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Australia Joins the War
The German invasion of Poland on the 1st of September 1939 prompted Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Australia quickly followed suit in support of Great Britain and entered the war in June a year later. This time, in contrast to the commencement of the first world war, the news was not met with enthusiasm or joy. -
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Battle of Britain
Australian Air force aided Britain in its defence against air raids conducted by the German air force after the Australian Air Force's entry into the war in June. -
Battle of Cape Spada
The Battle of Cape Spada was fought between Italy, Australia, and Britain. The fight took place in the Mediterranean Sea, near the island of Crete. It was an Allied success, with 121 Italian men killed and the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni lost. -
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Greece and Crete (Part 1)
Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies agreed to send soldiers to Greece in March 1941, despite worries about the threats. The Australians joined British, New Zealand, and Greek soldiers to protect Greece against an impending German invasion, but were unable to prevent the German advance. After a month of combat, part of the Allied forces were evacuated from the Greek mainland, while others were transported to Crete, where they established 'Creforce' and prepared to face the German invasion. -
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Greece and Crete (Part 2)
Continuing from part 1:
Despite strong opposition, the Allied forces were finally forced to withdraw from Crete as well. On April 6, 1941, approximately 39 percent of Australia's forces in Greece were killed, injured, or taken prisoner of war and more than 450,000 Greeks perished over the following four years, nearly 25,000 of them executed for assisting the allies. -
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Siege of Tobruk
Australians fought in Egypt and Libya, with the 6th, 7th and 9th AIF divisions, RAN ships, and RAAF squadrons supporting ground forces. The Australians captured Bardia and Tobruk from the Italians, used as a garrison by Australian and British Troops, but were later besieged in Tobruk for eight months by Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. This was the first occasion in the war that German Panzer units had been stopped, and boosted the morale of countries of the British Empire and the Commonwealth. -
Australia Declares war on Japan
Japan attacked Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, which to the immediate declaration of war on Japan by America and Britain. A day later, Australian Prime Minister John Curtin declared: "Men and women of Australia, we are at war with Japan." This was the first declaration of war Australia has made independently of Britain -
Australia Declares it will align more strongly with the United States (Part 1)
In 1941, Australia allied with the United States, raising tensions between Britain and Australia. When Japanese troops took Singapore in 1942, the Australian 7th Division had no choice but to return to defend against Japan. British Prime Minister Churchill pushed for the division's deployment to Burma to safeguard British territory, but Prime Minister Curtin insisted the ships return. Churchill ultimately redirected the ships back to Australia. -
Australia Declares it aligns more strongly with the UK than the US (Part 2)
Furthermore, Curtin also stated that ‘Australia is the last bastion between the west coast of America and the Japanese. If Australia goes, the Americas are wide open.’ further solidifying Australia's strengthening alliance with the US. -
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Fall of Singapore
All British Empire soldiers had retreated to Singapore. The Japanese landed on February 8 and swiftly advanced, overwhelming defences with severe bombing and reinforcements. Despite repeated attempts to push the Japanese back, on February 12, they were within five kilometres of Singapore's coastline. Evacuations had begun, but many people were stuck, including 65 Australian nurses. On February 15, British Lieutenant General Percival surrendered, with over 100,000 men and civilians taken prisoner -
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Japan's Attacks on Australia
The Japanese first attacked the Australian mainland on February 19, 1942, with a severe air raid on Darwin, with 50 tons of bombs dropped, and 243 people killed, followed by another raid on Broome two weeks later, killing about 70 people. By September 1943, Japanese pilots had conducted 97 air raids on northern Australian towns and bases. On May 31, 1942, Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour, and in June, a submarine shelled Sydney’s eastern suburbs and Newcastle. -
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Battle of the Coral Sea
Naval battle between Imperial Japanese Navy and Naval forces of America and Australia -
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First battle of El Alamien
The Allies, led by British forces under General Auchinleck, needed to stop General Erwin Rommel's advance and prepared defensive positions at El Alamein. Although Rommel's forces achieved some initial breakthroughs, they could not penetrate the Allied defences, preventing the Axis from taking Egypt and the crucial Suez Canal. The First Battle of El Alamein allowed the Allies to recover, resupply, and prepare for a counterattack, while boosting morale by proving that Rommel was not invincible. -
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Kokoda Trail
Australian Army halted the southward advance by Japanese forces in Papua New Guinea and pushed the enemy back across mountains. This saw 600 Australian Soldiers killed, 1600 wounded with more than 10,000 Japanese fatalities. -
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Second El Alamein Battle (part 1)
Following the First Battle of El Alamein, General Bernard Montgomery led the Allies, including Australia's 9th Division, in planning a counterattack. Montgomery prioritised gathering intelligence, building supplies, and strengthening training. The combat started with a huge artillery barrage, followed by attacks on Axis positions. After almost a month of battle and heavy losses, the Allies triumphed over Rommel's soldiers, who fled to Tunisia, leaving thousands of German and Italian captives. -
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Second El Alamein Battle (Part 2)
The Second Battle of El Alamein is seen as a watershed moment in World War II, marking the start of a string of Allied successes in North Africa. It strengthened Allied morale, and paved the way for the Allied invasion of North Africa and future operations in Europe. Additionally, it was possibly the most important time in which an Australian formation played a big role in a decisive Allied victory during WWII, with Australian land, sea, and air troops all contributing significantly. -
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Beachhead Battles
The Beachhead Battles were for Japanese bases at Buna, Gona, and Sanananda. The Allies underestimated Japanese strength and overestimated their own capabilities. The battle began with American and Australian forces attacking various points. Tropical diseases, rain, and supply issues prolonged the fight. By early 1943, over 2,300 Australians and Americans had died, with many more wounded or ill, over 6,000 Japanese fought to the death, making it the costliest battle for Australians in the islands -
End of the War
On the 7th of May 1945, Germany authorised the signing of an unconditional surrender on all fronts, scheduled to take effect at midnight, on the 8th of May. This marked the end of the war in Europe, but Japan only accepted the unconditional surrender on the 14th of August, after nuclear bombs were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For Australia, this meant that the Second World War was finally over.