Militärgeschichte Australiens während des Zweiten Weltkriegs

Australia entered World War II shortly after the invasion of Poland, declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. By the end of the war almost a million Australians had served in the Australian armed forces and Australian military units had fought in Europe, North Africa, and the South-West Pacific. In addition, Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its history. 27,073 Australians were killed and 23,477 were wounded by enemy action during the war.

An Australian light machine gun team in action against Japanese positions near Wewak in June 1945

In effect Australia fought two wars between 1939 and 1945. Australia fought against Germany and Italy as part of the British Commonwealth's war effort and against Japan in alliance with the United States and Britain. While most Australian forces were withdrawn from the Mediterranean following the outbreak of war in the Pacific, large numbers of Australians continued to take part in the air offensive against Germany. From 1942 until early 1944 Australian forces played a critical role in the Pacific war, making up the majority of Allied strength in the South West Pacific. The Australian military was largely relegated to subsidiary fronts from mid-1944 but continued offensive action against the Japanese until the end of the war.

Outbreak of war

Five women farewell a troop ship as it leaves Melbourne carrying the advance party of the 6th Division in December 1939

Between World War I and World War II, Australia suffered greatly from the Great Depression, much like the rest of the western world. This limited Australian defence expenditure and led to a decline in the size and effectiveness of the armed forces during the late 1920s and early 1930s. In the years leading up to the war Australia followed Britain's policy towards Nazi Germany, supporting first its appeasement of Hitler and then its guarantee of Polish independence.

Australia declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 after the British ultimatum for Germany to withdraw from Poland expired. Australia's first shot of the war took place several hours later when a gun at Fort Queenscliff fired across the bows of an Australian ship which was attempting to leave Melbourne without the required clearances. On 10 October 1939, a Short Sunderland of No. 10 Squadron, based in England for re-equipment, became the first Australian and the first Commonwealth air force unit to go into action when it undertook a mission to Tunisia.

At the time war was declared the Australian armed forces were less well-prepared than they had been at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. While the Government began a large military expansion and transferred Australian warships and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircrew and units to British control, it was unwilling to immediately dispatch an expeditionary force overseas due to the threat posed by Japanese intervention.

On 15 September 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced the formation of the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). This was an expeditionary force and initially consisted of 20,000 men organised into an infantry division (the 6th Division) and auxiliary units. The AIF was institutionally separate from the CMF, which was legally restricted to service in Australia and its external territories, and was formed by raising new units rather than transferring CMF units. On 15 November 1939, Menzies announced the reintroduction of conscription for home defence service effective 1 January 1940. Unmarried men turning 21 in the year ending 30 June 1940 would be drafted into the Militia. Because of this, the AIF could not accept personnel who were in reserved occupations. The 6th Division was formed during October and November 1939 and embarked for the Middle East in early 1940 to complete its training and receive modern equipment after Winston Churchill assured the Australian government that Japan did not pose an immediate threat. It was planned that the division would join the British Expeditionary Force in France when its preparations were complete but this did not eventuate as France was conquered by Germany before the division was ready. A further three AIF infantry divisions (the 7th Division, 8th Division and 9th Division) were raised in the first half of 1940 as well as a corps headquarters (I Corps) and numerous support and service units. All of these divisions and the majority of the support units were deployed overseas during 1940 and 1941. An AIF armoured division (the 1st Armoured Division) was also raised in early 1941 but never left Australia.

While the government initially proposed deploying the entire RAAF overseas, it was instead decided to focus the force's resources on training aircrew to facilitate a massive expansion of Commonwealth air power. In late 1939 Australia and the other Dominions established the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) to train large numbers of men for service in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and other Commonwealth air units. Almost 28,000 Australians were trained through EATS in schools in Australia, Canada and Rhodesia. While many of these men were posted to Australian Article XV squadrons, the majority served within British and other Dominion squadrons. Moreover, these nominally 'Australian' squadrons were not under RAAF control and Australians often made up a minority of their airmen. As the Australian Government had no effective control over how airmen trained through EATS were used most Australian historians regard the scheme as having hindered the development of Australia's defence capability. Nevertheless, RAAF airmen trained through EATS represented about nine percent of all aircrew who fought for the RAF in the European and Mediterranean theatres and made an important contribution to Allied operations.

North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East

During the first years of World War II Australia's military strategy was closely aligned with that of the United Kingdom. In line with this, most Australian military units deployed overseas in 1940 and 1941 were sent to the Mediterranean and Middle East where they formed a key part of the Commonwealth forces in the area. The three AIF infantry divisions sent to the Middle East saw extensive action, as did the RAAF squadrons and warships in this theatre.

North Africa

HMAS Sydney in 1940

The RAN was the first of the Australian services to see action in the Mediterranean. At the time Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 the RAN had a single cruiser (HMAS Sydney) and the five elderly destroyers of the so-called 'Scrap Iron Flotilla' at Alexandria with the British Mediterranean Fleet. During the first days of the Battle of the Mediterranean Sydney sank an Italian destroyer and Voyager a submarine. The Mediterranean Fleet maintained a high operational tempo, and on 19 July Sydney, with a British destroyer squadron in company, engaged the fast Italian light cruisers Bartolomeo Colleoni and Giovanni dalle Bande Nere in the Battle of Cape Spada. In the running battle which followed, Bartolomeo Colleoni was sunk. The Australian ships spent much of their time at sea throughout 1940 and Sydney was relieved by her sister ship Perth in February 1941.

The Australian Army first saw action in Operation Compass, the successful Commonwealth offensive in North Africa which was conducted between December 1940 and February 1941. The 6th Division relieved the 4th Indian Division on 14 December. Although the 6th Division was not fully equipped, it had completed its training and was given the task of capturing Italian fortresses bypassed by the British 7th Armoured Division during its advance.

Soldiers from the 2/11th Battalion after the capture of Tobruk

The 6th Division went into action at Bardia on 3 January 1941. Although the fortress was manned by a larger Italian force, the Australian infantry quickly penetrated the defensive lines with the support of British tanks and artillery. The majority of the Italian force surrendered on 5 January and the Australians took 40,000 prisoners. The 6th Division followed up this success by assaulting the fortress of Tobruk on 21 January. Tobruk was secured the next day with 25,000 Italian prisoners being taken. Following the fall of Tobruk the 6th Division pushed west along the coast road to Cyrenaica and captured Benghazi on 4 February. The 6th Division was withdrawn for deployment to Greece later in February and was replaced by the untested 9th Division, which performed garrison duties in Cyrenaica.

On 30 March 1941, a German-led force launched an offensive in Cyrenaica which rapidly defeated the Allied forces in the area, forcing a general withdrawal towards Egypt. The Australian 9th Division covered this withdrawal and on 6 April was ordered to defend the important port town of Tobruk for at least two months. Reinforced by the 18th Brigade of the 7th Division and British artillery and armoured regiments, the 9th Division successfully defended the town for over six months. Through the use of existing fortifications, aggressive patrolling and the firepower of the garrison's artillery the Australians successfully contained and defeated repeated German armoured and infantry attacks on the fortress. The defence of Tobruk was sustained by the Mediterranean Fleet, and the elderly Australian destroyers made repeated supply 'runs' into the port. HMAS Waterhen and Parramatta were sunk during these operations. Upon the request of the Australian Government, the bulk of the 9th Division was withdrawn from Tobruk in September and October 1941 and was replaced by the British 70th Division. The 2/13th Battalion was forced to remain at Tobruk until the siege was lifted in December when the convoy evacuating it was attacked, however. The defence of Tobruk cost the Australian units involved 3,009 casualties, including 832 killed and 941 men taken prisoner.

No. 239 Wing, a Curtiss P-40 (Tomahawk/Kittyhawk) fighter unit of the Desert Air Force, was dominated by Australians, in the form of two RAAF squadrons — No. 3 Squadron and No. 450 Squadron — and numerous individual Australians in British RAF squadrons. These two squadrons differed from the other RAAF squadrons in the Mediterranean in that they were made up of predominantly Australian ground staff and pilots; the other RAAF units had ground crews which were mostly British/RAF personnel. P-40s initially performed a wide range of roles, including air supremacy, until more advanced fighter aircraft arrived in the theatre.

Greece, Crete and Lebanon

Australian troops land in Alexandria after being evacuated from Greece

In early 1941 the 6th Division and I Corps Headquarters took part in the ill-fated Allied expedition to defend Greece from a German invasion. The Corps Commander, Lieutenant-General Thomas Blamey, and Prime Minister Menzies both regarded the operation as risky, but agreed to Australian involvement after the British Government deliberately understated the chance of defeat. The Allied force deployed to Greece was much smaller than the German force in the region and the defence of the country was compromised by inconsistencies between Greek and Allied plans.

