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HMAS Sydney sinks the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni off Crete
Colleoni was launched on december 21, 1930 -
Australia declares on Germany
united kingdoms declaration of war on Germany. Following attacks on allied countries including kingdom of Italy and the empire of japan. Almost a million Australians had served in the army forces. -
HMAS Sydney sunk in Indian Ocean
On 19 November 1941, HMAS Sydney, a light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy with an impressive record of war service, was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK Kormoran in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. The loss of the Sydney with its full war complement of 645 remains Australia’s worst naval disaster. -
Battle of Bardia
Bardia is a small town on the Mediterranean coast of Libya, in the region of Cyrenaica, approximately 30 kilometres from the Egyptian border. During the early decades of the 20th century it was developed as a miltary outpost during Italy's colonisation of the region. Prior to the Second World War it was fortified by the construction of an arc of defensive posts, 29 kilometres long, around the town and its small harbour. -
Australian fighter pilots participate in the Battle of Britain
In the summer and autumn of 1940 the Royal Air Force fought a prolonged battle in defence of Britain against an experienced and numerically superior German. -
HMAS Canberra sunk in Battle of Savo Sea
On the morning of the 9 August 1942 the Royal Australian Navy's heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra was sunk after being severely damaged during a naval battle off Savo Island in the Solomon Islands group. HMAS Canberra had been forming part of the force screening the American invasion force which had started landing on Guadalcanal on 7 August. -
Camp in Moirneo Sandakan
Most prisoners were forced to three forced marches to Ranau, 240km west of Sandaka between January and June 1945. On these marches approximately 500 prisoners died. The remainder died at Ranau or at the Sandakan camp. By the end of August 1945, all POW's were dead except for six Australian survivors who could escape during the death marches. No British survived. In total, 2,428 prisoners died.
