

"We've recreated their world in precise detail so we can fully understand their stories," Ben Roberts-Smith says. Source: Channel 7

The Sunday Night reports will also feature the stories of a cricketer who used his skills with the ball to catch live bombs for 48 hours straight, and a lovesick young soldier who was told the only way to get a mother's blessing to marry her daughter was to come back with a VC.

Ultimately, Roberts-Smith is on a mission to ensure that these stories live on as an inspiration for the Australians of tomorrow.

"I still look up to these guys," Roberts-Smith said. "I wanted to make sure we didn't lose these stories and I wanted to provide role models for the future generations. It's not just talking about the battle they were involved in. The important thing is who they were as men."

Sunday Night: The Power of Ten, presented by Ben Roberts-Smith, airs on Sunday, April 12 and 19, at 8.30pm on Seven

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