Australian troops arrived in Greece during March and manned defensive positions in the north of the country alongside British, New Zealand and Greek units. HMAS Perth formed part of the naval force which protected the Allied troop convoys travelling to Greece and participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan in late March. The outnumbered Allied force was not able to halt the Germans when they invaded on 6 April and was forced to retreat. The Australians and other Allied units conducted a fighting withdrawal from their initial positions and were evacuated from southern Greece between 24 April and 1 May. Australian warships also formed part of the force which protected the evacuation and embarked hundreds of soldiers from Greek ports. The 6th Division suffered heavy casualties in this campaign, with 320 men being killed and 2,030 captured.

While most of the 6th Division returned to Egypt, the 19th Brigade Group and two provisional infantry battalions were landed at Crete where they formed a key part of the island's defences. The 19th Brigade was initially successful in holding its positions when German paratroopers landed on 20 May, but was gradually forced to retreat. After several key airfields were lost the Allies evacuated the island's garrison. Approximately 3,000 Australians, including the entire 2/7th Infantry Battalion, could not be evacuated, however, and were taken prisoner. As a result of its heavy casualties the 6th Division required substantial reinforcements and equipment before it was again ready for combat. HMAS Perth and the new destroyers Napier and Nizam also took part in operations around Crete, with Perth again embarking soldiers for evacuation to Egypt.

The Allied defeat during the Greek Campaign indirectly contributed to a change of government in Australia. Prime Minister Menzies' leadership had been weakened by the lengthy period he spent in Britain in early 1941, and the high Australian losses in the Greek Campaign led many members of his United Australia Party (UAP) to conclude that Menzies was not capable of leading the Australian war effort. Menzies resigned on 26 August after losing the confidence of his party and was replaced by Arthur Fadden from the Country Party, which was the UAP's coalition partner. Fadden's government collapsed on 3 October and was replaced by an Australian Labor Party government under the leadership of John Curtin.

The 7th Division and the 17th Brigade from the 6th Division formed a key part of the Allied ground forces during the successful invasion of Vichy French-controlled Lebanon and Syria in June and July 1941. RAAF aircraft also joined the Royal Air Force in providing close air support. The Australian force entered Lebanon on 8 June and advanced along the coast road and Litani River valley. Although little resistance had been expected, the Vichy forces mounted a strong defence which made good use of the mountainous terrain. After the Allied attack became bogged down reinforcements were brought in and the Australian I Corps headquarters took command of the operation on 18 June. These changes enabled the Allies to overwhelm the French forces and the 7th Division entered Beirut on 12 July. The loss of Beirut and the British breakthrough in Syria led the Vichy commander to seek an armistice and the campaign ended on 13 July.

El Alamein

Guns of the 2/8th Field Regiment at El Alamein in July 1942

Following the campaigns of 1941 the Australian I Corps was concentrated in Syria and Lebanon to rebuild its strength and prepare for further operations in the Middle East. Following the outbreak of war in the Pacific most elements of the Corps, including the 6th and 7th Divisions, returned to Australia in early 1942 to counter the Japanese threat to Australia. The Australian Government agreed to British and United States requests to temporarily retain the 9th Division in the Middle East in exchange for the deployment of additional US troops to Australia and Britain's support for a proposal to expand the RAAF to 73 squadrons. The Government did not send any reinforcements to the Middle East for the 9th Division and intended that it not play a major role in active fighting, however. All of the RAN's ships in the Mediterranean were also withdrawn to the Pacific but most RAAF units in the Middle East remained in the theatre.

During early 1942 the Axis forces advanced steadily through north-west Egypt. It was decided that the British Eighth Army should make a stand just over 100km west of Alexandria, at the railway siding of El Alamein. On 26 June 1942, the 9th Division was ordered to begin moving to El Alamein. The lead elements of the Division arrived at El Alamein on 6 July and the Division was assigned the most northerly section of the Commonwealth defensive line. The 9th Division played a significant role in the First Battle of El Alamein which halted the Axis advance, though at the cost of heavy casualties, including the entire 2/28th Infantry Battalion which was forced to surrender on 27 July. Following this battle the division remained at the northern end of the El Alamein line and launched diversionary attacks during the Battle of Alam el Halfa in early September.

In October 1942 the 9th Division and the RAAF squadrons in the area took part in the Second Battle of El Alamein. After a lengthy period of preparation, the Eighth Army launched its major offensive on 23 October. The 9th Division was involved in some of the heaviest fighting of the battle, and its advance in the coast area succeeded in drawing away enough German forces for the heavily reinforced 2nd New Zealand Division to decisively break though the Axis lines on the night of 1/2 November. The 9th Division suffered a high number of casualties during this battle and did not take part in the pursuit of the retreating Axis forces. During the battle the Australian Government requested that the division be returned to Australia as it was not possible to provide enough reinforcements to sustain it, and this was agreed by the British and US governments in late November. The 9th Division left Egypt for Australia in January 1943, ending the AIF's involvement in the war in North Africa.

Tunisia, Sicily and Italy

Although the Second Battle of El Alamein marked the end of a major Australian role in the Mediterranean, several RAAF units and hundreds of Australians attached to Commonwealth forces remained in the area until the end of the war. After the 9th Division was withdrawn Australia continued to be represented in North Africa by No. 3 Squadron and No. 450 Squadron RAAF, and these squadrons supported the 8th Army's advance through Libya and the subsequent Tunisia Campaign. Two Australian destroyers (HMAS Quiberon and Quickmatch) also participated in the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942.

No. 3 Squadron P-51 Mustang fighters return from a raid over Northern Italy in May 1945

Australia played a small role in the Italian Campaign. The RAN returned to the Mediterranean between May and November 1943 when eight Bathurst class corvettes were moved from the British Eastern Fleet to the Mediterranean Fleet to protect the invasion fleet during the Allied invasion of Sicily. These ships also escorted convoys in the western Mediterranean and HMAS Wollongong became the only Australian corvette to enter the Atlantic during the war. No. 239 Wing and four Australian Article XV squadrons also took part in the Scilian Campaign, flying from bases in Tunisia, Malta, North Africa and Scily. No. 239 Wing subsequently provided air support for the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943 and moved to the mainland in the middle of that month. The two Australian fighter bomber squadrons provided close air support to the Allied armies and attacked German supply lines until the end of the war. No. 454 Squadron was also deployed to Italy from August 1944 and hundreds of Australians served in RAF units during the campaign.

The RAAF also took part in other Allied operations in the Mediterranean. Two RAAF squadrons, No. 451 Squadron (Spitfires) and No. 458 Squadron (Wellingtons) supported the Allied invasion of southern France in August 1944. During this operation No. 451 Squadron was based in southern France in late August and September and when it ended both squadrons were moved to Italy, though No. 451 Squadron was redeployed to Britain in December. No. 459 Squadron was based in the eastern Mediterranean until the last months of the war in Europe and attacked German targets in Greece and the Aegean Sea. In addition, 150 Australians served with the Balkan Air Force, principally in No. 148 Squadron RAF. This special duties squadron dropped men and supplies to guerilla fighters in Yugoslavia and attempted to supply the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

Britain and Western Europe

A No. 10 Squadron Sunderland departing for a patrol over the Atlantic in 1941.

While the majority of the Australian military fought on the Western Front in France during World War I, relatively few Australians fought in Europe during World War II. The RAAF, including thousands of Australians posted to British units, made a significant contribution to the strategic bombing of Germany and efforts to safeguard Allied shipping in the Atlantic. The other services made smaller contributions, with two Army brigades being briefly based in Britain in late 1940 and several of the RAN's warships serving in the Atlantic.

The defence of Britain

Australians participated in the defence of Britain throughout the war. More than 100 Australian airmen fought with the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in 1940, including over 30 fighter pilots. Two AIF brigades were also stationed in Britain from June 1940 to January 1941 and formed part of the British mobile reserve and an Australian forestry group served in Britain between 1940 and 1943. Several Australian-manned fighter squadrons were also formed in Britain.

The RAAF and RAN took part in the Battle of the Atlantic. No. 10 Squadron, based in Britain at the outbreak of war to take delivery of its Short Sunderland flying boats, remained there throughout the conflict as part of RAF Coastal Command. It was joined by No. 461 Squadron in April 1942, also equipped with Sunderlands. Both squadrons escorted Allied convoys and sank a number of U-boats. No. 455 Squadron also formed part of Coastal Command from April 1942 as an anti-shipping squadron equipped with light bombers. In this role the squadron made an unusual deployment to Vaenga in the Soviet Union in September 1942 to protect Convoy PQ-18. Hundreds of Australian airmen also served in RAF Coastal Command squadrons. In addition to the RAAF's contribution, several of the RAN's cruisers and destroyers escorted shipping in the Atlantic and Caribbean and hundreds of RAN personnel served aboard Royal Navy ships in the Atlantic throughout the war.

Air war over Europe

Members of No. 460 Squadron and the Lancaster bomber G for George in August 1943

The RAAF's role in the strategic air offensive in Europe formed Australia's main contribution to the defeat of Germany. Approximately 13,000 Australian airmen served in dozens of British and five Australian squadrons in RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and the end of the war. As most Australians served in British squadrons and the Australian squadrons were part of RAF units, it is not possible to identify a distinctive Australian effort in this campaign, however.

