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Australia joins WW2
Australia joined WW2 with Britain after Germany invaded Poland. With Australia having close relations with Britain and being part of the Commonwealth it was a simple decision as most of Australia at the time was already opposed to Germany's acts of invasion. -
Conscription Introduced
At the start of Australia's involvement in WW2 all unmarried men aged 21 were sent off for three months of Militia training, though they were only allowed to fight within Australia States or Territories. -
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Australia's role in WW2
Australia fought in many places throughout WW2, though the main enemy for Australia was the encroaching Japanese forces from the North. -
Australian pilots join the Battle of Britain
Australian pilots from the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) were sent to aid Britain in the Battle of Britain. The Battle of Britain was an attempt by Germany to take the British Channel so a successful land invasion could take place, but to do that Germany had to control the skies. -
Battle of Cape Spada
The Battle of Cape Spada was a conflict between Italy and Australia and Britain. The battle took place near the Island of Crete in the Mediterranean sea. It was an Allied victory with 121 Italian sailors dying and the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sunk. -
Battle of Britain ends
At the end of the Battle of Britain it was a decisive victory for the Allied forces. -
Destruction of the HMS Sydney
The Royal Australian Navy light cruiser, the HMAS Sydney was sunk in a battle with the German ship the HSK Kormoran in the Indian Ocean. The HMAS Sydney until that point had served as a powerful cruiser that had seen a lot of service during it's time. All of it's crew perished after the attack. -
Australia declares war on Japan
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan on the 7th of December 1941 Australian Prime Minister John Curtin declared that "From one hour ago, Australia had been at war with the Japanese Empire." -
Singapore captured by the Japanese Empire
After many days of sieging and fighting, the British Commander Lieutenant General Arthur Percival called for a ceasefire and surrendered. As a result of this around 100,000 Indian, British and Australian troops were prisoners of war until it's end roughly three years later. -
Japanese Bombing of Darwin
The Japanse forces bombed Darwin at approximately 10:00am on the 19th of December 1942. It was thought that the bombing was the start of an invasion, but it in fact was a distraction so Japan could take island of Timor near Indonesia. -
Battle of El Alamein begins
The Battle of El Amein was an attempted invasion of Egypt by the Axis forces to take it over. The battle was roughly 150,000 Allied troops (Made up of Australia, New Zealand, Britain, British India and the South African Union) against roughly 96,000 Axis troops (Made up of Italy and Germany). -
Battle of El Alamein ends
The Battle of El Alamein ended with an Allied victory, pushing the Axis forces from Egypt. The death toll for the Allies was 13,000 while the death toll for the Axis was 10,000 and 7000 Axis soldiers captured as prisoners. -
Destruction of the HMAS Canberra
The Heavy Cruiser HMAS Canberra was sunk near the Solomon Islands while aiding a group of American vessels in transporting troops. It was hit by a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces. The HMAS Canberra was the first ship spotted so it took the entirety of the first barrage.84 of the crew at the time perished as a reuslt of the attack though the rest were able to evacuate. -
Australia retakes Kokoda
On the 2nd of November, 1942 Australian forces retook Kokoda during the Kokoda Campaign against Japanese forces. -
Nazi Germany Surrenders
On this day Nazi Germany signed the conditions of surrender, ending the war in Europe. This allowed any Australian troops still deployed in Europe to return home to Australia. -
Japan surrenders, ending WW2
On the 15th of August Japanese accepted unconditional surrender, after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese were the last to surrender out of all of the Axis.
