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Timespan of Australians Involved in the War
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Australians Entering World War II
Australia entered World War II briefly after the invasion of Poland by the Germans. The Australian Prime Minister of the time, who was Sir Robert Menzies, declared war on Germany in 3 September 1939. The picture shown is of Robert Menzies. -
Period: to
Australian POWS Captured by the Japanese
The timespan here is about Australians being POWS in World War 2 to the Japanese.
More than thirty thousand (30000) Australians were captured between 1940 and 1945 to be POWS to the Japanese. During the Pacific War, twenty-two thousand (22000) Australians were captured by the Japanese, these people were: aviator, sailors, soldiers, members of the army nursing service, as well as some civilians. -
Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk was a showdown between the Allied and Axis forces in Tobruk, Libya, that lasted for 241 days. The Siege was going on during the Western Desert Campaign of World War 2. It started on 10 April 1941, when Tobruk was attacked by an Italo-German force under Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel and continued until 27 November 1941, when it was alleviated by the Allied 8th Army during Operation Crusader. The picture shown is of Australian soldiers holding a front line position at Tobruk. -
The Bombing of Darwin
The Bombing of Darwin, which is also known as the Battle of Darwin, happened on 19 February 1942 was both the largest and first single attack done by a foreign power on Australia. On this day, 242 Japanese aircraft opened fire on ships in Darwin's harbour and the town's two airfields in an effort to keep the Allied forces from using them as bases to rival the invasions of Timor and Java. The picture shown is of the explosion of an oil tank and clouds of smoke from others on Australia's mainland. -
First Battle of El-Alamein
The 1st Battle of El-Alamein was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of WW2. It was fought on the northern coast of Egypt between the Axis forces (Italy and Germany), commanded by Erwin Rommel, and the Allied forces (mainly Britain and Australia), commanded by General Claude Auchinleck. Although it was a stalemate, the conflict stopped a 2nd advance by the Axis forces into Egypt. The picture shown is of British infantry occupying a sandbagged defensive position near El-Alamein. -
The Kokoda Track Campaign
The Kokoda Track Campaign was part of the Pacific War (mainly between Australia and Japan) of WW2. The campaign consisted of a series of battles between July and November 1942; the location that Australia and Japan fought in was the Australian territory of Papua in New Guinea. The Japanese landed near Gona, on the night of 21/22 July. Their strategy was to isolate Australia from the United States. The picture shown is of soldiers in the Australian 39th Battalion in September 1942. -
Second Battle of El-Alamein
The Second Battle of El-Alamein took place near El-Alamein, Egypt. The conflict started on 23 October 1942 and ended on 11 November on the same year which it started. The Allied forces were victorious, so it staged as a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of WW2. The main goal of the Axis forces was to gain access to the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields via North Africa. The picture shown is of the Australian 9th Infantry Division in a posed attack. -
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan brought the hostilities of WW2 to an end. The surrender ceremony was held on 2 September 1945, aboard the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri (BB-63). The picture shown is of the Japanese foreign affairs minister of the time (called Mamoru Shigemitsu) signing the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, on board the USS Missouri as General R. K. Sutherland oversees the situation.