The great majority of Australian aircrew in Bomber Command were graduates of the Empire Air Training Scheme. These men were frequently posted to the squadron with the greatest need for personnel rather than Australian units, and typically were posted to British squadrons where they were formed into bomber crews drawn from across the Commonwealth. Five Australian heavy bomber squadrons (No. 460, No. 462, No. 463, No. 466 and No. 467 squadrons) were formed within Bomber Command between 1941 and 1945, however, and the proportion of Australians in these units increased over time. No. 464 Squadron, which was equipped with light bombers, was transferred from Bomber command to the Second Tactical Air Force in June 1943 and continued to attack targets in Europe. Unlike Canada, which concentrated its heavy bomber squadrons into No. 6 Group RCAF in 1943, the RAAF squadrons in Bomber Command formed part of British units throughout the war, and the Australian Government had little control over how they were used.

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No. 453 Squadron Spitfires in Normandy during 1944. The aircraft are painted with invasion stripes.

Australians took part in all of Bomber Command's major offensives and suffered heavy losses during raids on German cities and targets in France. The Australian contribution to major raids was often substantial, and the Australian squadrons typically provided about 10 percent of the main bomber force during the winter of 1943–44, including during the Battle of Berlin. Overall, the Australian squadrons in Bomber Command dropped 6 percent of the total weight of bombs dropped by the command during the war. Australian aircrew in Bomber Command had one of the highest casualty rates of any part of the Australian military during World War II. Although only two percent of Australians who enlisted in the military served with Bomber Command, they incurred almost 20 percent of all Australian deaths in combat; 3,486 were killed and hundreds more were taken prisoner.

Hundreds of Australians also took participated in the liberation of Europe. Seven RAAF squadrons, hundreds of Australians in RAF units and about 500 Australian sailors serving with the Royal Navy formed part of the multi-national force assembled for the landing in Normandy on 6 June 1944. From 11 June until September 1944 the Spitfire-equipped No. 453 Squadron RAAF was often based at forward airfields in Normandy and other locations in France and it and Australian light bomber and heavy bomber squadrons supported the liberation of France. The RAAF's light bomber and fighter squadrons continued to support to the Allied armies until the end of the war in Europe by attacking strategic targets and escorting bomber formations. No. 451 and 453 Squadrons formed part of the British Army of Occupation in Germany from September 1945, and it was planned that there would be a long-term Australian presence in this force. Few RAAF personnel volunteered to remain in Europe, however, and both squadrons were instead disbanded in January 1946.

War in the Pacific

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The Japanese advance through the Malay Barrier in 1941–42 and feared offensive operations against Australia

Due to the emphasis placed on cooperation with Britain, relatively few Australian military units were retained in Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region. Measures were taken to improve Australia's defences as war with Japan loomed in 1941, but these proved inadequate. In December 1941 the Australian Army in the Pacific comprised the 8th Division, most of which was stationed in Malaya, and eight partially trained and equipped divisions in Australia, including the 1st Armoured Division. The RAAF was equipped with 373 aircraft, most of which were obsolete trainers, and the RAN had three cruisers and two destroyers in Australian waters.

In 1942 the Australian military was reinforced by units recalled from the Middle East and an expansion of the CMF and RAAF. United States Military units also arrived in Australia in great numbers before being deployed to New Guinea. The Allies moved onto the offensive in late 1942, with the pace of advance accelerating in 1943. From 1944 the Australian military was mainly relegated to subsidiary roles, but continued to conduct large-scale operations until the end of the war.

Malaya and Singapore

Vorlage:See also At the outbreak of war in the Pacific, the Australian forces in Malaya comprised the 8th Division (less the 23 Brigade who had detachments deployed to Darwin [headquarters], the Netherlands East Indies and Rabaul), four RAAF squadrons and eight warships. The RAAF became the first service to see action in the Pacific when Australian aircraft shadowing the Japanese invasion convoy bound for Malaya were fired at on 6 December 1941. Australian units participated the unsuccessful Commonwealth attempts to defeat the Japanese landings, with RAAF aircraft attacking the beachheads and HMAS Vampire accompanying HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse during their disastrous attempt to attack the Japanese invasion fleet.

Australian anti-tank gunners overlooking the Johore Causeway between Singapore and Malaya in February 1942

The 8th Division was assigned responsibility for the defence of Johore in the south of Malaya and did not see action until mid-January 1942 when Japanese spearheads first reached the province. The division's first engagement was the Battle of Muar in which the Australians and attached Indian and British units inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese before being pushed out of their positions. This was the last major battle in Malaya, and all the remaining Commonwealth forces withdrew to Singapore by 31 January.

Following the withdrawal to Singapore the 8th Division was deployed to defend island's north-west coast. The division had suffered heavy casualties during the fighting on the mainland, and most of its units were at half-strength. The commander of the Singapore fortress, Lieutenant General Percival, believed that the Japanese would land on the north-east coast of the island and deployed the near full-strength British 18th Division to defend this sector. The Japanese landing on 8 February took part in the Australian sector, however, and the 8th Division was forced from its positions after just two days of heavy fighting. The division was also unable to turn back the Japanese landing at Kranji and withdrew to the centre of the island.

The Japanese captured Singapore's water reservoirs and large supply dumps in the first days of the battle, making prolonged resistance impossible for the Commonwealth forces. After further fighting in which the Commonwealth forces were pushed into a narrow perimeter around the urban area of Singapore, Lieutenant General Percival surrendered his forces on 15 February 1942. Following the surrender 14,972 Australians were taken prisoner, though some escaped on ships. These escapees included the 8th Division's commander Maj-Gen. Gordon Bennett, who was found to have not been justified in leaving his command by two post-war inquiries.

Netherlands East Indies and Rabaul

The explosion of an oil storage tank during the first Japanese air raid on Darwin on 19 February 1942

While Australia's contribution to the pre-war plans to defend South East Asia from Japanese aggression was focused on the defence of Malaya and Singapore, small Australian forces were also deployed to defend several islands to the north of Australia. The role of these forces was to defend strategic airfields which could be used to launch attacks on the Australian mainland. These forces proved too small to resist the Japanese, however, and were swiftly defeated during the first months of the Pacific War.

At the start of the Pacific War the strategic port town of Rabaul in New Britain was defended by 'Lark Force', which comprised the 2/22nd Infantry Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Brigade reinforced with coastal artillery and a poorly equipped RAAF bomber squadron. While Lark Force was regarded as inadequate by the Australian military, it was not possible to reinforce it before the Japanese South Seas Force landed at Rabaul on 23 January 1942. The outnumbered Australian force was swiftly defeated and most of the survivors surrendered in the weeks after the battle. Few members of Lark Force survived the war, as at least 130 were murdered by the Japanese on 4 February and 1057 Australian soldiers and civilian prisoners from Rabaul were killed when the ship carrying them to Japan was sunk by a US submarine on 1 July 1942.

AIF troops were also dispatched from Darwin to the Netherlands East Indies in the first weeks of the Pacific War. Reinforced battalions were sent to Koepang in West Timor and the island of Ambon to defend these strategic locations from Japanese attack. The 2/2nd Independent Company was also sent to Dili in Portuguese Timor in violation of Portugal's neutrality. The force at Ambon was defeated by the Japanese landing on 30 January and surrendered on 3 February 1942. Over 300 Australian prisoners were subsequently killed by Japanese troops in a series of mass executions during February. While the 2/40th Infantry Battalion at Koepang was defeated after the Japanese landed there on 20 February and also surrendered, Australian commandos waged a guerrilla campaign against the Japanese in Portuguese Timor until February 1943.

In the lead-up to the invasion of Java a force of 242 Japanese aircraft attacked Darwin on 19 February 1942. This attack was undertaken to ensure that Darwin could not be used as a base to counter the conquest of the Netherlands East Indies. The attack was successful, and resulted in the deaths of 251 civilians and military personnel, most of whom were non-Australian Allied seamen, and inflicted heavy damage on RAAF Base Darwin and the town's port facilities. As a result of this attack Darwin was not available to the Allies as a supply and naval base to support operations in the East Indies.

Elements of the Australian military participated in the unsuccessful defence of Java when the Japanese invaded the island in March 1942. HMAS Perth formed part of the main American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) naval force which was defeated in the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February during an attempt to intercept one of the Japanese invasion convoys. Perth was sunk on 1 March during the Battle of Sunda Strait when she and USS Houston encountered another Japanese invasion force while trying to escape to Tjilatjap on the south coast of Java. The sloop HMAS Yarra was also sunk off the south coast of Java when she was attacked by three Japanese cruisers while escorting a convoy on 4 March. A 3000-strong Australian force made up of elements from the 7th Division formed part of the ABDACOM land forces on Java. This force formed part of the ABDACOM reserve and saw little action before it surrendered at Bandung on 12 March after the Dutch forces on the island began to capitulate. 160 ground crew from No. 1 Squadron RAAF were also captured on Java.

The defence of Australia

Australian soldiers exercising to defend Geraldton, Western Australia in October 1942

Vorlage:See also After the fall of Singapore the Australian Government and many Australians feared that Japan would invade the Australian mainland. Australia was ill-prepared to counter such an attack as the RAAF lacked modern aircraft, the RAN was too small and unbalanced to counter the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Army, though large, contained many inexperienced units and could not be easily moved around the country. In response to this threat most of the AIF was brought back from the Middle East and the Government appealed to the United States for assistance. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill attempted to divert the 6th and 7th Divisions to Burma while they were en-route to Australia, but Curtin refused to authorise this movement and over-ruled Churchill in a heated exchange of cables. As a compromise two brigades of the 6th Division disembarked at Ceylon and formed part of the island's garrison until they returned to Australia in August 1942.

The perceived threat of invasion led to a major expansion of the Australian military. By mid-1942 the Army had a strength of eleven infantry divisions, three armoured divisions and hundreds of supporting units. While the RAAF was also greatly expanded, the RAN experienced only modest growth. Thousands of Australians who were ineligible for service in the military responded to the threat of attack by joining auxiliary organisations such as the Volunteer Defence Corps and Volunteer Air Observers Corps, which were modelled on the British Home Guard and Royal Observer Corps respectively. Australia's population and industrial base were not sufficient to maintain this force once the threat of attack had passed, and the Army was progressively reduced in size from 1943 until the end of the war.

Despite the Australian fears, the Japanese never intended to invade Australia mainland. While an invasion was considered by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters in February 1942, this was judged to be beyond the Japanese military's capabilities and no planning or other preparations were undertaken. Instead, in March 1942 the Japanese military adopted a strategy of isolating Australia from the United States by capturing Port Moresby in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia. This plan was frustrated by the Japanese defeat in the Battle of the Coral Sea and was postponed indefinitely after the Battle of Midway. While these battles ended the threat to Australia, the Australian government continued to warn that an invasion was possible until mid-1943.

MacArthur with Blamey and Prime Minister Curtin in March 1942

The collapse of British power in the Pacific also led Australia to reorient its foreign and military policy towards the United States. In February 1942 the US and British Governments agreed that Australia would become a strategic responsibility of the United States. In March General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia after escaping from the Philippines and assumed command of the South West Pacific Area (SWPA). All of the Australian military's combat units were placed under MacArthur's command and MacArthur replaced the Australian Chiefs of Staff as the Australian Government's main source of military advice until the end of the war. Australian General Thomas Blamey was appointed the Allied land force commander, but MacArthur did not permit him to command American forces. MacArthur also rejected US Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall's request that he appoint Australians to senior posts in his General Headquarters. Nevertheless, the partnership between Curtin and MacArthur proved beneficial for Australia between 1942 and 1944 as MacArthur was able to communicate Australian requests for assistance to the US Government.

Large numbers of United States military personnel were based in Australia during the first years of the Pacific War. The first US units arrived in Australia in early 1942 and almost 1 million US personnel passed through Australia during the war. Many US military bases were constructed in northern Australia during 1942 and 1943, and Australia remained an important source of supplies to US forces in the Pacific until the end of the war. Relations between Australians and Americans were generally good, though there was some conflict between US and Australian soldiers and the Australian Government only reluctantly accepted the presence of African American troops.

Papuan campaign

Australian troops at Milne Bay

Japanese forces first landed on the mainland of New Guinea on 8 March when they made unopposed landings at Salamaua and Lae. Australian guerrillas from the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles established observation posts around the Japanese beachheads and the 2/5th Independent Company successfully raided Salamaua on 29 June.

After the Battle of the Coral Sea the Japanese attempted to capture Port Moresby by landing the South Seas Force at Buna on the north coast of Papua and advancing overland using the Kokoda Track to cross the very rugged Owen Stanley Range. This advance began on 22 July and was met by an ill-prepared Australian militia brigade known as Maroubra Force. This force was successful in delaying the Japanese advance but was unable to stop the South Seas Force. Two AIF battalions from the 7th Division reinforced the remnants of Maroubra Force on 26 August but the Japanese continued to make ground and reached the village of Ioribaiwa near Port Moresby on 16 September. The South Seas Force was forced to withdraw back along the track on this day, however, as supply problems made any further advance impossible and an Allied counter-landing at Buna was feared. Australian forces pursued the Japanese along the Kokoda Track and forced them into a small bridgehead on the north coast of Papua in early November. The RAAF and USAAF played an important role throughout the Kokoda Track campaign by attacking the Japanese force's supply lines and airdropping supplies to Australian Army units.

Australian forces also defeated an attempt to capture the strategic Milne Bay area in August 1942. During the Battle of Milne Bay two brigades of Australian troops, designated Milne Force, supported by two RAAF fighter squadrons and US Army engineers defeated a smaller Japanese invasion force made up of elite Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces units. This was the first notable Japanese land defeat and raised Allied morale across the Pacific Theatre.

Australian light tanks and infantry in action at Buna

Australian and US forces attacked the Japanese bridgehead in Papua in late November 1942 but did not capture it until January 1943. The Allied force comprised the exhausted 7th Division and the inexperienced and ill-trained US 32nd Infantry Division and was short of artillery and supplies. Due to a lack of supporting weapons and MacArthur and Blamey's insistence on a rapid advance the Allied tactics during the battle were centred around infantry assaults on the Japanese fortifications. These resulted in heavy casualties and the area was not secured until 22 January 1943.

Following the defeats in Papua and Guadalcanal the Japanese withdrew to a defensive perimeter in the Territory of New Guinea. In order to secure their important bases at Lae and Salamaua the Japanese attempted to capture Wau in January 1943. The town was reinforced by air and the Japanese were defeated in its outskirts of the town following heavy fighting. The Japanese force began to withdraw towards the coast on 4 February. Following the defeat at Wau the Japanese attempted to reinforce Lae in preparation for an expected Allied offensive in the area. This ended in disaster when a Japanese troop convoy was destroyed by USAAF and RAAF aircraft during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

The Papuan campaign led to a significant reform in the composition of the Australian Army. While the AIF could be deployed anywhere in the world, Australian laws limited the conscripted militia, which was larger than the AIF in late 1942, to Australia and the Australian-administered territories in New Guinea. This restriction hampered military planning and caused tensions between the AIF and CMF. In late 1942 and early 1943 Curtin overcame opposition within the Labor Party to change the geographic boundaries in which conscripts could serve to include most of the South West Pacific. This reform came into effect in January 1943 when the Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943 was passed by Parliament. The 11th Brigade was the only militia formation to serve outside of Australian territory, however, when it garrisoned Merauke in the NEI during 1943 and 1944.

Attacks on Australian shipping

The US-registered Liberty Ship Starr King sinking after she was attacked by 'I-21 near Port Macquarie in February 1943

The Japanese efforts to secure New Guinea included a prolonged submarine offensive against the Allied lines of communication between the United States and Australia and Australia and New Guinea. These were not the first Axis naval attacks on Australia; during 1940 and 1941 five German surface raiders operated in Australian waters at various times. The German attacks were not successful in disrupting Australian merchant shipping, though HMAS Sydney was sunk with the loss her entire crew of 641 men in November 1941 in a battle with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, off the coast of Western Australia.

Following the defeat of the Japanese surface fleet the IJN deployed submarines to disrupt Allied supply lines by attacking shipping off the Australian east coast. This campaign began with an unsuccessful midget submarine raid on Sydney Harbour on the night of 31 May. Following this attack, Japanese submarines operated along the Australian east coast until August 1942, sinking eight merchant ships. The submarine offensive resumed in January 1943 and continued until June during which time a further 15 ships were sunk off the east coast. The 1943 sinkings included the hospital ship Centaur, which was sunk off Queensland on 14 May with the loss of 268 lives. A single German submarine, U-862, operated in the Pacific Ocean during the war, patrolling off the Australian coast and New Zealand in December 1944 and January 1945. It sank two ships in Australian waters before returning to Batavia. While these losses caused some disruption to Australian coastal shipping and forced the Allies to devote considerable resources to protecting shipping in Australian waters, they did not seriously affect the Australian economy or Allied war effort.

New Guinea offensives

Troops of the 2/16th Battalion disembark from Dakota aircraft at Kaiapit

After halting the Japanese advance, Allied forces went on the offensive across the SWPA from mid 1943. Australian forces played a key role throughout this offensive, which was designated Operation Cartwheel. In particular, General Blamey oversaw a highly successful series of operations around the north-east tip of New Guinea which "was the high point of Australia’s experience of operational level command" during the war.

After the successful defence of Wau the 3rd Division began advancing towards Salamaua in April 1943. This advance was mounted to divert attention from Lae, which was one of the main objectives of Operation Cartwheel and proceeded slowly. In late June the 3rd Division was reinforced by the US 162nd Regimental Combat Team which staged an amphibious landing to the south of Salamaua. The town was eventually captured on 11 September 1943.

In early September 1943 Australian-led forces mounted a pincer movement to capture Lae. On 4 September the 9th Division made an amphibious landing to the east of the town and began advancing to the west. The following day, the US 503rd Parachute Regiment made an unopposed parachute drop at Nadzab, just west of Lae. Once the airborne forces secured Nadzab Airfield the 7th Division was flown in and began advancing to the east in a race with the 9th Division to capture Lae. This race was won by the 7th Division, which captured the town on 15 September. The Japanese forces at Salamaua and Lae suffered heavy losses during this campaign, but were able to escape to the north.

After the fall of Lae the 9th Division was given the task of capturing the Huon Peninsula. The 20th Brigade landed near the strategic port of Finschhafen on 22 September 1943 and swiftly secured the port and the nearby coastline. The Japanese responded by dispatching the 20th Division overland to the area and the remainder of the 9th Division was gradually brought in to reinforce the 20th Brigade against the expected counter-attack. The Japanese mounted a strong attack in mid-October which was defeated by the 9th Division after heavy fighting. During the second half of November the 9th Division captured the hills inland of Finschhafen from well dug in Japanese forces. Following its defeat the 20th Division retreated along the coast with the 9th Division and 4th Brigade in pursuit. The Allies scored a major intelligence victory towards the end of this campaign when Australian engineers found the 20th Division's entire cipher library, which had been buried by the retreating Japanese. These documents led to a code breaking breakthrough which enabled MacArthur to accelerate the Allied advance by bypassing Japanese defences.

HMAS Australia and HMAS Arunta bombarding Cape Gloucester

While the 9th Division secured the coastal region of the Huon Peninsula the 7th Division drove the Japanese from the Peninsula's inland Finisterre Range. The Finisterre Range campaign began on 17 September when the 2/6th Independent Company was air-landed in the Markham Valley. The Company defeated a larger Japanese force at Kaiapit and secured an airstrip which was used to fly the Division's 21st and 25th Brigades in. Through aggressive patrolling the Australians forced the Japanese out of positions in extremely rugged terrain and in January 1944 the division began its attack on the key Shaggy Ridge position. The ridge was taken by the end of January, with the RAAF playing a key supporting role. Following this success the Japanese withdrew from the Finisterre Range and Australian troops linked up with American patrols from their beachhead at Saidor on 21 April and secured Madang on 24 April.

In addition to supporting the Army's operations on the New Guinea mainland, the RAN and RAAF took part in offensive operations in the Solomon Islands. This involvement had begun in August 1942 when both of the RAN's heavy cruisers, HMAS Australia and HMAS Canberra, supported the US Marine landing at Guadalcanal. On the night after the landing Canberra was sunk during the Battle of Savo Island and the RAN played no further role in the Guadalcanal Campaign. RAAF aircraft supported several US Army and Marine landings during 1943 and 1944 and a RAAF radar unit participated in the capture of Arawe. The Australian cruisers Australia and Shropshire and destroyers HMAS Arunta and Warramunga provided fire support for the US 1st Marine Division during the Battle of Cape Gloucester and the US 1st Cavalry Division during the Admiralty Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944. The landing at Cape Gloucester was the first operation for the RAN amphibious transport HMAS Westralia.

North-West Area air campaign

B-25 Mitchell bombers from No. 18 (NEI) Squadron near Darwin in 1943. This was one of three joint Australian-Dutch squadrons formed during the war.

The attack on Darwin in February 1942 marked the start of a prolonged aerial campaign over northern Australia and the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies. Following the first attack on Darwin the Allies rapidly deployed fighter squadrons to protect the town from a feared invasion. A large number of airfields were also built south of Darwin to house fighters and bomber aircraft.

As the tide of the war shifted in the Allies' favour, the Allies mounted increasingly heavy air raids on the Dutch East Indies(NEI) from bases in the Darwin area. To counter these attacks the Japanese staged dozens of air raids on Darwin and nearby airfields during 1942 and 1943, few of which caused significant damage. These raids were opposed by Australian and British fighters and suffered increasingly heavy casualties as Darwin's defences were improved. The Japanese also conducted a number of small and ineffective raids on towns and airfields in northern Queensland and Western Australia during 1942 and 1943.

While the Japanese raids on northern Australia ceased in late 1943, the Allied air offensive continued until the end of the war. During late 1942 Allied aircraft conducted attacks on Timor in support of the Australian guerrillas operating there. From early 1943 United States heavy bomber squadrons operated against Japanese targets in the eastern NEI from bases near Darwin. The Allied air offensive against the NEI intensified from June 1943 in order to divert Japanese forces away from New Guinea and the Solomons and involved Australian, Dutch and United States bomber units. These attacks continued until the end of the war, with the US heavy bombers being replaced by Australian B-24 Liberator-equipped squadrons in late 1944. From 1944 several RAAF PBY Catalina squadrons were also based at Darwin and conducted highly effective mine-laying sorties across South East Asia.

Advance to the Philippines

The Australian military's role in the South-west Pacific decreased during 1944. In the later half of 1943 the Australian Government decided, with MacArthur's agreement, that the size of the military would be decreased to release manpower for war-related industries which were important to supplying Britain and US forces in the Pacific. As a result of this policy, all but two of the Army's divisions were withdrawn to the Atherton Tableland for training and rehabilitation and the size of the RAAF and RAN were capped. Moreover, Australia's main role in the Allied war effort from this point forward was supplying the other Allied countries with food, materials and manufactured goods needed for the defeat of Japan.

No. 80 Squadron aircraft at Noemfoor in November 1944

After the liberation of most of Australian New Guinea the RAAF and RAN participated in the US-led Western New Guinea campaign which had the goal of securing bases to be used to mount the liberation of the Philippines. Australian warships and the fighter, bomber and airfield construction squadrons of No. 10 Operational Group RAAF participated in the capture of Hollandia, Biak, Noemfoor and Morotai. After western New Guinea was secured No. 10 Operation Group was renamed the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF) and was used to protect the flank of the Allied advance by attacking Japanese positions in the NEI and performing other garrison tasks. The losses incurred performing these relatively unimportant roles led to a decline in morale, and contributed to the 'Morotai Mutiny' in April 1945.

Elements of the RAN and RAAF also took part in the liberation of the Philippines. Four Australian warships and the assault transports HMAS Kanimbla, Manoora and Westralia - along with a number of smaller warships and support ships - took part in the US landing at Leyte on 20 October 1944. Australian sources state that HMAS Australia became the first Allied ship to be struck by a kamikaze when she was attacked during this operation on 21 October, though this claim was disputed by US historian Samuel Eliot Morison. Australian ships also participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, with Shropshire and Arunta engaging Japanese ships during the Battle of Surigao Strait on 25 October. The Australian naval force took part in the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945. During this operation Australia was struck by a further five Kamikazes which killed 44 of her crew and forced her to withdraw for major repairs. RAN ships also escorted US supply convoys bound for the Philippines. The RAAF's No. 3 Airfield Construction Squadron and No. 1 Wireless Unit were also landed in the Philippines and supported US operations there and 1TAF raided targets in the southern Philippines from bases in the NEI and New Guinea. While the Australian government offered I Corps for use in Leyte and Luzon in the Philippines, nothing came of several proposals to utilise it in the liberation of these islands. The Army's prolonged period of relative inactivity during 1944 led to public concern in Australia.

Mopping up in New Guinea and the Solomons

Australian and Japanese Army forces in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in late 1944

In late 1944 the Australian Government committed 12 Australian Army brigades to replace six US Army divisions which were conducting defensive roles in Bougainville, New Britain and the Aitape-Wewak area in New Guinea. While the US units had largely conducted a static defence of their positions, their Australian replacements mounted offensive operations designed to destroy the remaining Japanese forces in these areas. The value of these campaigns was controversial at the time and remains so to this day. The Australian Government authorised these operations for primarily political reasons. It was believed that keeping the Army involved in the war would give Australia greater influence in any post-war peace conferences and that liberating Australian territories from the Japanese enhance Australia's influence in its region. Critics of these campaigns argue that they were unnecessary and wasteful of the lives of the Australian soldiers involved as the Japanese forces were already isolated and ineffective.

Infantry at Wide Bay in January 1945

The 5th Division was assigned responsibility for New Britain and was tasked with protecting Allied bases and confining the large Japanese force on the island to the area around Rabaul. The division replaced the United States 40th Infantry Division during October and November 1944. In late November the 5th Division established bases near the Japanese perimeter and began aggressive patrols with the objective of reducing the size of the Japanese enclave. These patrols were supported by the Allied Intelligence Bureau. The 5th Division conducted amphibious landings at Open Bay and Wide Bay at the base of the Gazelle Peninsula in early 1945 and defeated the small Japanese garrisons in these areas. By April the Japanese had been confined to their fortified positions in the Gazelle Peninsula by the Australian force's aggressive patrolling. The 5th Division suffered 53 fatalities and 140 wounded during this campaign. After the war it was found that the Japanese force was 93,000 strong, which was much higher than the 38,000 which Allied intelligence had estimated remained on New Britain.

Australian-designed CAC Boomerang aircraft at Bougainville in early 1945

The II Corps was deployed to Bougainville between October and December 1944 and assumed responsibility for the island from the US Army's XIV Corps. The 3rd Division and the 11th Brigade were on Bougainville along with the Fiji Infantry Regiment and the 23rd Brigade garrisoned neighbouring islands. II Corps was supported by RAAF, RNZAF and USMC air units based on Bougainville.

While the XIV Corps had maintained a defensive posture around the Allied airfields at Cape Torokina, the Australians conducted offensive operations aimed at destroying the Japanese force on Bougainville. As the Japanese were split into several enclaves the Australians fought geographically separated campaigns in the north, centre and southern portions of the island. The main focus was against the Japanese base at Buin in the south of the island, however, and offensive operations in the north and centre of the island were largely suspended from May 1945. While Australian offensive operations on Bougainville continued until the end of the war, large Japanese forces remained at Buin and in the north of the island.

HMAS Swan firing on Japanese positions between Aitape and Wewak

The 6th Division was assigned responsibility for completing the destruction of the Japanese Eighteenth Army, which was the last large Japanese force remaining in the Australian portion of New Guinea. The division was reinforced by militia and armoured units and began arriving at Aitape in October 1944. The 6th Division was also supported by several RAAF squadrons and RAN warships.

After relieving the US forces at Aitape the 6th Division launched a two-pronged offensive to the east towards Wewak. The 17th Brigade advanced through the inland Torricelli Mountains while the remainder of the division moved along the coast. Although the Eighteenth Army had suffered heavy casualties from previous fighting and disease, it mounted a strong resistance and inflicted significant casualties upon the Australian force. The 6th Division's advance was also hampered by the difficulty of resupplying the troops and bad weather. The Australians secured the coastal area by early May, with Wewak being captured on 10 May after a small Australian force was landed to the east of the town. By the end of the war the Eighteenth Army had been forced into what it had designated its 'last stand' area which was under attack from the 6th Division. The Aitape-Wewak campaign cost Australia 442 lives while about 9000 Japanese died during the campaign and another 269 were taken prisoner.

Borneo Campaign

A map showing the progress of the Borneo campaign

The Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the SWPA. In a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and air forces, centred on the US 7th Fleet under Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, 1TAF and the US Thirteenth Air Force also played important roles in the campaign. The goals of this campaign were to capture Borneo's oilfields and Brunei Bay to support the US-led invasion of Japan and British-led liberation of Malaya which were planned to take place later in 1945. The Australian Government did not agree to MacArthur's proposal to extend the offensive to include the liberation of Java in July 1945, however, and its decision to not release the 6th Division for this operation contibuted to it not going ahead.

The campaign opened on 1 May 1945 when the 26th Brigade Group landed on the small island of Tarakan off the east coast of Borneo. The goal of this operation was to secure the island's airstrip as a base to support the landings at Brunei and Balikpapan. While it had been expected that it would take only a few weeks to secure Tarakan and re-open the airstrip, the fighting on the island lasted until 19 June and the airstrip was not opened until 28 June. As a result, the operation is generally considered not to have been worthwhile.

Australian soldiers and local civilians on Labuan Island. The soldier on the left is armed with an Australian-designed Owen gun.

The second phase of the Borneo Campaign began on 10 June when the 9th Division conducted simultaneous assaults on the north-west on the island of Labuan and the coast of Brunei. While Brunei was quickly secured, the Japanese garrison on Labuan held out for over a week. After the Brunei Bay region was secured the 24th Brigade was landed in North Borneo and the 20th Brigade advanced along the western coast of Borneo south from Brunei. Both brigades rapidly advanced against weak Japanese resistance and most of north-west Borneo was liberated by the end of the war. During the campaign the 9th Division was assisted by indigenous fighters who were waging a guerrilla war against Japanese forces with the support of Australian special forces.

The third and final stage of the Borneo Campaign was the capture of Balikpapan on the central east coast of the island. This operation had been opposed by General Blamey, who believed that it was unnecessary, but went ahead on the orders of Macarthur. After a 20 day preliminary bombardment the 7th Division landed near the town on 1 July. Balikpapan and its surrounds were secured after some heavy fighting on 21 July but mopping up continued until the end of the war. The capture of Balikpapan was the last large-scale land operation conducted by the Western Allies during World War II.

Although the Borneo Campaign was criticised in Australia at the time, and in subsequent years, as pointless or a "waste" of the lives of soldiers, it did achieve a number of objectives, such as increasing the isolation of significant Japanese forces occupying the main part of the Dutch East Indies, capturing major oil supplies and freeing Allied prisoners of war, who were being held in deteriorating conditions.

Australia's leadership changed again during the Borneo Campaign. Prime Minister Curtin suffered a heart attack in November 1944 and Deputy Prime Minister Frank Forde acted in his place until 22 January 1945. Curtin was hospitalised with another bout of illness in April 1945 and Treasurer Ben Chifley became acting Prime Minister as Forde was attending the San Francisco Conference. Curtin died on 5 July 1945 and Forde was sworn in as Prime Minister. Forde did not have the support of his party, however, and was replaced by Chifley after a leadership ballot was held on 13 July.

Intelligence and special forces

Central Bureau's headquarters building at Ascot in Brisbane

Australia developed large intelligence services during the war. Prior the outbreak of war the Australian military possessed almost no intelligence gathering facilities and was reliant on information passed on by the British intelligence services. Several small signals intelligence units were established in 1939 and 1940, which had some success intercepting and deciphering Japanese transmissions before the outbreak of the Pacific War.

MacArthur began organising large scale intelligence services shortly after his arrival in Australia. On 15 April 1942, the joint Australian-US Central Bureau signals intelligence organisation was established at Melbourne. Central Bureau's headquarters moved to Brisbane in July 1942 and Manila in May 1945. Australians made up half the strength of Central Bureau, which was expanded to over 4000 personnel by 1945. The Australian Army and RAAF also provided most of the Allied radio interception capability in the SWPA, and the number of Australian radio interception units was greatly expanded between 1942 and 1945. Central Bureau broke a number of Japanese codes and the intelligence gained from these decryptions and radio direction finding greatly assisted Allied forces in the SWPA.

Commandos from the 2/3rd Independent Company in New Guinea during July 1943

Australian special forces played a significant role in the Pacific War. Following the outbreak of war commando companies were deployed to Timor, the Solomon and Bismarck islands and New Caledonia. Although the 1st Independent Company was swiftly overwhelmed when the Japanese attacked the Solomon Islands in early 1942, the 2/2nd and 2/4th Independent companies waged a successful guerrilla campaign on Timor which lasted from February 1942 to February 1943 when the Australian force was evacuated. The commando companies also played an important role in the New Guinea, New Britain, Bougainville and Borneo campaigns where they were used to collect intelligence, spearhead offensives and secure the flanks of operations conducted by conventional infantry.

Australia also formed small-scale raiding and reconnaissance forces, most of which were grouped together as the Allied Intelligence Bureau. Z Special Unit conducted raids far behind the front line, including a successful raid on Singapore in September 1943. M Special Unit, the Coastwatchers and smaller AIB units also operated behind Japanese lines to collect intelligence. AIB parties were often used to support Australian Army units and were assigned to inappropriate tasks such as tactical reconnaissance and liaison, however, and missions in Timor and Dutch New Guinea were hampered by being placed under the command of unpopular Dutch colonial administrators. The RAAF and RAN also formed small elite units, with No. 200 Flight RAAF providing air transport for the AIB and the RAN's Beach Commandos coordinating amphibious landings.

Operations against Japan

General Blamey signing the Japanese instrument of surrender on behalf of Australia

Australia played a minor role in the Japan campaign in the last months of the war and was planning its participation in the invasion of Japan when the war ended. Several Australian warships operated with the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) during the Battle of Okinawa and Australian destroyers later escorted British aircraft carriers and battleships during attacks on targets in the Japanese home islands. Despite its distance from Japan, Australia was the BPF's main base and a large number of facilities were built to support the fleet.

Australia's participation in the planned invasion of Japan would have involved elements of all three services fighting as part of Commonwealth forces. It was planned to form a new Australian 10th Division from existing AIF personnel which would form part of the Commonwealth Corps with British, Canadian and New Zealand units. The Corps' organisation was to be identical to that of a US Army corps, and it would have participated in the invasion of the Japanese home island of Honshū which was scheduled for March 1946. The Australian First Tactical Air Force would have provided air support to this operation and Australian ships would have operated with the BPF and US Pacific Fleet. In addition, two Australian heavy bomber squadrons and a transport squadron were scheduled to be redeployed from Britain to Okinawa to join the strategic bombardment of Japan as part of Tiger Force. Planning for operations against Japan ceased in August 1945 when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

General Blamey signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Australia during the ceremony held on board USS Missouri on 2 September 1945. Several RAN warships were present in Tokyo Bay during the proceedings. Following the main ceremony on board USS Missouri, Japanese field commanders surrendered to Allied forces across the Pacific Theatre. Australian forces accepted the surrender of their Japanese opponents at ceremonies conducted at Morotai, several locations in Borneo, Timor, Wewak, Rabaul, Bougainville and Nauru.

Australians in other theatres

Four members of the Australian contingent to Mission 204 in Yunnan Province, China, during 1942

In addition to the major deployments, Australian military units and individual Australian service personnel served in other theatres of the war, typically as a small part of a British-led Commonwealth force. About 14,000 Australians also served in the Merchant Navy and crewed ships in many areas of the world.

Australia played a minor role in the British-led campaigns against Vichy French colonial possessions in Africa. In late September 1940 HMAS Australia took part in the unsuccessful British and Free French attempt to capture Dakar in which she sank a Vichy French destroyer. The Australian government was not informed of the cruiser's involvement in this operation prior to the battle and complained to the British government. Three Australian destroyers also took part in the invasion of Madagascar in September 1942. Closer to home, HMAS Adelaide played a significant role in ensuring that New Caledonia came under Free French control in September 1940 by escorting a pro-Free French Governor to Noumea and taking station off the city during the popular protests which resulted in the Governor replacing the pro-Vichy authorities.

Australian warships served in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf through much of the war. From June to October 1940 HMAS Hobart took part in the East African Campaign, and played an important role in the successful evacuation of Berbera. In May 1941, HMAS Yarra participated in the Anglo-Iraqi War by supporting the landing of Gurkha troops near Basra. In August 1941 Yarra and HMAS Kanimbla took part in the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, with Yarra sinking the Iranian sloop Babr near Kohorramshahr and Kanimbla landing troops at Bandar Shapur. A dozen Bathurst class corvettes also escorted Allied shipping in the Persian Gulf during 1942.

While most Australian units in the Pacific Theatre fought in the SWPA, hundreds of Australians were posted to British units in Burma and India. These included 45 men from the 8th Division who volunteered to train Chinese guerrillas with the British Mission 204 in southern China and served there from February to September 1942. Many Australians also served with RAF units in India and Burma, though no RAAF units were deployed to this theatre. In May 1943, some 330 Australians were serving in forty-one squadrons in India, of which only nine had more than ten Australians. In addition, many of the RAN's corvettes and destroyers served with the British Eastern Fleet where they were normally used to protect convoys in the Indian Ocean from attacks by Japanese and German submarines.

Prisoners of war

Australian and Dutch POWs at Tarsau, Thailand in 1943

Approximately 30,000 Australians were taken prisoner by the Axis during the war. Only 14,000 of the 22,000 Australian prisoners taken by the Japanese survived captivity. The majority of these deaths were due to malnutrition and disease.

The 8,000 Australians captured by the Germany and Italy were generally treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. The majority of these men had been captured during the fighting in Greece and Crete in 1941, but also included 1,400 Australian airmen who had been shot down over Europe. Like other western Allied POWs, the Australians were held in permanent camps in Italy and Germany. As the war neared its end the Germans moved many prisoners towards the interior of Germany to prevent them from being liberated by the advancing Allied armies. These movements were often made through forced marches in harsh weather and resulted in many deaths. Four Australians were executed following a mass escape from Stalag Luft III in March 1944. While the 265 Australian prisoners who died in German and Italian captivity represented a higher death rate than for Australian POWs in World War I, it was much lower than the rate suffered by the prisoners of the Japanese.

Like the other Allied prisoners captured by the Japanese, most of the thousands of Australians captured in the first months of 1942 during the conquest of Malaya and Singapore, the NEI and New Guinea were held in harsh conditions throughout their captivity. Australians were held in camps across the Asia-Pacific region and many endured long voyages in grossly overcrowded ships. The Burma-Thai Railway became the most notorious of the prisoner of war experiences, as 13,000 Australians worked on the railway at various times during 1942 and 1943. While most of the Australian POWs who died during Japanese captivity were the victim of deliberate malnutrition and disease, hundreds of Australian prisoners were deliberately killed by guards. The treatment of Australian POWs led to many Australians continuing to be hostile to Japan after the war.

Thousands of Axis POWs were also held in Australia during the war. A total of 25,720 POWs were held in Australia: 18,432 Italians, 5,637 Japanese and 1,651 Germans. These prisoners were held in purpose-built camps and were treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention rules. On the morning of 5 August 1944, approximately half of the 1,104 Japanese held in No. 12 Prisoner of War Compound near Cowra, New South Wales attempted to escape. The prisoners overwhelmed their guards, with over 400 breaking through the wire fences. All the escapees were recaptured or killed within 10 days, with 234 Japanese killed during the breakout and subsequent roundup, 108 Japanese injured, four Australian guards killed (two received the George Cross posthumously for their efforts during the escape), and another four Australians injured.

Home front

Australian women were encouraged to participate in the war effort

During the war the Australian Government greatly expanded its powers in order to better direct the war effort, and Australia's industrial and human resources were focused on supporting the Allied armed forces.

The Australian Government increased its powers from 9 September 1939 when the National Security Act became law. This law enabled the government to introduce industrial conscription, and both men and women were ordered into essential industries. Rationing was first introduced in 1940 and was greatly expanded during 1942. The Government also strongly encouraged austerity and war bonds as a means of reducing demand for scarce resources.

Government policies to develop war-related industries were successful in increasing the sophistication of Australia's industrial sector and self sufficiency in most categories of weapons. In the decades leading up to the war successive Australian governments had provided subsidies, tariffs and other incentives encourage the development of military-related manufacturing sectors such as the production of aircraft, automobiles, electronics and chemicals. These secondary industries were integrated into a war economy during 1940 and 1941 and were able to meet most of the Army's needs by 1942. Government-led efforts to develop and manufacture advanced technology enjoyed some notable successes, including the development of lightweight radar sets, optical devices for artillery and equipment adapted for use in the tropics. Australian industry also developed new weapons which were mass-produced for the military, including the Owen submachine gun and a shortened version of the Ordnance QF 25 pounder. Not all development projects were successful: efforts to develop an Australian tank (the Sentinel tank) did not cease until after the tank had been rendered obsolete and unnecessary, and the development of Australian-designed advanced bomber and fighter aircraft (the CAC Woomera and CAC CA-15 respectively) were abandoned as the engines these aircraft required were not available and adequate US and British designs were produced under licence instead.

The keel plate for another vessel is laid at Mort's Dock in Sydney minutes after the corvette HMAS Deloraine was launched in 1941

The massive expansion of the military led to a critical shortage of male workers and increased female participation in the labour force. The number of Australian women in paid employment increased from 644,000 in 1939 to 855,000 in 1944. While this was only a 5 percentage point increase in the proportion of all Australian women who were working, large numbers of women moved from traditionally 'female' roles such as domestic servants into 'male' roles in industry. Female branches of the armed forces were established in 1941, and by 1944 almost 50,000 women were serving in the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service, Australian Women's Army Service and Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force. Thousands more served with the civilian Australian Women's Land Army or undertook voluntary war work. Manpower shortages became an increasingly significant economic issue towards the end of the war, and the Australian military was reduced in size from 1944 to free up personnel for war industries and the civilian economy.

Industrial conscription and the drive to increase productivity led to an increasing degree of industrial unrest over time. Many workers were required to work long hours in poor conditions and were not able to change their employment due to the manpower laws. Poor work conditions were also exacerbated by a reduction in living standards caused by the Government's austerity measures. As a result, strikes and other forms of protest disrupted Australian production, especially from 1943 onwards. These protests attracted considerable criticism from other civilians and members of the military. In May 1943 the Government introduced policies which enabled workers who were undertaking unlawful industrial action to be conscripted into the military, but this had little impact due to the shortage of skilled labour in the industries most prone to industrial disputes.

World War II marked the beginning of a long period of Australian economic growth. The war greatly increased the size and importance of the Australian manufacturing sector and stimulated the development of more technologically advanced industries. As part of this trend many workers acquired relatively high skill levels and female labour force participation rates greatly increased. Many women were forced out of traditionally male-dominated industries after the war, however.

After the war

HMAS Shropshire arriving in Sydney in November 1945 carrying long serving soldiers

World War II cost thousands of Australian lives and consumed a large portion of national income. During the war, 27,073 members of the Australian military were killed or died of wounds or died while prisoners of war. Of these, 9,572 were killed in the war against Germany and Italy and 17,501 in the war against Japan. Nearly half of Australia's deaths in the Pacific were prisoners of the Japanese. At least 386 Australian civilian seamen were also killed during the war. Total Australian war expenditure was £2,949,380,000 and at its peak in 1942–43 war expenditure accounted for 40.1 percent of national income.

Compulsory military service ended in 1945, and most Australian personnel had been demobilised by the end of 1946. A volunteer force was formed as Australia's contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Japan, and Australia provided the BCOF's headquarters and a high proportion of its personnel.

World War II led to significant changes to Australian society. In economic terms, the war accelerated the development of Australia's manufacturing industry and led to a large fall in unemployment. The impact of World War II changed Australia's society, and contributed to the development of a more cosmopolitan society in which women were able to play a larger role. The war also resulted in a greater maturity in Australia's dealings with the world, as demonstrated by Australia developing an independent foreign policy and encouraging mass migration after the war.

Notes

Commons: Military history of Australia during World War II – Album mit Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien

References

Books

• Joan Beaumont: Australia's War, 1939–1945. Hrsg.: Beaumont, Joan. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 1996, ISBN 1-86448-039-4, Australia's war: Europe and the Middle East. 
• Joan Beaumont: Australia's War, 1939–1945. Hrsg.: Beaumont, Joan. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 1996, ISBN 1-86448-039-4, Australia's war: Asia and the Pacific. 
• Joan Beaumont: Australian Defence: Sources and Statistics (= The Australian Centenary History of Defence. Volume VI). Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2001, ISBN 0-19-554118-9. 
• Peter Brune: A Bastard of a Place. The Australians in Papua. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2003, ISBN 1-74114-011-0. 
• Steven (translator) Bullard: Japanese army operations in the South Pacific Area New Britain and Papua campaigns, 1942–43. Australian War Memorial, Canberra 2007, ISBN 978-0-9751904-8-7 (gov.au). 
• S.J. Butlin, Schedvin, C.B.: War Economy, 1942–1945 (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 4 – Civil). Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1977, ISBN 0-642-99406-4 (gov.au). 
• John Coates: An Atlas of Australia's Wars. Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2006, ISBN 0-19-555914-2. 
• Chris Coulthard-Clark: The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2001. 
• Kate Darian-Smith: Australia's War, 1939–1945. Hrsg.: Beaumont, Joan. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 1996, ISBN 1-86448-039-4, War and Australian Society. 
• David Day: Reluctant Nation: Australia and the Allied Defeat of Japan, 1942–1945. Oxford University Press, New York 1992, ISBN 0-19-553242-2. 
• David Day: John Curtin. A life. HarperCollins Publishers, Sydney 1999, ISBN 0-7322-6413-8. 
• David Day: The Politics of War. HarperCollins Publishers, Sydney 2003, ISBN 073227331(?!). 
• Tom Frame: No Pleasure Cruise. The Story of the Royal Australian Navy. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2004, ISBN 1-74114-233-4. 
• Peter Dennis, et al: The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History. Second edition Auflage. Oxford University Press Australia & New Zealand, Melbourne 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-551784-2. 
• G. Hermon Gill: Royal Australian Navy 1942-–1945 (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy). Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1968 (gov.au). 
• Jeffrey Grey: A Military History of Australia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, ISBN 0-521-64483-6. 
• Jeffrey Grey: The Australian Army (= The Australian centenary history of defence). 1st edition Auflage. Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2001, ISBN 0-19-554114-6. 
• Marine Haig-Muir, Hay, Roy: Australia's War, 1939–1945. Hrsg.: Beaumont, Joan. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 1996, ISBN 1-86448-039-4, The economy at war. 
• Paul Hasluck: The Government and the People 1942-–1945 (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 4 – Civil). Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1970, 6429367X (gov.au). 
• John Herington: Air Power Over Europe, 1944–1945 (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 – Air). Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1963 (gov.au). 
• David Horner: High Command. Australia and Allied strategy 1939-–1945. Allen & Unwin with the assistance of the Australian War Memorial, Sydney 1982, ISBN 0-86861-076-3. 
• Mark Johnston, Martin Windrow (consultant editor): The Australian Army in World War II (= Elite). Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2007, ISBN 978-1-84603-123-6. 
• Ian Kuring: Red Coats to Cams. A History of Australian Infantry 1788 to 2001. Australian Military History Publications, Sydney 2004, ISBN 1-876439-99-8. 
• Gavin Long: To Benghazi (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army). Australian War Memorial, Canberra (gov.au). 
• Gavin Long: Greece, Crete and Syria (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army). Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1953, ISBN 0-00-217489-8 (gov.au [PDF]). 
• Gavin Long: The Final Campaigns (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army). Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1963 (gov.au). 
• Gavin Long: The Six Years War. A Concise History of Australia in the 1939-–1945 War. The Australian War Memorial and the Australian Government Printing Service, Canberra 1973, ISBN 0-642-99375-0. 
• Stuart Macintyre: The Oxford History of Australia. Volume 4: 1901-–1942 The Succeeding Age. Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1986, ISBN 0-19-554612-1. 
• Stuart Macintyre: A Concise History of Australia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, ISBN 0-521-62577-7. 
• Michael McKernan: All In! Australia During the Second World War. Thomas Nelson Australia, Melbourne 1983, ISBN 0-17-005946-4. 
• Michael McKernan: The Strength of a Nation. Six years of Australians fighting for the nation and defending the homeland during WWII. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2006, ISBN 978-1-74114-714-8. 
• D.P. Mellor: The Role of Science and Industry (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 4 – Civil). Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1958 (gov.au). 
• Greg Nash, Stevens, David: Australia's Navy in the Gulf. From Countenance to Catalyst, 1941-–2006. Topmill, Sydney 2006. 
• Michael V Nelmes: Tocumwal to Tarakan. Australians and the B-24 Liberator. Banner Books, Canberra 1994, ISBN 1-875593-04-7. 
• George Odgers: Air War Against Japan 1943–1945 (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 – Air). Australian War Memorial, Canberra (gov.au). 
• George Odgers: 100 Years of Australians at War. Ken Fin Books, Melbourne 2000, ISBN 186458078(?!). 
• Albert Palazzo: The Australian Army. A History of its Organisation 1901—2001. Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2001, ISBN 0-19-551507-2. 
• Alan Powell: The Shadow's Edge. Australia's Northern War. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1988, ISBN 0-522-84371-9. 
• A.T. Ross: Armed and Ready. The Industrial Development & Defence of Australia 1900-1945. Turton & Armstrong, Sydney 1994, ISBN 0-908031-63-7. 
• Peter Stanley: Air Battle Europe 1939-1945 (= Australians at War). Time-Life Books (Australia), Sydney 1987, ISBN 0-949118-05-2. 
• Peter Stanley: Invading Australia. Japan and the Battle for Australia, 1942. Penguin Group (Australia), Melbourne 2008, ISBN 978-0-670-02925-9. 
• Alan Stephens: The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. Oxford University Press, London 2006, ISBN 0-19-555541-4 ( [2001]). 
• David Stevens: A Critical Vulnerability: The Impact of the Submarine Threat on Australia’s Maritime Defence (1915-1954 (= Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs (No. 15)). Sea Power Centre - Australia, Canberra 2005, ISBN 0-642-29625-1 (gov.au). 
• David Stevens: The Royal Australian Navy in World War II. Hrsg.: David Stevens. 2nd edition Auflage. Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2005, ISBN 1-74114-184-2, South-West Sea Frontiers: Sea power in the Australian context ( [1996]). 
• Lionel Wigmore: The Japanese Thrust (= Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army). Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1957 (gov.au). 

Journal articles and papers

• Chris Clark: The Empire Air Training Scheme. Australian War Memorial 2003 History Conference - Air War Europe. Australian War Memorial, Canberra 2003 (gov.au [abgerufen am 22. Dezember 2007]). 
• John Coates: The War in New Guinea 1943–44: Operations and Tactics. The Chief of Army's History Conference 2003. Hrsg.: Peter Dennis and Jeffrey Grey. Army History Unit, Canberra 2004, ISBN 0-646-43590-6, S. 44–75. 
• Alastair Cooper: Raiders and the Defence of Trade: The Royal Australian Navy in 1941. Remembering 1941. Australian War Memorial, 2001 (gov.au [abgerufen am 15. September 2008]). 
• David Horner: Defending Australia in 1942. Department of History, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra 1993, S. 1–20. 
• David Horner: The Evolution of Australian Higher Command Arrangements. (doc) In: Command Papers. Centre for Defence Leadership Studies, Australian Defence College, 2002; abgerufen im 1. Januar 1. 
• Andrew Ross: Arming the Nation. A History of Defence Science and Technology in Australia. Hrsg.: Frank Cain. Australian Defence Studies Centre, Canberra 1999, ISBN 0-7317-0433-9, The Rise of Australian Defence Industry and Science 1901-1945. 
• Peter Stanley: He’s (not) Coming South": the invasion that wasn’t. Remembering 1942. 2002 (gov.au [PDF; abgerufen am 5. Oktober 2007]). 
• Peter Stanley: What is the Battle for Australia? In: Australian Army Journal. 4. Jahrgang, 2, Winter 2007, 2007, S. 17–34 (gov.au [PDF; abgerufen am 24. Februar 2008]). 

External links

• Second World War. Australian War Memorial; abgerufen im 1. Januar 1 
• Remembering the War in New Guinea. In: Australia-Japan Research Project. Australian War Memorial, 2003; abgerufen im 1. Januar 1. 
• Australia's War 1939—1945. Department of Veterans' Affairs; abgerufen im 1. Januar 1